Caterpillar to launch vocational trucks
Caterpillar will unveil the first model in its line of Cat vocational trucks, the Cat CT660, at CONEXPO on March 22, 2011.
The Class 8 trucks will be sold and serviced exclusively through the Cat North American dealer network, with production beginning after CONEXPO for customer delivery later in the year. The trucks are being developed with Navistar International.
Caterpillar says the trucks will focus on a large variety of job applications – from moving rock and hauling trash to logging and pouring concrete.
Before Caterpillar engineers started designing, the company asked vocational truck owners and drivers what they wanted and needed from their trucks. “Our design and manufacturing has been focused squarely on making the customer input we gathered a reality,” said George Taylor, director and general manager of the Cat Global On-Highway Department.
Taylor added, “We coupled customer input with our knowledge learned from years of experience working closely with different industries to meet their heavy equipment needs to identify the ideal standard options for various industry applications.”
Caterpillar will offer the heavy-duty Cat vocational day cab trucks with a full range of engine ratings and torque capability options. The company says the specs include a Cat CT11 engine with ratings from 330bhp to 390 bhp, a Cat CT13 with ratings from 410 hp to 475 hp and, coming in 2012, a Cat CT15 with ratings from 435 hp to 550 hp.
The Cat CX31 torque converter style automatic transmission, with three standard locations for Rear Power Take Off drive positions, will be an option for Cat vocational trucks. Caterpillar also offers a line of other OEM vocational transmission options, including Eaton manual and automated manual transmissions.