A Conversation With True Grit Transportation

By Caterpillar | Posted: May 2023

Josh was practically born into the industry — both his father and grandfather were truck drivers. He got his start hauling cement, then had the opportunity to help his dad in the oilfield one weekend.

“I came home six months later,” Josh says. “I kind of fell in love with it.”

After a dozen years working for others, Josh started True Grit Transportation in 2013 to support oilfield operations, primarily by hauling sand for fracking applications. The company is based in Burleson, Texas, with a second location just north of Oklahoma City. And it’s grown from five trucks to a fleet of more than 40 — about half owned by True Grit Transportation and half by independent owner-operators.

Inside True Grit Transportation's trucks, you’ll find Cat^® on-highway engines — several of them pushing three million miles of operation.

“I'm third generation truck driver, and my family's believed in Cat engines all along,” Josh says. “You just can't beat the horsepower, the torque and the durability.”

That’s critical for a business that supports fracking, where trucks rarely have the luxury of hauling on paved or even gravel roads. True Grit Transportation's drivers often find themselves on dirt roads or driving through open fields. They pride themselves on consistent delivery, no matter how abusive the environment.

Josh recalls a recent “job from hell” in New Mexico that involved 20 miles of five-mile-an-hour travel on rough roads, chains and even a dozer pulling trucks in and out. At one point, he told his team they could turn back because the job wasn’t at all what it was supposed to be.

“One of my hands said, well, that’s just not the True Grit Transportation way. We signed on to do a job, and we’ll do the job regardless,” Josh says. “I was ready to throw in the towel myself, and my guys wouldn’t let me. We pushed on and got the job done.”

Clearly, the True Grit Transportation team — and the Cat engines they rely on — are up for any challenge. What’s the key to keeping those Cat engines ready to roll? According to Chris, one of True Grit Transportation's terminal managers, it all comes down to regular oil changes and regular maintenance.

“You gotta stay on top of it,” he says. “If you take care of it, it'll take care of you.”

When it’s time to repower, the True Grit Transportation team is now taking advantage of Cat Reman engines with new content — featuring 100% new cylinder blocks, crankshafts and cylinder heads.

“We're hoping, at some point, to replace every truck in the fleet with a new content engine,” Josh says.

In addition to like new quality, the True Grit Transportation team loves the speed and convenience of these drop-in solutions. Repowering with Cat Reman engines with new content means they can get trucks back on the road within a day or two.

“Just like they say, if your wheels aren't turning, you aren't making money,” Chris says. “So if you're sitting in a shop waiting two or three weeks for parts or whatever versus dropping a Cat Reman engine with new content in, you’ve gotta add up that too.”

The two-year unlimited miles Caterpillar Limited Warranty^* also gives True Grit Transportation peace of mind.

“The new content engines that we bought we plan on putting in trucks that are going to be running in 48 states,” Josh says. “It means a lot to us that should they have a problem, they can go to any Cat dealer anywhere and get it worked on under warranty.”

Those are just a few highlights from our recent conversation with Josh and the True Grit Transportation team. For the full interview, stay tuned for “Haul Talk,” a Cat truck engine podcast, coming soon.