Equipment Roundup: Updates on Cat M-Series small loaders, Nikola One, Honda Ridgeline

Updated Dec 20, 2016

Cat upgrades M-Series small wheel loaders with Payload Management, intros 930M Ag Handler

Caterpillar has introduced several enhancements to its three M-Series small wheel loaders as part of a 2017 update and has introduced a variant of the 930M designed as an Ag Handler.

The company first introduced the 926M, 930M and 938M loaders at the World of Concrete show in February 2015. And while the specs on these machines haven’t changed much (full spec listing is below), Cat has updated some key operation elements of these machines and added a major feature in its Payload Management system.

Upgraded secondary display, now with Payload Management

With the 926M, 930M and 938M, Cat introduced a larger secondary display for that allows operators to customize controls to their liking while offering up a wealth of information including: operator profiles, application profiles, service-mode and preventive maintenance alerts and much more. With the 2017 update, Cat has upgraded this display further with a QWERTY keyboard for easier and faster navigation.

Read the full story here.

VIDEO: Repairing an earthmover tire is an intricate art form

Recently, we saw the explosive results of over-inflating an earthmover tire. But what happens when the damage to one of these giant tires is a bit less devastating? That’s where German company Rema Tip Top comes in.

According to the YouTube description for the video below, put together by Extreme Machines Magazine, Rema Tip Top was founded in 1923 and manufactures the equipment and materials needed to make repairs to earthmover tires. In the video, a technician makes repairs to a $30,000 tire.

The video illustrates just how complicated and lengthy this process is, requiring the technician to shave away a quite a bit of rubber around the the problem area before patching and trimming, patching and trimming, etc. It’s pretty fascinating.

Read the full story here.

Inside the Nikola One: The electric semi is packed with tech to “revolutionize” trucking

“My goal is to literally revolutionize the trucking industry,” said Trevor Milton, CEO and founder of Nikola Motor Company (NMC), moments after the Nikola One was unveiled in Salt Lake City on Dec. 1.

Nikola One is a working prototype of an electric semi-truck with 1,000-hp, a range of more than 1,200 miles, and zero tailpipe emissions except for water.

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To travel this distance, the truck will use 2.3 Megawatts of power from lithium batteries recharged on the fly with regenerative braking and hydrogen fuel cells.

“This took a complete redesign from the ground up,” he said.

The company will likely develop three or four more prototypes before a production version rolls off the line in 2020.

Read the full story here.

TEST DRIVE: 2017 Honda Ridgeline a surprisingly tough pickup with smooth, sedan-like handling

You don’t see many Hondas tooling around a job site, but the company is poised to change that—or at least make a dent in it—in 2017 with its second generation unibody Ridgeline pickup.

This ain’t your granddaddy’s Ridgeline. After briefly shelving the truck following the 2014 model year, the Japanese automaker went in a decidedly new direction with its new Lincoln, Alabama-built pickup.

A serious redesign

The original Ridgeline sold about a quarter of a million units before production was stopped after eight years, hindered by a mashup styling that was more Pilot-without-a-hatch than pickup. The next generation Ridgeline shed those angular bedrail panels behind the rear doors and replaced them with, well, nothing. When you walk up to the new Ridgeline, it looks like a truck, not like an SUV that was pulled too soon off the assembly line.

Read the full story here.

Pro Comp intros suspension kits for ’15 Ford Super Duty, 22″ Extreme MT tire

Pro Comp recently made a couple of pickup-related announcements that those driving into jobsites on a daily basis will find interesting.

First up, SEMA judges dubbed the Ford Super Duty as the most accessory-friendly truck on the market this year, and Pro Comp is jumping on that bandwagon with new 6- and 8-inch lift and suspension kits for the 2015 model year of this popular truck.

Suspension systems offer coil spring rates specific to diesel and gasoline engines. The 6-inch suspension kit accommodates 37-inch tires, and you can squeeze in 38 inch tires with the 8-inch kit. Both are offered in Stage I with radius arm drop brackets, or Stage II with tubular radius arms. Brake lines, bump stop extensions, drop Pitman arms and Grade 8 hardware are included in the kits.

Read the full story here.