Keeping A Good Thing Going
This Kansas livestock hauler's original Cat® truck engine is rolling toward three million miles
In the trucking world, there’s always something new to chase: a newer truck, a newer engine, a newer technology promising better performance.Harlan Chaplin isn’t after any of that.
With more than four decades hauling livestock under his belt, the Fredonia, Kansas-based driver prefers to stick with what he knows works.
“This is the truck I’m going to quit with,” Harlan says.
When he does, chances are it’ll still be powered by the Cat® C15 ACERT engine that’s been under the hood since 2004. The team at Foley Truck Service has rebuilt it twice, and it’s now closing in on three million miles.
“I know what I’ve got,” Harlan says. “Why mess with it if you can rebuild it?”
A Life Hauling Livestock
Harlan’s been driving trucks for 43 years and counting. He started riding along with his dad, who bought a 10-wheeler grain truck in the early 1980s, and it wasn’t long before he was behind the wheel himself.
A neighbor who needed help with some cows gave him the chance to get started in livestock transport, and he was hooked. Over the years, he’s hauled hogs and cattle across much of the country.
“Being around livestock is what I love,” Harlan says. “We all have to eat, and I like to help put food on the table.”
That sense of responsibility carries over to every haul.“I care for every load just like I own it myself,” he says.
Power He Can Count On
Livestock haulers don’t have the luxury of sitting on the shoulder waiting for a tow. That’s a big reason Harlan’s stuck with Cat power for most of his career.
“I don’t need to be broken down on a 100-degree day with a load of hogs behind me,” he says.
Pulling tall livestock trailers across long Midwestern runs requires deep lugging power and dependable performance — two things Harlan says Cat engines deliver. His 2004 Kenworth W900L has logged more than 2.8 million miles to date, all on the original C15 that’s now on its third life.
“I have some friends with new engines, and they’re overhauling them between 500,000 and 600,000 miles,” Harlan says. “I’m still getting a million miles out of mine every time, and I don’t have to put DEF in it.”
The performance after each rebuild has only reinforced that decision. “It runs like I’d expect a new engine to run,” Harlan says. “The power is there. The reliability is there. And you get the Cat warranty.”
Maintenance Makes the Miles
Reaching these million-mile milestones doesn’t happen by accident. It starts with routine maintenance and a disciplined service schedule. Oil changes happen every 10,000 to 12,000 miles, sometimes sooner depending on what the next week’s schedule looks like.
“I’m real religious about making sure it gets done,” Harlan says. He also takes S•O•S℠ oil samples at each interval to monitor soot levels and other indicators inside the engine.
“It’s like an insurance policy for me,” Harlan says.
Cat filters and quality oil are part of the routine as well — simple steps that help keep the engine running strong mile after mile.
The Curtis Factor
Of course, rebuilding an engine requires the right technician — someone who understands the iron inside and out.
For Harlan, that person is Curtis Clark at Foley Truck Service in Topeka. Curtis has rebuilt Harlan’s C15 twice and handled several other major repairs along the way. “He’s been good to me,” Harlan says. “If he sees something wrong, he’ll call me. But he’ll also take care of it.”
That reliability matters when you’re trying to keep loads on schedule. One morning, after a radiator hose blew overnight, Harlan managed to limp the truck into the shop early. Curtis was already there.
“He looked at me and said, ‘What’s wrong?’” Harlan recalls. “I told him, and he said, ‘Where do you have to be?’”
Harlan needed to reload in just a few hours — two hours away. Curtis got the truck into the bay, fixed the problem and had him back on the road in time.
“I really appreciated that,” Harlan says. “They’re all great people to work with there.”
Ready for the Next Milestone
Engine rebuilds are a big reason Harlan’s truck keeps logging miles. But they’re only part of the story.
Over the years, the team at Foley Truck Service has helped keep the entire truck road-ready — handling everything from air conditioner repairs to installing a new transmission. Most recently, they replaced the truck’s frame rails, another step toward keeping it rolling for the long haul.
Harlan uses his Cat Commercial Account at Foley to manage repair and maintenance costs. The line of credit helps keep his cash flow predictable and earns him Cat Rewards points — which he recently used to pick up a fresh set of Cat filters for the truck. Between the maintenance, the rebuilds and the support from the team at Foley, the old Kenworth still has plenty of life left in it. In fact, Curtis already has the next milestone in mind.
“He says we need to rebuild the engine one more time and get past three million miles,” Harlan says with a laugh.
Harlan isn’t entirely sure he has another million miles left in him. The engine? That’s a different story.