I'm thinking about buying a used late model Cat 287 C for mowing maybe some mulching etc. How is the reliability of these? What about maintenance? Undercarriage?
The upkeep is high on the undercarriage, while its the same undercarriage as used by ASV/Terex, they don't seem to last as long on the CATs likely due to more weight. The ASV system was built to accomondate the ASV chassis, CAT bolted/wielded the ASV undercarriage to a heavier and differently weighted CAT chassis. Personally I would pass but there are guys on here that will disagree with me. Check the history of sales on this model on Iron Planet and see what they go for.
x2. I cannot comment on the undercarraige as I have never even ran one, but KSSS has been on here plenty and from what I've seen and heard from many people the MTL undercarraige is high maintenance. Its hit or miss and depends on who you talk to but at the end of the day it seems the CTL undercarraige is much more universally reliable. If you were just mowing all day the MTL would be fine but being in the woods it may not hold up for mulching. The rest of the machine is very nice though. Make sure you see about any updates for the EH controls to help with their responsiveness.