Would like to hear from anyone who owns or has operated a Kubota SVL 95-2 CTL. Wondering how they compare with CAT 299D and Bobcat T870. Also interested to know opinions on undercarriage system and how it compares to Cat and Bobcat undercarriage as far as ride and reliability is concerned. Wondering if anyone has put some serious hours on their machine and how reliable the machine has been.
I currently own a 95-2, it has 144 hrs currently and I've had zero problems with it so far. I haven't run the cat, and only very briefly the t870 which is a very nice machine as well, but I prefer the cab setup and hydraulic pilot controls over the electric in the bobcat (I don't know if they've changed that in the last two years or not). Power wise I think they're comparable, I know the Roc favors the 870 3525 vs 3200 for the 95 but I've never came anywhere close to feeling the back end get light, and in low speed can move pretty much anything you put in front of it. The Track system is great, pretty much the same as my 90's which have 1500 hrs on each roughly, and I've had no problems with them, getting new tracks is relatively cheap compared to others since they're used by a number of different machines. I also may be a little biased seeing as I own 2 90-2, 1 75-2, and the 95, but I love these machines and wouldn't buy anything else unless someone comes out with something drastically improved upon.
Hi Mikea9, I believe the Cat 299D has a suspended undercarriage system which is supposed to deliver a smoother ride and reduce wear and tear on the undercarriage and the T870 has the option for Roller Suspension undercarriage. I was wondering whether the SVL 95 has a suspended or rigid undercarriage and what you thought of the ride characteristics of the SVL 95. I believe the SVL 95 is running a new tread pattern on the tracks. Wondering if you have found much difference from the SVL 90. Do you find much difference between the SVL 90 & the SVL 95 in general operating characteristics ?
Cat 299D2 does have suspension
Has anyone experienced any problems or faults with their SVL 95 2 ? They haven't arrived in Australia yet but are due in February or March 2017 therefore can't get much information over here.
Does anyone own any SVL 95 2's out there ?
My good friend has one n on his second one sadly the 1st one he had burnt down n it was to much leaves n debris in the engine bay. Other than that he was very happy with it n bought him another kubota after his 1st one cought on fire a freak accident from central Missouri. cattle man live like there's no tomorrow.
Sad to hear about the fire in your friends machine. There doesn't seem to be too many people with SVL 95 2's out there judging by the lack of response to my thread.
I just bought a demo unit with 80 hrs on it yesterday. 1st impressions after logging 6 hrs behind a loftness g4 today: It has a nice big comfy cab but someone taller than me(5'9") might want to be able to extend the joysticks out a little more to be comfortable. Visibility is great for a big machine but it does have a longer tail than say a 299 or pt110. Engine noise is subdued but I thought the hydraulics a bit boisterous under foot... Maybe some noise insulation would help under the floor. Sliding door is a key factor for purchase but mine is heavy because of the special application kit for mulching(my 268b spent most of its life doorless leaving it exposed to the elements). The ride from the suspensionless undercarriage is smoother than I expected but not as plush as the cat's or asv's. The air ride seat I'm sure has something to do with that. Would like to have a few more physical gauges instead of just warning lights and buzzers. Fuel, def, and coolant temp are the only gauges. Overall it doesn't have the bells and whistles of the high-end units out there but it also cost 30k+ less than said units. I'll happily answer any questions as I put in more hrs and gain more experience with it. Oh and the heater works well It burned thru a tank of fuel for those 6 hrs of mulching which is comparable to my 268b
Thanks for your comments, I look forward to your further posts as you gain more experience with the machine. Its 37 degrees Celsius here today so not worried about the heater much but air conditioning would be nice.
I hired a SVL 90 a week or so ago. I thought it did a good enough job for what it was. The 3 main issues I found were (1) ground clearance at the rear of the machine (2) to many nooks and crannies for debris to get into and hard to clean out and (3) having to hold the hyflow switch on all day.
From what I can tell the SVL 90 and 95 are quite basic machines compared to Cat 299D and Bobcat T870. They don't have variable speed control, suspended under carriage of any description or engines gauges in the cab such as temperature and oil pressure to name a few.
Sorry haven't had a chance to run a new 95 SVL as of yet. I sure do like my 90-2 SVL it can move a lot of material in a short time. I was back filling with rock chips between two concrete walls. I could move 40 tons of chips and level everything in just under nine minutes. Even when I had to climb to the top of the ramp pushing chips 10' up it didn't take long. I use mine about half the time setting post and beams so it is great to have the door up and out of the way. Since I am in and out a lot and with the arms up in the air the others you can't open the door. Always felt I was going to get stuck inside in the Case skidloaders I had before. Taking the door off and worrying about it getting broken sitting around the job when I had the Case is now not a problem.
