Caterpiller will no longer supply on-highway engines for heavy duty trucks after 2009.

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quote:

Caterpillar says it plans to introduce a 2010 emission-compliant North American Cat branded heavy-duty truck engine for severe service applications, such as road construction, large infrastructure projects and oil and petroleum development … but WILL NOT supply EPA 2010 compliant engines to truck and other on-highway original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). In other words, no more on-highway Cat engines — period.

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Yeah, that's too bad. Cat engines were second to none. I always hoped they would develop a light truck engine.

Actually, as someone who has put some time behind a Cat, they're slugs. Fk'n POS brand new. Cats are better suited for industrial applications where they run at the same RPM all day. Detroit Diesel isn't much better.

The King of the Hill, of course, is Cummins.

The newer cat engines are way better than older ones. When you dial up the HP to 600 or better they can outpull anything out there on the road!

I don't mean they're slow (obviously the HP rating determines that), but the engines are unresponsive - your foot does one thing but the motor does another. Granted most computer controlled engines are like that these days, but Cat was the worse of the lot.

These days, unless you're in the mountains all the time pulling max legal loads, 400 hp will do the trick and keep cash in your pocket. If you can get by with 350, it'll be even better.

Yep, but for NW heavy haulers nothing else can compete with the torque and hill pulling ability that a CAT engine will give you. It's fun to hear some of the stories that truckers tell about those east coast (flatland) trucks that run Cabbage Hill without Jake Brakes. THey either wind up buried to their frames in the runaway truck ramps or their brakes are melted and smoking at the bottom of the hill.

There is a reason for this sign and the Nickname "Deadman Pass".

Having gone up and down deadman's pass more than a few times with a near max legal load, I can atest to the accuracy of the nickname. However my worst experience through that pass was an attack by a small tornado-like weather anormalty, but that's another story.

The sign is right. You need to go downhill in the same gear you climbed up the hill in -- this applies to all steep grades everwhere!