Cat Trucks to expand lineup in 2014

[kscarbel]

Australasian Transport News / January 28, 2014

Cat Trucks' heavy duty range of trucks will soon expand with the addition of the CT630S and the CT630SC.

More models are being added to the Cat trucks heavy duty lineup as the company seeks to consolidate and expand its position in the Australian market.

The B-double friendly CT630S is well and truly on the way, along with the linehaul variant, the CT630SC. A high GCM road train hauler is also coming.

The CT630SC will feature a stand-up-walk-in integrated sleeper cab with an internal height of 1,900mm.

The CT630SC is reported to have a bumper-to-back-of-cab measurement of 3,590mm (141 inches) to make sure it fits comfortably within the 26-metre B-double envelope.

The SC cab will also feature external locker boxes as well as a scalloped rear wall to increase trailer to cab swing clearance.

“This has been an exceptional project to be involved in,” Cat Trucks Australia Chief Engineer Adrian Wright says.

“It’s our opinion the Australian market has been waiting for a conventional truck like the CT630S for some time.”

Fuel figures from two pre-production units that are a part of the local testing program have returned average fuel figures of between 1.78 and 1.85km/l on high gross weight linehaul duties in excess of 60 tonne.

The truck is powered by a C15 Cat engine that develops 550hp (410kW) and 1,850lb/ft of torque (2,508Nm).

The C15 meets current emissions regulations without using either exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) or selective catalytic reduction (SCR).

A road train rated version of the CT630 is also on the way, aimed squarely at on-highway triple trailer duties. The severe duty model is expected to have a GCM rating of 130 tonne.

Cat Truck Australia Managing Director Kevin Dennis sys there has been strong interest from Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland for a high GCM Cat-powered prime mover.

“In fact advance orders have already been placed,” he says.

The severe duty Cat is expected to be launched in the final quarter of 2014.

The Cat trucks lineup now consists of the CT610, which is powered by the recently released CT13 engine as well as the 15 litre CT630, the CT630S and the CT630LS models.

Fuel figures provided by Cat have shown a 10 percent gain in fuel efficiency from the CT13 EGR engine over the previous C13 engine it replaced.

In fact one unit has been consistently returning 2.62km/l on single trailer country distribution.

Parent company Navistar has had its share of woes over the last couple of years, notching up US$3 billion in losses in 2012.

However, a change of executive management and major changes in product strategy have seen 2013 losses reduced to US$898 million.

Perhaps another sign the company is turning the corner is the announcement over the weekend the International Prostar ISX15, incidentally the same platform that is used by the Cat Trucks range, was voted Truck of the Year at the 2014 American Truck Dealers (ATD) Expo in New Orleans.

In Australia, Dennis says the five year plan for the country’s youngest heavy duty truck company is to achieve 3 percent of the heavy duty market with the aim of selling 800-1000 units per year.

[RowdyRebel]

The CAT trucks I've seen on the road are among the butt-ugliest trucks ever produced. Driving one of them would ALMOST be as embarrassing as being behind the wheel of a v*lv*.

[Red Horse]

The CAT trucks I've seen on the road are among the butt-ugliest trucks ever produced. Driving one of them would ALMOST be as embarrassing as being behind the wheel of a v*lv*.

You've seen one?? Very rare-kind of like a blue Tibetan Snow Leopard Just what you would want-a partnership vehicle put together by a company that bailed out of the heavy truck engine market and a company that has had one foot in the grave because of a pig headed decision to come up with a better way to meet emissions standards.

[2stacksuperdog]

Theres quite a few of them running around down here. 4 or 5 that I know of. They gave O&G a few. H.O. Penn is running them and theres 1 tri-axle owned by some landscaper and then a roll off. Still ugly they look rough from being on the road a couple months. (frame paint shot)

[bullhusk]

GOD HELP US!!!!! Another new motor by Caterpussy when they still havn't fixed the Accert motor an now they are tryin to flood the truck market with more junk!! They should stick with bulldozers. Why would anyone buy a truck put together with spare parts from International an Maxforce!!

BULLHUSK

[j hancock]

I have seen a couple and they are uglier in person than the pictures let on.

Badge engineering very rarely yields a better product.

