CASE TR320 and CAT 279C showdown

I just finished demoing a 279 and had demoed a TR320 prior to that. Here are some of my thoughts on the two machines. Your mileage may vary. I will be replacing my CASE 440 with VTS. CAB. The visibility to the front favored the CAT. The 320 has the notched door (not sure why) its not huge vision obstruction but its not as unobtrusive as the CAT. The side views were nearly the same. The CAT requires the loader arms to be up high enough to get the cylinder out of the way to see the back of the track when backing up. However like any machine you have to find the "holes" to see out of. The rear visibility in the CAT is non existent. You have a better view of the stars than you do anything else looking out the back of the CAT. The CASE has good to the rear. The AC in the CAT had to work to keep the cab cool in 90 plus degree weather. The CASE had to be turned down as it was uncomfortably cold. Both machines are tight and reasonably quiet, I dont think in that regard there was much difference between the two. Ergonomics wise the CASE has more adjustment in the positioning of the joysticks however the CAT was much easier to adjust and "looked" better. The switches CAT uses in the cab are superior to the buttons CASE uses. They are more substantial and no doubt 5K hours later will look and function better than will the CASE buttons. The monitor on the CAT dash is more intuitive than is the CASE. Both are small like I prefer, but the CAT is easy to use secondary functions. The door does not open as far as I would prefer on the CAT. The door swings wide on the CASE making ingress and egress much easier. I also prefer the door open on the Left than the Right but that's my personal preference. VISIBILITY TO THE COUPLER. This was a CAT horror show. It was nearly impossible to be able to see the coupler to change out attachments. Actually I snagged the coupler handle (this CAT did not have hyd quick attach) on a pallet fork and snapped it off. I suppose you do it enough with this machine and you figure it out but coming from a machine where I have clean sight lines to coupler to the CAT which has no sight lines was frustrating. Control system. Both of these machines use Rexroth E/H components so they should be similar. This CAT did not have Amics and neither did the CASE so it was how it was as far as control system settings. The CAT would shutter for some reason, when trying to feather the controls. Also when first getting into the machine it would sometimes refuse to move the bucket functions. You would shake the sticks like mad, cuss like a sailor and when it felt like it, it would move. I am sure there was something wrong with this machine and its not how they all run but this one certainly had a mind of its own. Like the CASE, the slower you moved the sticks, the more immediate the reaction was. The faster you moved, there would be a delay. Overall once acclimated to the machines they responded well, it did take some getting used to. If you want to change control patterns in a CAT you need to have a shop installed update for an additional cost of course. You cant just push a button to go from ISO to H pattern? I thought that was a bogus set up. I thought everyone was push button pattern changers at this point. That was one of the advantages of E/H. CAT I guess thinks otherwise. Power: The CAT gives up both hp and torque to the CASE and it was noticeable. It seemed like the CAT was working a lot harder than it should have been. The fuel consumption supported that as well. The 279 is detuned when compared to the 289 and 299. Considering they weigh about the same, it really needs the same hp settings. At any rate it could not afford to give up hp or torque. There was no comparison in this area. The CASE power plant was a thing of beauty. Very difficult to pull down and when you did it recovered immediately. Very strong. I hear a rumor has it that CAT will be running the CASE/Inveco engines to make the next tier level. Too bad for CASE cause they will be handing over a huge advantage that they currently have over CAT. Hyd. The CASE had high flow and the CAT did not so I could not run a comparison. CASE has since released their high pressure system which would I would like to run as well. Guess that will have to wait. However the CAT hated to lift, seldom had enough lift capacity to clear a pile. I tried to lift a pallet of landscape blocks that I have moved numerous times with my CASE 440 with VTS and the CAT was not even close to wanting to lift it. The bucket breakout on the CASE is very powerful. With a bucket that was at least 25% larger, the CASE never was not able to break the bucket free. The CAT with the smaller bucket was clearly not as strong. Ride comfort: Here is the biggest advantage of the CAT. The torsion system they use on the CTL is excellent. Much like the VTS I am used to. Much quieter and smoother than a typical CTL as is the CASE. Dont know if it will hold up and how much upkeep there is to it but damm it is sweet. I noticed no issued when grading with it. Serviceability: Both machines are nearly identical in my view. All filters are easily accessible. Cleaning the radiator on the CAT is easy as long as the debris collects between the Condenser and the radiator. Cleaning the radiator on the CASE is a train wreck. It requires a 14mm wrench (I think that is the size) to remove to bolts from the side of the radiator than you pull the radiator back. Problem is unless you have pencil like arms you are not getting enough room to brush off the radiator. Not to mention you might want a Nomex suit cause your arm pit will be resting on top of the radiator to clean it. Great if you doing upkeep in your shop bad if your in the field mulching or mowing and you need to keep moving. CASE did a great job over all on their new machine, but they clearly were not thinking or did not speak to operators when designing the radiator to be accessible on these new machines. Overall thoughts. Both machines had their moments of brilliance and well not so bright moments. The HVAC in the CASE is excellent I cant recall ever being in a skid steer with as strong an AC unit and blower as this one. The whole cab is very nice and superior to the CAT overall in my view. I know CAT is considered the bench mark in the industry with their C series cab but if CASE would lose the buttons and make the dash/info center simpler to multifunction it would be no contest, as it is CASE got this cab very right and in my view its better than the CAT. CAT needs to stop making skid steer buckets. I cant believe that a machine this size has a bucket sized about what I used to run on an 1840. It was like taking a hand shovel of dirt at a time (bucket was a 78' low pro). As far as production, I think the CASE was stronger in the areas that result in more dirt moved in a day. It had a stronger powerplant, much stronger lift and breakout than did the CAT. As far as ride comfort its clearly in favor of the CAT. They did a great job combining the ride of an MTL with the durability of a CTL. The CASE attributes better fit my operation but the CAT is not so far off that I would not consider it (as has been the case with past CAT machines I have demoed). I will await to see what the trade numbers are from both CAT and CASE and decide from there. __________________