I was wondering which track machine you guys recomenend for my job. It would be used for land clearing with a mulcher/flail mower, grapple, stump grinder. I will also be doing grading work and would like to be able to dig small basements and pound. I have it narrowed fo to Takeuche TL250, Cat 299c, ASV PT100, Bobcat t320, Komatsu Ck30 or CK35, and Deere ct332. The machine will include cab with air, and high flow auxillery hydrolics.
a cat 299c with amicks upgrade will do everything you want it to do and more.
What is an amicks upgrade
I think so too catguy.
Our cat rep called today trying to bring out a few 299C rental units with 500 or less hours....very tempting I must say The price is certainly right, but I would really like to check out a Tak machine from all the good things I've herd. Cat support has been great to us and I wouldn't have a problem being loyal to someone who returns the favor.
Takeuchi I've heard nothin but good about all of the tak's but I was also told they dont have high flow hydraulic form the factory but in Florida there is someone in the Ft Myers area that can retro these machines, dont know the cost. I've never owned or had much experience with any of these units but I have also been checking to them in the past
What about a Supper Trak machine? It is 140hp Cat skid steer custom made to run a mulcher or other high demanding attachments.
Tak There is a high flow 250 now
Keep the info coming.
The Deere CT332 is a great machine, but for a mulching head you'd probably want an auxiliary cooler if you're doing that a lot. Would take a serious look at the 333D that should be available in the next couple weeks. Major changes to the cooling system plus a new sealed cab that would be great for that kind of work from what I'm hearing.
I have the Mustang MTL25 and I absolutely love it. It out pushes a good friend of mines Case all day long. I have operated all and I think you will be happy no matter what. Good luck!
Cat 9 series tracks Just my 2 cents about 9 series tracks on Cat. I run a land clearing business, specifically using high speed saws, shears, and a fecon head. Have run an assortment of machines. Right now, have a 297C, 287C and a 279C. I have had a lot, LOT of problems keeping the track on the 279. IT will not go where the other machines will. A side hit easily pops off the track and although it is not a huge deal putting it on, it is still down time. Very similar to problems I had with other brand machines getting knocked off by stumps. In fact, the 279 is going back to the dealer. With less than 60 hours on it, the track was off 6 different times in the same terrain and situations where the 287 was having no problems. I do believe the durability of the under carriage on the 9 series is very good but for tree clearing applications, the downtime is not good. It is the reason why the first Cat I had was strictly wheeled with steel tracks. Cat keeps saying there is not a problem, but I see other blogs that state otherwise. Plus the fact, when I talked to the dealer, there are over 80 back idlers on backorder. I do believe the 9 series is a good track system, just not for this type of application.
Tak = not too sure about, nobody uses them in my area. Cat + asv = poor undercarriage design, plastic idlers, the most tempermental and expensive u/c on the market. the most daily maintenance on it. Bobcat - good machine, fit and finish is not the same as the deere or cat, komatsu - nobody runs them here even though we have a big dealer. deere - have heard the aux. cooler is a good idea, have many folks state that this could be the nicest on the market. the undercarriage has idea's borrowed from it's dozer line. the u/c components last and dont fall off.
No, the Deere CTL undercarriage does not have "idea's borrowed from it's dozer line", unless Berco builds Deere's dozer undercariages too. The Deere CTL undercarriage is 100% Italian made (Berco) except for the Japanese Bridgestone tracks that are most likely built in Indonesia. It is purchased and bolted on to a Deere chassis. More misinformation spread to the masses. I guess if you shout it loud enough and long enough, it becomes gospel.
There have been 9 guys that have responded on this post. Some of them own one of these machines and others have "heard about" or "seen something", others troll the forum, and then post and run, but most likely, most have not owned all of the models you are looking at. The forums and some of the information can be good, but I would suggest that you digest the posted information with a grain of salt, visit as many of these machine's dealers that you can, ask lots of questions, ask for customer references, and then demand a demo so that you can physically see if the machines will do what you want it to do. Good luck.
I had planned on demo them before I would buy one. I was just tring to weed some out of the running to make it easier, so I don't have to go to all those dealers.
There is good, bad and ugly in all the different lines of skid steers out there. I stuck with Cat because in our area their service is expensive....but good. The hydraulics cooling on the 287c is good....haven't had heating isssues. And....since I do this full time, year around, the cab in the C series was a selling point. I ran a JD 332 for about 2 years....loved the Hydraulic power it had, very stable unit and very good visibility. It and a 322 we rented both had hydraulic heating issues and the cab was a joke. I heard that JD new cab is a great improvement. I also ran a ASV 100 (the older model) for about 2 years....mainly with a fecon mulcher. It had a great forestry package to protect machine.....wish Cat had one like it. Cab was rougher and visibility was not as good....but was easy to maintain and was a work horse. Good luck....there are lots of good machines out there, and I know none of them are perfect or fit the bill for every application.