Maybe they give a truck away as a perk if you buy or lease a lot of CAT excavators and loaders?

[Vladislav]

I have only seen this one. In Pa.

Surprized and thought for first it was some different brand machine labled of the engine in it.

[2stacksuperdog]

I have seen a couple and they are uglier in person than the pictures let on.

Badge engineering very rarely yields a better product.

Maybe they give a truck away as a perk if you buy or lease a lot of CAT excavators and loaders?

O&G does buy all CAT equipment......

[farmer52]

Several CAT trucks running around here in central PA...Smith Transport and some coal buckets.

[BAD DOG]

We Have 2 Cat Tri- Axle Dumps at work They ride rough and they are always in the shop more than they work. Just junk. I think they should quit and stick to what they know.

[Green Dash]

Several CAT trucks running around here in central PA...Smith Transport and some coal buckets.

Cleveland Brothers on Paxton St in Harrisburg used to have 2 on their front lawn. I believe that's Smith running the Cleveland Brothers tractor-trailers.

[jaysm35a2]

The only ones ive seen in CO has been sitting at the dealer in Pueblo for months... trying to be sold.

What a joke.

BTW , They have Cat engines? I thought they didn't make engines anymore for highway apps in the US ?

[farmer52]

BTW , They have Cat engines? I thought they didn't make engines anymore for highway apps in the US ?

Not CAT engines. They use International MaxxForce 13L engines. Time will tell if they offer the Cummins ISX15 engine.

[Red Horse]

Not CAT engines. They use International MaxxForce 13L engines. Time will tell if they offer the Cummins ISX15 engine.

I do believe they offer a 15L and it IS the 3406 block. Like I said- what a combination-a Cat motor after they bailed out of highway engines and a chassis from a manufacturer that has been on a slippery slope.-in ny case hope Navistar makes it but I find it hard to believe this Cat venture will have a long life.

There are only so many heavy haul carriers who are forced to buy one or loose their Cat equipment hauling business! Who said "reciprocity" was dead!

[blackdog2]

Bob one hand washes the other.

[farmer52]

I do believe they offer a 15L and it IS the 3406 block. Like I said- what a combination-a Cat motor after they bailed out of highway engines and a chassis from a manufacturer that has been on a slippery slope.-in ny case hope Navistar makes it but I find it hard to believe this Cat venture will have a long life.

There are only so many heavy haul carriers who are forced to buy one or loose their Cat equipment hauling business! Who said "reciprocity" was dead!

You are correct, the initial 15L MaxxForce engine offering used a CAT C15 block. It was a late intro so I do not think many CAT trucks were equipped with the MaxxForce15 engine. The majority have the 13L. IIRC, the MaxxForce15 did not meet certification and was discontinued. I have heard nothing recently that the MaxxForce15 is being offered with SCR. All I see in the trade mags is the Cummins ISX15. Will be interesting to see if a CAT truck, built by IH, uses a Cummins engine. I am going to MATS in March and will see what is on the market.

[kscarbel]

While CAT has from the beginning focused on the vocational market in the US, the company has targeting the long haul segment in Australia.

The styling of the US market vocational models is certainly debatable. But the Australian market on-road models are reasonably attractive.

About engines, while Navistar cancelled plans for a MaxxForce 15 in the US market, Caterpillar went ahead with the C15 in Australia (necessary for the GCWs down under).

http://www.cattrucks.com.au/trucks/ct630-extended-cab/#tab=3

http://www.cattrucks.com.au/

FYI: Australian emissions from 2011 thru 2017 (possibly 2018 is level ADR80/03, the exact equivalent of Euro-5 and rough equivalent of EPA2007.

But as said for the US market, the license-built MAN D26 (CAT CT13 / MaxxForce 13) is the only offering. http://www.drivecat.com/truck-details/engines/

[jaysm35a2]

Right, were talking about here in the US.

Ive said the same thing, CAT truck with another companies engine ... trying to sell in the US. It will fold soon enough , they can keep them over seas as much as they want. I wish them luck

[kscarbel]

I found it odd that Navistar cancelled the Caterpillar-based MaxxForce 15. With an SCR solution, the engine could have easily met EPA2010.

