Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/58364
ON THE PROWL Cat truck proves it's ready for all hauling terrains by JACK ROBERTS sually you go to the truck. But sometimes, the truck comes to you. And that's what happened when Truckers News reached out to Caterpillar and told the manu- facturer we wanted to drive one of its new heavy-duty, on-highway trucks. As it happens, the Truckers News editorial offi ces are in the same town — Tuscaloosa, Ala. — as RACON Construction, the com- pany that is already receiving the very fi rst production trucks off the assembly line. As a result, the local Cat dealer in our area, Thompson Tractor, helped Caterpillar with validation testing on the new models and is set up to service the trucks. 26 | TRUCKERS NEWS | APRIL 2012 Unless you've been orbiting the moon for the past fi ve years or so, you're probably aware that Cat has come back strong into the on-highway truck market. For decades, its presence on North American highways was under the hood — as yellow Cat engines powered, and continue to power — many of the big rigs thundering down the roadways today. More to the point, Cat yel- low iron customers use trucks, and they use them a lot. And — thanks in large part to the Peoria, Ill., company's legendary dealer support — they're also fanatically loyal to the brand. As Cat executives studied their customers' needs and the markets they manufacture equipment for, the need to offer an on-highway truck became more and more apparent.