The Caterpillar 789 dump truck is a model of

haul truck Haul trucks are off-highway, rigid dump trucks specifically engineered for use in high-production mining and heavy-duty construction environments. Haul trucks are also used for transporting construction equipment from job site to job site. Some ar ...

s, typically used in

open pit mining Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a borrow. This form of minin ...

, manufactured by

Caterpillar Inc. Caterpillar Inc. (stock symbol CAT) is an American ''Fortune'' 500 corporation and the world's largest construction-equipment manufacturer. In 2018, Caterpillar was ranked number 65 on the ''Fortune'' 500 list and number 238 on the Global ''Fo ...

The 789 has a capacity of 177 tonnes, and its engine can produce 1770

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are t ...

. While some competing products use

hybrid drive In computing, a hybrid drive (solid state hybrid drive – SSHD) is a logical or physical storage device that combines a faster storage medium such as solid-state drive (SSD) with a higher-capacity hard disk drive (HDD). The intent is adding s ...

, the Caterpillar 789 has an entirely mechanical drive-train. The first Caterpillar 789 trucks were introduced in 1986. The vehicle's controls are designed to work much like those of an ordinary truck. However, they have multiple mechanisms for the driver to slow or stop the vehicle. Next to the traditional brake pedal there is a second foot pedal to activate a secondary braking system. There is a lever to the right of the steering wheel, called the "retarding brake", used for less intense braking. Finally, the vehicle's drive-train will automatically change gears, while descending inclines, to help the driver keep its speed under control. Because the vehicle provides the driver with a limited view, with many blind spots, they are equipped with multiple proximity sensors, and closed circuit TVs cameras. The 789 averages . It has six tires, each of which are in diameter and cost $50,000 to replace. Malcolm Nance, the author of '' Defeating ISIS: Who They Are, How They Fight, What They Believe'', described ISIS suicide bombers driving Caterpillar 789 trucks loaded with explosives into fortifications.

References

{{Caterpillar Dump trucks Caterpillar Inc. trucks Vehicles introduced in 1986