Navistar executive vice president Jim Hebe said. "It's a great engine. But we can't support it. Volumes are too small, and we have to develop SCR on all our other engines." But that excuse doesn't hold water. They knew the volumes for 15L engines from the beginning. And evidently, they saw a solid business case to develop the product.

Fleet Owner / September 27, 2012

Hebe also said Navistar will not pursue a 15L SCR engine, Instead it will rely on the Cummins model for that power range. “Our intention is to continue to build them as long as we can and then phase into the Cummins ISX15,” Hebe said. “It’s a shame, it’s a great engine.”

Heavy Duty Trucking (Trucking Info) / September 25, 2012

Cummins' ISX15 will take over the heavier end of the segment in Internationals and Navistar's own MaxxForce 15 will be discontinued, Hebe said.

"It's a shame," Hebe said. "It's a great engine. But we can't support it. Volumes are too small, and we have to develop SCR on all our other engines." The MaxxForce 15 will go out of production by the end of next year's first quarter.

[Rondog]

They look like they took the back end of a loader, spun it around to the front of a truck frame, and added a windshield above it.

I think they are ugly. About the only ones I see out here in so Cal have the local CAT dealer's name on the door, delivering their own equipment.

[kscarbel]

Right, were talking about here in the US.

Ive said the same thing, CAT truck with another companies engine ... trying to sell in the US. It will fold soon enough , they can keep them over seas as much as they want. I wish them luck

To fully understand where the CAT-branded trucks are going, I suggest it's important to be aware of their progress both in the U.S. and global markets (e.g. the news article I posted above on the Australian market).

And things have changed a lot too since 2008 when NC2 Global was formed as a joint venture between CAT and Navistar. In September 2011, the two companies announced that NC2 would become a wholly owned subsidiary of Navistar. And through a brand licensing agreement, both CAT- and Navistar-branded trucks would be distributed through both CAT and Navistar dealers.

Navistar and Caterpillar make for an interesting couple. Navistar is cash strapped, thanks to former CEO Dan Ustian. Caterpillar has deep enough pockets to easily purchase Navistar and add heavy truck manufacturing to its portfolio, however the company has never been intrigued to do so. And yet, CAT has been dedicated to marketing heavy trucks under its name, including having required its distributors to invest heavily in truck shops.

In the US market, it's noteworthy that the axle-forward CT-680 (with both 116-inch and 122-inch BBCs) that CAT said would launch in 2013 never materialized.

Many people don't realize that the cooperation with Navistar fulfilled CAT's desire to get their CX-31 automatic transmission into heavy trucks.

And of course, Navistar's Garland plant (the former Marmon truck factory) has been closed, with CAT truck production shifted to Escobedo, Mexico. Garland's last day was March 30, 2013.

[Dirtymilkman]

Navistar is getting their SCR from Cummins for the Maxxfarce motors. That is the reason they won't offer the c15 in the trucks. Its all about patting each others back.

[kscarbel]

Navistar is getting their SCR from Cummins for the Maxxfarce motors. That is the reason they won't offer the c15 in the trucks. Its all about patting each others back.

If Navistar is going to buy Cummins engines, it makes sense to also cooperate with Cummins on emissions controls, as a bargaining chip for greater overall discounts. Of course, Cummins and Detroit Diesel were engine suppliers to International Harvester for years. It's a shame the Germans won't supply them to Navistar now.

Those MAN D20 (MaxxForce 11) and D26 (MaxForce 13) engines are extremely good when set up properly, as they are now with SCR for EPA2010 (Euro-6).

[41180]

my guess about the 15 liter maxxforce and c15 being discontinued is that because navistar is using cummins after treatment scr system on the maxxforce 13 cummins probably made a deal to supply all 15 liter engines to navistar trucks . i doubt cimmins wanted to put there system on the cat c15 / maxxforce 15 . cummins wouldnt have sold as many isx 15 engines to mavistar if the maxxforce 14 was offered. just my thought.

[41180]

also international had to act quick or else bankruptsy was nearing and im sure cummins had alot of leveage with navistar . navistar had pretty much screwed cummins over when they dropped them in 2009 . im sure cummins held all the chips when navistar came begging so i bet the c15 was first to go. navistar had no choice because they had no money to invest into there own scr system.