Caterpillar 797 Photos, Stats, & History

The Caterpillar 797 was the largest truck of its kind in the world from 2000 till 2001. Its powered by a 24 cylinder V24 quad-turbo diesel engine that produces an amazing 3,400 horsepower. The truck stands at 23 feet tall and 47.5 feet long. The 797 is a whopping 30 feet wide. With the box raised the truck stands almost 50 feet tall.

Eight onboard computers monitor oil pressure, transmission torque, engine performance and tire temperature. The tires on the Cat 797 were especially designed for this machine made by Micheline. They stand 13 feet tall & each tire costs roughly 30,000 dollars. The 797 has an 850 gallon fuel tank or an optional 1800 gallon fuel tank. The truck itself sells for 3.4 million dollars.

Behind each wheel is a pack of 42-inch brake discs, 10 in the front, and 15 behind each corner. One of the onboard computers controls a break-cooling system that pumps 1160 gallons of oil per minute through multiple coolers and then through the discs. That is how they dissipate all the energy.

The capacity of its box is rated at 360 tons, but the mines have records of putting over 400 tons in the box easily. The truck alone weighs 288 tons, which make its rated gross weight 648 tons. Surprisingly the Cat 797 can reach a maximum speed of 40 miles per hour with a full load.

The truck uses fuel in insane amounts. It averages at 65 gallons used per hour, which means it runs at 0.3 miles per gallon. With such a huge cost involved, the vehicle is usually run 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, stopping only for regularly scheduled maintenance. Cat built the 360 ton capacity 797 specifically to handle the 90-ton loads carried by the industry's biggest shovels. After 4 scoops the truck is full. That roughly states those scoops are 90 ton loads, but there in the works on making a 100+ ton scoop.