I think the 943c (if made) would be a good selling track loader. I have a 943 and I love it. I'm currently using it to dig a pond and even though it's small it gets the job done. I would love to see the improvements Caterpillar would do to this loader. Tell me your thoughts!
I would buy a 943D tomorrow if they would make one again. It was a big mistake when they replaced the 43 with that pos 939.
Really I love them, I would post a picture of mine if I knew how.
Louis, take a look at this Thread Posting Pics
The 939 doesn't even come close. Our 943 is pushing 16000 hours and doing well. Too bad there's no work
I'd like to see a new 57M series of the 955L.! Aahhh,'tis nice to dream a little...
i heard from the cat salesman that we are renting our machines from here in sc, said the cats gonna stop making the 939 and the CTL 299 will replace it .......i dont know just what i heard:beatsme guess there isnt much market for a track loader that small when u can get a CTL that big and be able to run attachments on the skid
I ran one of the 299's and the 277's at a rock quarry and a asphalt plant an I absolutely loved them. They could easily out work a 939.
We have a 935c also and a 287. We ordered last week a 289, it should be in 6 weeks i love the new ctl. But our 935 will out dig it and out push it. Bolth machines have there place on the job. A 299 would never have a chance to compete with a 943, all they have to do is bring it back 943D.
Call me an old fogie, but I'd like to see a new version of the 955. I had a few of that model and absolutely loved them. Having a new version of the 955 would be like having another chance to buy a new Camaro or Chevelle big block from the late sixties!
True about the 943. But yeah I would like to see the New version of a 955 I have a 955k and it is awesome. It's wrecked plenty of houses and dug plenty of ponds. And it's still going strong, I wouldn't trade it for the world.
how can a 4 ton ctl out work a 10 ton trackloader? can a 299 get the power to the ground? a 939c/943 will, dont get me wrong ,i like the cat ssl/mtl/ctl line but i dont see them taking over from the trackloaders. or will they with steel tracks?
Some of them do have steel tracks. I'd perfer them to a 939.
how big of a bucket can a 299 run [in m3]??
like i said ....just what i heard , cause its just because they (cat) doesnt sell many small track loaders its more the 963/973 size , most people buy skids i guess....and just what i was told buy a salesman
I for one would love to see CAT bring back the 943 in any form. I had one as my first shovel and it was the best machine I have ever had. I would love one day to run my own 943 but unfortunately they are not used as much in the UK as they are in the US so getting business would be hard but who knows I may still do it.
I doubt that in pure dirt-hogging applications that even a 299C or TL250 will outwork a 939C -- the buckets are bigger on the full-size track loaders. That being said, the numbers of 90 HP crawlers sold is pretty low. They are expensive to maintain relative to a dozer, and in Europe and North America, where the lot sizes continue to shrink, I don't think that the market would support more than one-hundred a year... owning the market (973) is one thing, but splitting it between two manufacturers (605D, 943D) would probably not be on Cat's list of priorities. But that's just my take. Maybe the crazy engineers are working on a 943D as I type this.
This tells a story right here. T he ctl/mtl will never last like a real track loader. from what I see, these little machines are used up by the time they hit 4000 to 5000 hrs. They are fast and versatile, and use many attachments, but they ar ebuilt light and cheap, so they don't last. I bet the cost per hour is lower on a 943 than it is on a 287 too.
IMG_0198.JPG if that worked that's what my 43 looks like.
I saw at the IQ show that Liebherr is selliing the 614 with a quick coupler that takes attachments. I am not sure what it fits but it had a rockland root rake and a 4 in 1 bucket. I was told the 614 is what they were building for deere as the 605. It looked like a good tweener of a smaller rubber tire and the larger steel track loader.
You were told wrong... Deere builds the 605. Probably why its the only good track loader they sell.
I had the salesman send me te article for the loaders. Liebherr makes the 605, 655 and 755 as well as the 950 and 1050 for Deere. Starting in Jan 2010, Deere will start making the 605, 655 and 755. Good luck with the way the loader market has tanked. Here is the link. http://rermag.com/trends_analysis/supplyside/liebherr-deere-crawler-relationship/
What really would be nice is if they made the 43's again with the ability to run attachments like you can with the ctl's. Could you imagine a tiller or a bush hog attachments on a 43, I have had a few job I could have used something like that on.
I think a lot of the problem over here is that too many in the industry have forgotten what a tracked loader will do. Not too long ago I was arguing with two experienced (dozer) operators about what sideslope you could get a 963 on and they were out by nearly twenty degrees. They were both surpised when they saw for themselves. Put a Cat CTL or MTL on the same sideslope and they'll slow to a crawl. (We tried that as well). Don't know whther that goes for other makes? In the UK site agents call for an excavator for everything when a small dozer or tracked loader will often do a better job in less time. Over here until recently it was more usual to see a tracked loader with a 4-in-1 grading than a small dozer, now they stick a D5 or 6 or Komatsu 61/65 on long and wide tracks and Accugrade on the same work, and when they roll it after grading, the levels go all over as the tracks don't compact like the tracked loaders did. If it doesn't move with a 963 dancing on it, it ain't gonna move when you roll it. I've heard many arguments about whether a loader or excavator the same weight will load a truck the fastest, but try not to get drawn in as there are too many variables. By the way, A Happy New Year to you all, wherever you are.
I bought a n 89 943 LGP "Z" series three years ago and find it a very economical and a hard working machine. THe best part is no computers. I can repair almost everything on this machine and it only burns about 3 gallons an hour. I have both a 4n1 bucket and a dirt bucket. I cannot get the 4n1 cat bucket to dig as well as a cat gereral purpose bucket! At 40,000.00 for a very sound machine its hard to beat the value in todays market. For cat to mfg today this machine today, It would probally to be too close to the cost of a manufacturing a 953, This is what I hae been told happened in the earlier 90's.
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