What type of machine do you normally run ?
I purchased the SVL 952S Only have 55 hrs on it now running a Loftness G2 carbide forestry mulcher. So far so good . Added a Pyle backup camera with 7" screen has back up guides works well ,attached camera with small zip ties to top of engine door. Better to break ties than destroy camera. Non air ride seat very comfortable no issues with solid undercarriage . AC/heat works great, controls UNDER left arm not easy but set and forget. Hydraulic quick attach good. Factory radio is good High flow difficult to set up at first ,but easy once I got my pea brain to understand. Cab is much quieter than my old Takeuchi TL 140
Sounds Good. Most people I speak with have tried to warn me about the solid undercarriage arrangement on the Kubota SVL 95s2 as opposed to the suspended undercarriages on the Cat 299D and Bobcat T870 so I'm still trying to make my mind up about this aspect of the Kubota
We run a 90 and the 95 ant much different! Emission DEF fluid is the biggest difference! Ours has 2000 hrs with the original undercarriage!! Cabs are spacey and track cleaning is the easiest I've ever cleaned!! Power is comparable to the others.. beside fluids and filters nothing repaired and I pound the @SS out of it... 5800#lift capacity is more then enough for us! Im looking at a 95 too but the DEF crap scares me IMO it's all more garbage to break
There was a couple svl 95-2 for sale on iron planet last week both with 10-15 hrs. Starting bid 56K. No one bid on them. Ive heard of def issues w Kubota tractors but not the CTL's. I don't like that stuff either. A friend just got one but doesn't have much time on it yet
I own a svl95 has about 330 hours on it nice and very strong machine. The only problem I am having and still having is with the def system. I am getting codes e9521 And e9602 And the machine reduces power and goes into a limp mode. The codes are def and scr system related claiming def fluid deteriorated etc. I have drained the def tank, cleaned , and replaced fluid. Still does the same thing. I am assuming one of the sensors has some of the flaked up def fluid on it causing the problem but really don't know. owners manual fix says to take it into the dealer and that's that. But I hate having to take my machine in and the down time and everything else affiliated with the dealer. Does anyone have any help or feedback on this?
Not that this helps you fix this yourself, but all these new machines have a five year warrantee on all of this emissions garbage, take it back to the dealer, have it fixed, this way they start a file of repairs to your machine so down the line if it is a reoccurring issue there's proof it was a problem right from the get go. I have a 90-2 that just had the DPF/muffler replaced since it was cracked and blowing soot into the engine compartment, dealer replaced it and I didn't pay a dime...
Ya I understand I just hate my dealership option here where I am located service department are terrible.
I have a 95 2s. 50 hrs on it. Love it. Painted it black from factory. Got the cab/ac all the bells and whistles. I put led lights on it and a back up camera. No issues so far. Heard of a guy around here with a steering issue, kept pulling to the left but dealer fixed it. I love the quick attach speed, so much faster than 90's. I don't like the new track pattern, tears up ground worse and we cannot seal off ground when we track something in because of the aggressive design. Power is great and ride is ok. Biggest thing Kubota has over others is the door. We have been locked out of a new cat when boom leaked up from machine sitting uneven and had to pull chassis up with a hoe and hold bucket down with another. Kubota doors you can jump in and out. Can't beat Kubota finacing either 0 down 0apr for 60 months. Or 65k for cab/ac/high flow.
Here's a pic, sorry forgot to include in last post.
I like the black scheme, stars.... Looks sharp! I now have over 400 hrs on my machine most of which are behind the loftness. My machine tracked to the right since the day I brought it home (really bad).I had multiple conversations with the service manager at my dealer but before we actually tore into it to straighten it out the right drive motor went out. It's currently being fixed and I'm using an identical loaner. I can't complain about the dealer service. On my machine there's a loud knocking coming from the front idlers when tracking and I figured that was just the way these machines are but the loaner doesn't have it all. I'm assuming and been told it's the idlers rattling around inside their housing where they slide... Any input? Overall I'm happy with the machine but if I were doing mulching year round I'd spend the extra for a 299/297 or asv.
Yeah, that machine looks pretty cool. I have a 90, but ran a 95 with a mulcher setup for a few days last week. Like stars, I didn't like the tracks. Man those suckers can tear up some ground!
