Caterpillar Equipment Specs

• Caterpillar is an industry leading manufacturer of heavy equipment. Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images

  Caterpillar, Inc. is a manufacturer of heavy equipment that is used in a variety of construction, mining, quarrying and marine applications. Caterpillar, often referred to as CAT, is the industry leader in heavy equipment, featuring a product line of over 300 machines, including mining trucks, pipe layers and wheel loaders.

Mining Trucks

• Caterpillar mining trucks are massive dump trucks primarily deployed in mining and quarrying applications. Caterpillar manufacturers six different models of mining trucks, with each model featuring a different payload capacity, ranging from 100 tons or 200,000 pounds to 400 tons or 800,000 pounds. The largest mining truck made by Caterpillar is the 797F. This behemoth machine has a payload capacity of 400 tons and features the 3,793 horsepower Caterpillar C175-20 engine. Fully loaded, the 797F has a top speed of 42.2 mph. The truck has an overall body length of 48.6 feet and a wheelbase of 23.58 feet.

Pipe Layers

• Pipe layers are specialized machines used in the pipeline industry. These machines are built with specialized counterweight features that prevent the machine from tipping over when the boom on one side is picking up or laying a massive pipe. Caterpillar manufactures four models of pipe layers: two medium pipe layers, PL61 and 572R Series 2 and two large pipe layers, the 583T and 587T. The 587T is the largest pipe layer that Caterpillar manufactures. The 587T pipe layer features the 394 horsepower Cat C15 ACERT engine. The huge boom, or arm, on the side of the 587T can lift up to 101 tons or 202,000 pounds.

Wheel Loaders

• Wheel loaders are large pieces of machinery utilized in mining and quarrying applications. The wheel loader has a large bucket attached to two hydraulic-powered arms that can be raised and lowered. Wheel loaders are used to load mining trucks or to move materials from one stockpile to another. Caterpillar manufactures 23 models of wheel loaders that range from small loaders used for cleanup in an aggregate yard, to large wheel loaders used in large-scale mining and quarrying applications. The 994F is the largest wheel loader that Caterpillar manufactures and is also one of the largest wheel loaders in the world. The 994F is capable of lifting 38 tons in its massive bucket, but that payload capacity is reduced to 35 tons when the bucket is raised to its highest point. The 994F is 64.06 feet long and stands 22.93 feet from the ground to the top of its exhaust stacks and over 47 feet tall with its bucket fully raised.