Long before Borwegen Trucking had five million-mile trucks in its fleet, Ralph Borwegen was crisscrossing the country in a Peterbilt powered by a Caterpillar engine.
What began as a single truck and a willingness to work has grown into a family business spanning nearly five decades and three generations. “In 1978, we bought our first Peterbilt,” Ralph recalled. “We ran cross-country for approximately four years.” As life evolved and the family grew, so did the business. The long-haul years gave way to local trucking, excavation work, and new opportunities throughout New York and the Northeast.
Today, the company operates under several divisions, including trucking, transport, and excavation. While the fleet and services have expanded significantly since those early days, many of the values that built the company remain unchanged. No one understands that better than Jonathan Borwegen. “As a kid, anytime I wasn't in school, I was right with my dad, in the shop, out on a machine or in the truck, doing whatever he was doing,” Jonathan said. “It's pretty much the only thing I've wanted to do for my entire life.”
Growing up around the business provided more than mechanical knowledge. It instilled a philosophy that continues to shape the company today. “It's always been, you have to take care of your stuff if you want it to last,” Jonathan said. “That's something we've carried right on through.” That philosophy is evident throughout Borwegen Trucking's fleet.0
The company currently operates a fleet of 20 trucks and runs between 12 and 18 trucks daily depending on workload and customer demand. Over the years, the fleet has hauled everything from fuel and petroleum products to flatbeds, heavy haul loads, dump trailers, liquid asphalt, and calcium. Among those trucks, five have surpassed the one-million-mile milestone. For Jonathan, reaching that number represents far more than an odometer reading. “To me, reaching a million miles is a big milestone,” he said. “We typically run about a hundred thousand miles a year on a truck, so that's a ten-year commitment to get to a million miles. Ten years is a substantial amount of time. It really does amount to something.”
Ironically, there was a time when the company never expected to keep trucks long enough to reach a million miles. “When we first had a truck hit a million miles, it was very surprising,” Jonathan said. “In previous years, when we were buying new trucks, we would buy them and run them to five hundred thousand and trade them in on a new one. We never kept them past six or seven hundred thousand.”
The durability of Caterpillar engines helped change that mindset. “CAT motors were able to be rebuilt” Jonathan said. “We have some that we've rebuilt two or three times. They just keep going.”
Many of Borwegen Trucking's CAT engines have outlived the trucks they were originally installed in. “Most of our trucks here are glider kits,” Jonathan explained. “These motors have been in two, some of them have been in three trucks. They just keep going from truck to truck. That's the motor that we've had the best luck with and we're trying to stick with it.”
But million-mile trucks are built on more than durable engines. According to Jonathan, longevity comes from a combination of disciplined maintenance, attentive drivers and strong service relationships. “As far as maintenance on the engines, it's keeping up on oil changes, fixing leaks and keeping an eye on temperatures,” he said. “It's really both the shop and the driver that play a big part in keeping the engine going as long as possible.”
Borwegen Trucking performs much of its routine maintenance in-house while relying on trusted partners for major engine work and technical support. “We use Lucky's for the truck side and Milton CAT more for the engine side,” Jonathan said. “We've had so many trucks rebuilt through Milton CAT over the years that we've grown a really good relationship with them. Anytime we have a troubleshooting question or need support, they're very helpful and get us back on the road quickly.”
Today, the company's highest-mileage truck is still running daily with approximately 1.6 million miles on the odometer. And Jonathan has no plans of slowing down. “We're looking to put as many miles on them as possible,” he said. “There is no limit.”
Yet perhaps the most meaningful measure of success isn't found in a mileage record. It can be found in the next generation. Jonathan's eight-year-old son already has his eye on a truck of his own, a 1981 Kenworth K100 that the family hopes to restore and repower one day. “He's the same way I was,” Jonathan said. “Any chance he gets, he wants to come with me.”
Nearly 50 years after Ralph purchased his first CAT-powered truck, a third generation is already preparing to carry the tradition forward. For the Borwegens, million-mile engines are more than a milestone, they're the result of a philosophy that has been passed from one generation to the next.
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