Cat with a big dumper

When LEGO came out with these massive tires a few years back vehicle builders rejoiced, but sometimes you need something more for building large tractors, monster trucks, post-apocalyptic mono-wheels, or other things needing outrageous tires. A builder who goes by the name of Sariel found some amazing non-LEGO tires that fit LEGO hubs perfectly, and used them on this legendary Caterpillar 797F Dump Truck. The real thing is 25 feet (7.7m) high to the canopy, 49 ft 6 in (15.1 m) long and weighs in at a staggering 624 tons when empty. This model is considerably smaller but no less impressive and, as LEGO vehicles go, it is a force to be reckoned with.

Caterpillar 979F Dump Truck

With its rugged stance and attention to detail, I would have been impressed enough if this were a stagnant model. However, as this image illustrates, it is jam-packed with Power Functions and a robotic Mindstorms EV3 unit to give it that extra push of awesomeness. I can see myself playing with this big Cat for hours all the while making truck noises like a six-year-old. It doesn’t take much for me to revert back to a six-year-old but, given this post’s title, you would have guessed that already.

Caterpillar 979F Dump Truck

In fact, you can even see it in action in Sariel’s video!

[Update: an earlier version of this article mistakenly identified the tires as LEGO elements. We regret this error.]

3 comments on “Cat with a big dumper

  1. Paweł Kmieć

    I always admire and appreciate your professional journalism, but my model absolutely does NOT use the LEGO tires you’ve mentioned. In fact, it doesn’t use LEGO tires at all. These are, as mentioned early in the video, RC tires by RC4WD company on LEGO rims.

  2. oyvey

    Guys… the tyres Sariel used are custom, not part 23798. It even says so in the diagram image you used in the post.

Comments are closed.