Was talking to the boss and a few other employees, and I have been told that Cat is designing a new undercarraige for the C series MTLs. Or has already designed it, they are calling it a 298C. The undercarraige is all steel and developed after the Cat dozer undercarraige? This is all hear say just wondering if anyone else has heard anything about this new machine? Was told yesterday that we are suppose to get one in about a month. And one of our problem child 277C's will go down the road.
I don't know anything about a 298 but I do know they are coming out with a 299C with steel rollers and a bridgestone rubber track. They will be out around July or August.
cant wait for them to come out out 287b is getting rdy to be traded in
it is not going to be called a 298, but you are VERY close
a 298,5c?...LOL sorry .Seriously,what will be the model?
279, 289, 299 CTL's with the traditional steel embedded rubber tracks, but they are using the a new Electronic Torque Control system that the K series Cat dozers are using, they will also have (optional??) ASV torsion axles and they will have more rubber on the ground than any other CTL out there with exception of ASV's. There is a member (on another certain forum that now has to be censored here) that posted a thread 2 weeks ago with the actual picture of the 299 and the thread was removed PDQ. Now there will be 3 options, CTL, MTL and the XDL, the Loegering VTS equipped package.
Thanks for the info Bobcat ron.So the unveil of those new MTL is for when?
The word is that they will start to be available in August. It was an interesting AND short thread since it got pulled so fast (CAT probably contacted the forum administrator). During that time there must have been almost 75 posts. The one that really caught my eye was from a guy who works for CAT as a rep that has been exposed to their new models during testing. He said that CAT was having trouble with the Bridgestone track life exceeding around 700 hours or so just like the testing data they get on the Bobcats and the other machines that use a mini-ex track. I guess we'll all see in August.
Uh-oh... what's been going on with the 277C?
Interesting, will this 299C be an oval or high track machine? Rubber and/or steel options? I have never been a fan of the ASV type undercarriage for my type of work.
They will be the high track, picture the Takeuchi undercarriage, big beefy frame with horizontal idler tensioner (inside) and the open sprocket of Deere/Komatsu's undercarriage and a big planetary sticking out of the sprockets, now paint it yellow and with a C series frame on top of it, can you see it?
Yep, think I need to demo one when they come out.
My guess is that Cat knows they have gotten a lot of crap over the years from people that have always said that Cat MTL's are weak and they can't even push the skin off rice pudding, so now they have built a machine that is powerful enough to castrate Deere and Bobcat's jimmies and send Takeuchi packing.
I always thought that the CAT MTLs pushed with the best of them. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how much better the new machines will push. I personnally don't think there will be a big difference, the 299C will have the same chassis as the 297 with the same engine, not as many contact points for distributing weight (a big reason the RC50 was able to push a T250 backwards in the snow), the same amount or near the same amount of track length on the ground as the 297C, etc. I figure the machine will only be about 700lbs heavier than the 297C so it won't have a huge weight advantage for pushing. I can't wait to see how they do in August.
I will definitely want to try one out, but I'm still hanging on to my beloved "sex on tracks" 247, but I know I will need a bigger in the future as some of these jobs are a little too big.
that is correct, didnt come from me
I got that info (and more) from a birdy on the "other" forum that just keeps getting it's name censored here. Can anyone else type that "other" forum in here and get it censored with ******* or did the mods just do it to me????
I agree with the comment that cat needed to step up the undercariage systems. I went from loving al my cat track machine to moving over to the takeuchi. Now I'm interested like the rest of you to try out the new cat. I am willing to bet that even if its comparable in the field, it will be a boat load more money. cat seems to think they can charge an arm and a leg for everything.
I heard that the 279C was going to be in the high $50K range, the 289C in the low $60K range, and the 299C in the high $60K range. that's alot of jing$$$$.
A new 297 with all the goodies goes for $82,000 here, so I expect the 299 to top $90,000 at least.
Ouch!!!!!
Yup, we get bent over here all the time, lucky I bought my 247 when our dollar was better than the US dollar, saved me $3000!!!!
I dont know Ron, there are only 2 other forums I have looked at in the past, ACMOC and ACME both seem more into the older machines, which I have nothing against, so maybe there is another I haven't found yet
other forum? the cat sounds good i reckon, may have to get one out and play. what is the other forum bobcatron, atlasbob? and why is it being removed? (insert favorite conspiracy theory here) :naughty :stirthepot beware the men in black!
I have a feeling you're right about being close to $90,000 only because Cat thinks they are gods gift to earth. when you think about it, they should be cheaper since there wont be all those stupid little parts in the undercariage. Hey bobcatron have you ever had any problems with your pilot controls starting to react a little slow. we have that problem on all our 287Bs and we constantly sending them in for service. they're fixed for about a day and than they suck again.
Nope, no issues, I like them better than the Cat hoes I run, these don't hiss when you move them around. The only thing that really bugged me is my arms are getting chaffed on the arm rests, so my mom is going to make a washable padding that is velcroed around the arm rests to give my arms more cushion with out having to wear long sleeves.
About the only good thing I can say about our 297 is the undercarriage, except it feels like you're on a rocking horse when loading trucks. But anything is an improvement over that crap that was on our 287B. Oh, and I also like the "dragline" style throttle, kinda gives me that vintage, nostalgia feeling. As for the pilot controls, ours has unbelievable lag time. Have to be really careful when trying to do fine work. I'm going to have to start carrying a bag of quikcrete with me to patch the sidewalks and curbs I've chipped. Or else start shoveling more.:cussing
You will love the C series cab's comfort. I'm a big guy and have plenty of room, love the controls compared to Bobcat sticks, and the XM radio is wonderful. I painted half my moonroof black and put a window shade in the back and I'm in my little, cool cave. Aside from some issues with dust that Holt is addressing for me, I love the air ride seat in these machines. I imagine the CTL version will be a heck of a productive machine.
pushcat knows what I'm talking about. sometimes I'll slow down from full speed and want to turn. the machine goes another 10' before it turns. I hear you on the quickrock. my Takeuchi's controls are a night and day improvement.
Do any of you guys do any forestry work, say mulching, lot clearing that sort of stuff? If so I was wandering what you guys are getting an hour or per acre to do that work. Want to try to start getting jobs related to this and I don't want to screw myself out of money or over price.
You guys are that are having slow reacting pilot hydraulics need to slap the techs at your dealers. There is has been a service letter on that problem for awhile now. Easy fix, resolver block needs to be changed.
Ours has been in for warranty work 3 times in the last 9 months. Comes back worse every time. Can't seem to replicate the problems in a 70 degree heated shop with a concrete floor.
Carter, Do you know what the temp should be at the AC vents on C series machines? My machine, among its other problems, has stopped with the ice cold A/C and I wanted to test the temp before the techs get here Monday.
Are you keeping the outer and inner filters clean? Mine wasn't cold enough last night when I tested it, but the inner filter was plugged.
30* drop from ambient temp. if it's 100* outside then you should have 70* out of the vent. Pushcat, what do they do when you take it in? That is a fairly simple problem to t/s.
At the risk of getting a little further off the original topic.....which I expect will re-surface when more about this machine is known; How big of a deal is it to make the bucket crowd not so sensitive?. My 226BII is real snappy on the bucket response when going to tip under load....it fairly jerks down and I want to talk to my dealer about while under warranty. Its very on/off which is not like my 3 previous Cats.
it's probablly not right as you might have guessed. I can't remember if that is the pilot valve sticking or something else, not something that is adjustable though.
does anyone here own a Cat 299c??