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New Cat Purrs on Job Site
Latest construction truck complements heavy equipment line with pure Cat styling. |
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Written by James Menzies
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By late summer, a highly anticipated new piece of heavy equipment will be turning heads at road construction and aggregate sites. Caterpillar has recently unveiled its first truck, the CT660, to the North American market.
The vocational truck was designed with a select few market segments in mind, the aggregates and roadbuilding sectors among them. In fact, Canadian aggregates hauler J.F. Kitching & Son of Queensville, Ont., has served as the lone Canadian test fleet and is the first company in all of Canada to operate a CT660. The company, which runs about 50 trucks hauling product from its gravel pit to local landscapers and construction sites, is in frequent contact with Caterpillar engineers to provide input on how the truck can be improved.
Gary Blood, product manager, vocational trucks, with Caterpillar, said the CT660’s design borrows heavily from the company’s existing line of heavy equipment.
“The exterior styling of the CT660 took a cue from our newest Cat wheel loader, the 980K,” Blood told Aggregates & Roadbuilding. “When customers see the CT660 for the first time, they will be able to tell just by looking at the truck that it’s a Cat.”
The interior of the truck is also pure Caterpillar. Blood said, “We have taken our decades of machine cab design experience to create a truck cab that combines comfort and functionality.”
For instance, the gauges feature a black dial face, white font and red needles to maximize visibility while remaining consistent with other Caterpillar machinery.
“Our CT660 truck pairs extremely well with our Cat machines and we believe you will see them working together on sites all over Canada and the U.S. in the near future,” Blood added.
The CT660 seems custom-built for road construction, a business Caterpillar is no stranger to. Understanding the harsh operating environment of a road construction site, Cat designed the CT660 with serviceability in mind. Impact-resistant headlight covers protect the bulbs from road debris and rubber composite fender extensions bounce back into place when contacted.
“You will find the truck has many modular components to make repairs simple and easy,” Blood said. “The modular design of the three-piece hood, grille and bumper makes it simple to replace a damaged component.”
The three-piece stainless grille surround may be the most identifiable of the CT660’s exterior attributes. Inside, Caterpillar wasn’t afraid to deviate from industry norms. It has combined the speedometer and tach into a single gauge to make more efficient use of dash display space and it replaced the glove box with a removable storage bin.
The CT660 was built on the International PayStar platform through a joint venture with International’s parent company Navistar, but nearly every component above the frame rails has been enhanced or redesigned, Blood said. The end result is a truck that’s every bit a Caterpillar, even though it will be assembled at Navistar’s Garland, Texas, truck plant.
Under the hood will be a Caterpillar-branded International MaxxForce 11 or 13, rebadged the Cat CT11 and CT13 respectively, with a CT15 to come sometime next year.
Subtle engineering enhancements have been made to make the engines a true Caterpillar, but Blood admitted the engines themselves are not much of a departure from the International base engines.
The engines will come with power ratings ranging from 330 to 550 hp (once the CT15 is brought on-line) and torque ratings from 1,450 to 1,850 lb.-ft.
The new truck is available with a wide range of manual and automated transmissions, but Cat’s own CX31 is a noteworthy option. The fully automatic transmission has six forward speeds and one reverse gear. It has been widely used in other markets since 2004 and offers customers the convenience of one-stop servicing of the entire vehicle through Cat dealers.
Drivers will appreciate excellent maneuverability thanks to the set-back front axle as well as great visibility afforded by the sloped hood. The coolant, washer reservoirs and air filters are all accessible from the ground to make everyday maintenance easier for drivers and mechanics and interior surfaces are easy to wipe clean.
Cat has already started taking orders for the CT660 and the first production units were slated to roll off the assembly line in July. Canadian dealers are expected to receive demonstration units by late summer, offering customers their first opportunity to drive the truck.
The company is reluctant to discuss price, except to say it’s a premium product and will be priced accordingly.
Meanwhile, J.F. Kitching & Son is putting its test truck through its paces every day, averaging about 5.5 mpg hauling 37,600 kgs of payload, which is decent for the application, Mike Kitching notes.
One thing is for certain, the truck is getting a lot of attention. Ken Robinson, the everyday driver of the CT660 says he can’t even stop for coffee without other drivers asking for a peek inside.
Win a New Cat CT660
Vocational truck owners hoping to be among the first to get behind the wheel of the new Cat CT660 Vocational Truck have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when Caterpillar launches its “Win a Cat Truck” contest on August 1, 2011.
One lucky winner, chosen through online voting, will be presented with a brand-new CT660—the first model in a full line of Cat On-Highway Vocational Trucks designed and built to deliver the reliability, durability and low cost of ownership customers have come to expect from Caterpillar. The contest is open to residents of Canada and the U.S. For full details go to: http://www.drivecat.com/Pages/TruckBuzz/WinATruck.aspx
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James Menzies is the Toronto, Ont.-based executive editor of Truck News and Truck West. He wrote this article exclusively for Aggregates & Roadbuilding.
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