I make no apology that I have driven trucks for the better part of my life.
Started with a "commercial" license when I was 17, upgraded to "CDL" when that mandate came down, and I still drive trucks as a delivery driver.
2,000,000+ miles worth.
That said, I wanted to point out that Caterpillar engines are the cream of the crop.
Just ask truckers (Owner Operators, not company drivers) and you will find this out.
My favorite as well are the Cats.
(followed closely by the 90's MACK engines.)
Yes, they "mark their territory" by slobbering oil out the crankcase vent tube (older engines).
Yes they will use a little more fuel.
Yes they need a cathouse to get work done or parts. (maybe lack of inferior parts are the reason for reliability ???)
But to dismiss the Cat because of the opinion of someone who never put 100,000 miles on one is just ridiculous.
I have had Detroits throw rods, Cummins engines just die, Internationals that couldn't keep from throwing a code longer than a week, and we won't get into the other engines and their common problems here and now.
(and I will also skip talking about the 2004 +up wallet unfriendly DPF/DEF engines entirely as I will NEVER buy one with my money)
But the CAT engine has rarely let me down for a major problem.
My favorite engine is the little 3208. Mechanical if possible.
Yes, it is a "disposable" (not manufactured to be rebuilt) engine, but it is a hard runner.
One I drove for over a year was in a concrete mixer. LOTS of high idle and sitting around at low idle.
Not a single problem, and I drove it like I stole it 6 days a week.
This one in particular had a 13 "Lo-Lo" tranny. (3 lo-lo's and 10 in the lo/hi ranges) It would pull a train it seemed.
A full 13 months of rough roads and hard running and all it ever needed was oil and filters. (engine wise)
I have driven trucks with everything up to the 550 Cat and this little jewel was the best of them all for reliability.
I can only imagine how great this engine would be in a 10,000 mile a year application.
It is sad they no longer make this one.
They are hard to find now, and harder to find running well.
But if I can get my hands on one, I will jump on one in a heartbeat.
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