While i made no mention to the manufacturer, ie" berco, itm, i-track, topy, trek, cat or anybody else or what country they claim to be made in,the John Deere compact track loaders use all steel rollers, idlers, sprockets and steel imbedded rubber tracks to make the undercarriage more robust and durable compared to competitive models on the market.All steel rollers are designed with the same technology as used on the 450 dozers. They utilize no maintenance lifetime metal face seals and journal bearings in all rollers and idlers to provide superior performance and durability under shock loading conditions. So you are correct Digdeep, there are no idea's borrowed, just the same technology used. My question is if anybody has ran the new EH controls in the deere? I have ran bobcats version in a t300 and coming from an excavator background i really do prefer this over both foot or hand controls.
I like my CAT 289 and we have had the rear idler replaced with the dual. We had a number of tracks off in the first 50 hrs with the single idler. In my opinion there is a problem with the single idler and I never had a problem with the ASV on my CAT 277b and 287B.. We have had one come off the rear in 100rs with the dual idler. The tracks stretch alot when they are new and there is a a bit of give in the HYD tensioning when running over say a 6" tree and turning. We are running the new recommended specs in regards to the track tension and with see how it does.. The fuel tank is smaller than the 287B however, the rest of the machine is great!:usa
Glad to hear the 289 is holding up. Ours was suposed to be here yesterday but the factory had a glitch in the computers, that is what they say at least. Now i have a shipping date of after the first of the year sometime lucky me.
Amen. It amazes me how many guys chime in (not calling anyone out here specifically) after renting a machine once or twice, watching one work across the road, or hearing from a buddy and then post what they think. The best advice was just given. Take time, investigate and put seat time into a demo of the brand you are leaning towards. I personally put nearly 3000 hours on 3 Bobcat K series large frame, high flow loaders (2 s300's and 1 s330) used about 50% of the time for mulching and they have been low maintenance. I also owned, briefly (200 hrs), a CAT 272c high flow. While they weren't tracked units, the motors and hydraulics in the CAT are the same as the CTL and MTLs that share the 90 hp machine. The CAT will run the attachments listed well. The Bobcats s330 runs the same ones well which leads me to think that the T320, (same motor but slightly more fuel and more psi) will run the mulcher better. I am not sure what was meant by "fit and finish" but Bobcat K series is finished out just fine compared to my C series CAT. yeah, cat has some neat upgrades like air seat but you can make the Bobcat cab just as sealed as the CAT c series with a little work. the controls are very similar if you go with Bobcat SJC. Either machine, in my opinion, would do what you want and used CATs are certainly a bargain.
I have a 140 and a 240 TAK love them both, use them in land clearing and mowing on slopes and have never jumped a track. the 140 has 2100 hrs, the 240 has 250hrs on it. my 287 cat has been nothing but nightmares on tracks 3 sets in 1400 hrs
I looked at the TAK and never had a chance to operate one! I was concerned with service support in Houston where I live. I had a CAT 287B for about 750 hrs. and the tracks would have made it to 1000 hrs. I had one side the was approaching the limit on the track adjustment. I started making most turns to the left and had evened out the wear. Never had any problems with a track departing however, had a on going problem with dirt clogging the A/C coils. :Banghead
I'll add that the Cat and ASV machines I've owned do ride better than the Tak machines. IMHO, they also perform better if you're clearing the mud out of a drained pond or lake (actually a dozer works best for that, but you gotta use what you have). However, I'm the sort of person who can tear up an anvil with a rubber hammer. I murdered my Bobcat machines. I never had one, or used one, where I didn't manage to 'tweak' the loader arms. I know, I know, everything has it's limit. However, I bid by the hour and stuff has to happen and happen in a hurry! That pretty well left me with Tak machines for both compact track loaders and compact excavators. I think their pilot controls are some of the best handling setups on any machine and You can't hardly tear up a Tak as long as you maintain them. A friend has a Kubota mini ex who runs on some jobs with me and I've been impressed with his machine. If they come out with a compact track loader I'd bet it will be first rate, but I'm one of those kind of guys who will never be the first guy on the block to have something that is new. Good luck!
i would either go with the cat or the Takeuche because i have herd good things about both of them
I've rented tracked bobcats, jcb's, and Tak's. There is no comparison when it comes to moving dirt. The Tak just does it better and easier. A question I have in my mind is the real difference, besides paint and decals, between the Tak, Gehl, and Mustang ctl's? I know Tak makes the Gehl and Mustang. I just wonder if there is any benefits to buying a Gehl or Mustang over the Tak.
The only diggerences that I know of is the paint and the way the doors on the cab open. Gehl opens out and Tak opens up. I don't know about Mustang, I think it is out also.