We have one. It’s right at 200 hrs now and been flawless. Plenty power good hydraulics. Cab is noisy but not real bad. I don’t like the tracks either. They’re veey aggressive. If running on grass it’s hard not to tear it up. I would definitely get a different pattern when and if we replace them. If that’s possible. We ran next to a cat 279 I think it was. It had straight bar pattern on the tracks and it was much more gentle on turf
I just bought one too... looking forward to seeing how it compares to our 90?? Fullyloaded with all the goodies, order with high capacity bucket too.... 3yr warranty and apparently 5yr emission warranty too???
I bought a used SVL-75, with 2500 hrs on it, and I love it. I was lucky enough to find one that was the newest model year, before the emissions systems came into mandate. My attachment arsenal is growing rapidly, because the SVL series, and all CTLs like it, are so versatile. I guess it all comes down to preference. Will you go with a Caterpillar, an american founded company? Kubota, a Japanese one? Or Bobcat, another american company. Kubota, I think is a better engineered piece of equipment, because they thought about the operator, as well, anfd not just efficiency. Caterpillar, however, is still a very well engineered piece of equipment. I refuse to run bobcats, though.
Even the new SVL75 don’t have emission crap not enough HP. 100 HP and up
Au contrair, mon frere. All -2 SVL units are equipped with a DPF exhaust system. The 95-2 is also equipped with a DEF system. The 75-2 is under 75hp, and therefore only has DPF.
Well didn’t realize that. Always learning new stuff
Was mentioning all these DEF related issues on the 95s to my dealer! He has only had 10 come back with DEF related issues? 9 of 10 were operating errors, like putting fuel in the DEF tank (***) and long idle times! He says if your doing jobs where in and out of cab frequently is required, turn the revs up to 1/4 throttle seems to do it?? Again only what I'm told, but will elaborate once I get some hrs on ours
I have a 2017 SVL75-2 and it also has a knocking sound from the front idlers. My Dealer service Dept says its normal. Don't like it.
The knocking sound comes from the front idler slide box, as it wears in! Normal
I used to feel the same way, but when we demoed all of them but Deere, I chose the Bobcat. And after 5 years and almost 1500 hours, I'd still chose Bobcat.
Hysert- I recently threw a track on my SVL75, as in completely off, and now the lower idlers wont stop clicking, even after checking all the bearings, and were all good, might I add. Any suggestions?
I belive the sound you're hearing is the idler assembly moving up and down inside the channel it slides in or out of when you adjust the track. You probably need to remove the track and could probably weld some shims in there to tighten it up.
That's alittle strange? Not sure if you know?? But all the idlers are wet bearings, there is a Allen key boss port on them were you can add oil too. I did all mine once on the 90... they sounded clicky too... Tags your right the front idler slide box is wearing making the knocking sound he discribes
Hi all, just joined the forum. Hysert, any chance you have some more info on resolving issues from a long idle? Fortunately I didn't put fuel in the DEF tank (lols) I did however recently let my SVL 95-2s idle at low throttle to charge up the battery and now get the E9602 error code. The troubleshooting from the manual says my problem is "SCR system error, engine power is limited during operation." and the resolution is "To resolve this error code, use the E:95xx error solution." which of course is dominated by "Immediately contact your local dealer". Would a 1/4 throttle idle potentially resolve this? If I try this is there any chance I make the problem worse? Can I do serious damage to my machine by running it in this state? Looking forward to learning a few things!
Probably needs to go to dealer! I had the E9518 code last summer, dealer replaced SCR with update and 3 knock sensors all under warranty (5yr emissions) $4k in parts and labour, picked it up the next day washed and ready to go! My dealer is fantastic tho
Thanks for the response, a friend just recommended disconnecting the battery for a few days to reset the computer and then firing it up and giving it a high throttle (3/4) idle. I may try this before the dealer as I have had no problems with this machine to this point. I'll follow up with any updates. Thanks again...
Check for corrosion at the connectors to the ACU . Sometimes the DEF injector will leak and drip on the harness and corrode wires and connectors. Cleaning them will not last, replacement is the only lasting option. But as said before let the dealer do it, replacement. Clearing the codes and having the record of ot for your machines history( warranty stuff)
I really like my 95-2, the hydraulic pilot controls are lots better than any electric control I've ran. The overhead door and roomy cab and pilot controls was the main reason switching from bobcat. I've been locked in and out of cats and bobcats countless times with the door. The Kubota is noisier in the cab but I've finally started wearing headphones in all my machines to protect what little hearing I have left. After 44 years on skid steers I would have to say I like this machine better than any I've owned. I didn't try any new cats or other brands as the price difference made that a no go. I'm waiting on a new 97 to be delivered and this should be my last machine to retire on. As far as the def, I'll delete it if it starts causing to many problems. Having a great dealer with a mechanic that goes above to help is also an asset.