You won’t see this CAT Scale Rig of the Week rolling down the highway. It’s a piece of trucking history, and it’s on display at the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum in Walcott, Iowa.
It’s not every day a truck celebrates a birthday — much less its 100th birthday. But during the 2026 Walcott Truckers Jamboree, this 1926 FWD Model BT was honored with a centennial celebration, complete with a birthday cake!
Built with a 4-cylinder engine, a 5-speed transmission, and weighing 13,400 pounds, this heavy-duty work truck still wears its original tires. Even more impressive, both the truck and its auger are fully operational.
In the 1920s, trucks like this helped bring electricity and telephone service to rural America. Its engine-powered auger could drill an 8-foot-deep hole in a fraction of the time it took crews using hand tools, while its winch and gin poles allowed it to help raise utility poles into place.
Built by the Four Wheel Drive Auto Company of Clintonville, Wisconsin, the FWD earned a reputation for rugged reliability and simple, practical engineering. A century later, this truck stands as a reminder of the machines — and the people — that helped build the infrastructure we still depend on today.
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Linda Garner-Bunch has been with The Trucker since 2020, picking up the reins as managing editor in 2022. Linda has nearly 40 years of experience in the publishing industry, covering topics from the trucking and automotive industry to employment, real estate, home decor, crafts, cooking, weddings, high school sports — you name it, she’s written about it. She is also an experienced photographer, designer and copy editor who has a heartfelt love for the trucking industry, from the driver’s seat to the C-suite.