Caterpillar Wheel Tractors - Ten, Fifteen, Twenty & Thirty

Hi, Alan.
I cain't help any beyond saying that I also have a photo SOMEWHERE of a Caterpillar Twenty wheeled tractor. How-wevver, like you, i would like to know more.

Here is an old thread on the topic. Sadly, it appears that any photos have been deleted.

http://www.acmoc.org/bb/showthread.php?598-Caterpillar-20-wheel-tractor

Just my 0.02.

Alan,

I don't have the 2006 edition of that publication, but in the 1986 edition (#12) I don't see any reference to the wheeled tractors you mention. I do notice that they just call them "10 Tractor", "15 Tractor", etc, whereas later models are called "Track Type Tractor" instead of "Tractor". I believe that is just a matter of semantics and not an intentional distinction.

I have not found any information on the wheeled version of the Twenty, other than the photos that have been posted here before, or the original 2006 Ebay listing for the film from which those images came. The film seemed to be a promotional piece produced by Caterpillar to show the merits of tracks over wheels, and the wheeled tractor an attempt by Caterpillar to make the best "apples to apples" comparison of tracks vs. wheels. I have found no engineering drawings for this wheeled tractor conversion, nor any other records of it or wheeled versions of the other early CTCo. gas tractors. The only information I have found on wheeled "Caterpillar" tractors, are a few tractors built by Holt in Peoria and Stockton.

My guess is the wheeled Twenty was made by the sales department, research department, or maybe even a dealer. Steering appears to have been accomplished by a lever attached to a pivoting front axle.

[attachment=20144]cat_8C20_wheeled_02.jpg[/attachment]

Dave