Still kicking the tires on a mini track loader

[Smilingreen]

My son-in-law has been bringing home different track loaders this fall. The first one he brought home was a CAT 289D3 with high flow. It had a mulching head on it. Well, in 48 hours that weekend, I put 19 hours on it cleaning up some of my woods paths and some of the forest floor. The 289D3 had a 74.4 HP turbo diesel on it. I liked it. Fuel consumption wasn't bad, the operator cab was surprisingly quiet, even while mulching 8" diameter trees.

This weekend, he brought home a Cat 299D3 track loader and a CAT 307.5 excavator. Ran both all this weekend moving dirt, rocks, cleaning up ditch lines and even dug a test pilot hole for possibly an additional pond here on the farm. Had very nice clay down to 5', which I ran into limestone @ 5'. The CAT 299D3 was a beast of a machine. 110 HP CAT turbo diesel. It seemed to be a lot thirstier than the 289D3 is. Moving rock and dirt piles that have been sitting and settling in a fence row for 8 years was no challenge for the 299D3. Childs play.

The CAT 307.5 excavator has a 57.7 HP CAT turbo diesel in it. We had a 36" tooth bucket on it and it did a fairly good job of digging through our hardpan clay and limestone. I have ran a few CAT 308 excavators before and the reduction of HP in the 307.5 was hardly noticeable.

So, in running different CAT equipment around the farm, I am starting to lean towards the CAT 289D3. It doesn't require DEF, it is fairly fuel efficient and has enough power to handle a High Flow brush cutter, a grapple, has heat and air, sound deadening cab and it weighs in at 10,700lbs. I can easily pull that around on a trailer with my F250 gasser.

I have rented many different brands of track loaders through the years, from Kubota, John Deere, Case and ASV. All of them are good machines, but the CAT has caught my attention. I won't be buying new. I will be shopping for machines with 2k to 3k hours on them, that have been well maintained. That machine should outlast me.


289D3 with mulching head


My 11 year old grand daughter running the 299D3.


307.5 excavator parked at the house for lunch break.

 

[bordercollie]

I use a 262D3 wheeled skid steer here on the farm and it's great. The back up camera has me spoiled though. I use it with hyd auger to "dig" post holes, drive T posts with the hyd post driver and of course load the feed wagons in the cold months with the bucket. Cat equipment = good stuff .
Our feed is so dusty that we added one of the optional dust" turbines" on the air intake. It saves filters big time. The biggest pain are the magnetic safety switches. It won't start if one goes bad. Yea..... you can break a door if one is disabled and then, if the door is opened and the joy sticks are touched.. don't ask how i know..... by the way... door glass is discounted on the e bay place... and fit perfectly.

 

[Smilingreen]

Seeing that I will be using a brush cutter with it, I am getting one with a Polycarbonate door. All of the Mini track loaders I have used that have a enclosed cab all have had polycarbonate doors. I know they can scratch, but I would rather have a scratch than a lap full of safety glass when the door gets popped a good one with flying debris.

 

[Smilingreen]

Welp, I finally went and done it. Went down to my semi-local CAT dealership and looked at a 2021 Cat 289D3XPS with 900 hours on it. Damn thing looked so good and ran so fine, I just had to buy it.



Pulled the trigger on a new brush cutter, too. Placing the order for it this morning. Manufacturing is 4-5 weeks out. Perfect timing for starting spring cleanup around the farm.

Skid Steer Brush Cutter | The Mega Mower X

Clear and mulch the heaviest brush, grass, and trees with the Mega Mower X Industrial Open Front Brush Cutter. This design levels forests and overgrowth, allowing you to reclaim what once was. The industrial deck is reinforced for maximum cutting potential and long-term durability. Open deck...

quickattach.com

 

[Doc]

NICE!!!!!!

 

[bordercollie]

Congratulations !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! . I hope it has the seat warmer.It really soothes the aching back. All I need is a pillow for my head and I could just stay in there if Dixie would fit. My 262D3 just turned over to 905 hours today. Your gonna love it !!

 

[bordercollie]

Does it already have the forestry kit to keep debris out of the open areas? The one my bil bought didn't. While we don't use it for that purpose, I do use it in a lot of dust and linty feed so we put our own "kit on it. It's basically rubber strips mounted all around the seams where it lifts. My old skid steer didn't have it and it would be buckets of fire hazard in the compartment when servicing. A real eye opener and shop vac stopper upper. Not now though.. with the rubber strips on this one now.

 

[Smilingreen]

Does it already have the forestry kit to keep debris out of the open areas? The one my bil bought didn't. While we don't use it for that purpose, I do use it in a lot of dust and linty feed so we put our own "kit on it. It's basically rubber strips mounted all around the seams where it lifts. My old skid steer didn't have it and it would be buckets of fire hazard in the compartment when servicing. A real eye opener and shop vac stopper upper. Not now though.. with the rubber strips on this one now.

It doesn't have it on it now, but that was part of the deal when I bought it. The dealership is going to install the forestry kit. It already has the Lexan door and lexan windows. I don't know if it has a seat warmer or not on it. It does have the adjustable air suspension seat on it. It will get a good workout this year, when it dries up this spring. I have about 12 acres of forestry floor to clean up, cut and grind standing dead timber and I have a couple of creeks that run through the woods that I am going to straighten out and pull a grade on the banks. I have a small pond I need to rework, too. I am quite sure I will find other uses for it after I am done with those projects. Then, it will be used for maintenance around the farm. I already have a buyer for my 5055D Deere tractor and implements.

 

[Smilingreen]

Congratulations !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! . I hope it has the seat warmer.It really soothes the aching back. All I need is a pillow for my head and I could just stay in there if Dixie would fit. My 262D3 just turned over to 905 hours today. Your gonna love it !!

Is yours a Skid Steer or a Compact Track Loader?

 

[bordercollie]

It's a 4 wheeled Skid steer . I think your seat will be heated if it's air suspension . Mine does and it makes a big difference in comfort. We started out with a Case 1840 . It will turn on a dime and I still use it for detailed stuff and for cleaning the tromped on hay off of our concrete feed pads. It's open air and loud as can be. You'd think it had no muffler. The Case has the short reach, unlike the long reach Cat skid steer. Since I wasn't use to those ears sticking out the first time I used the Cat years ago < (the first Cat think it was a 242?) , I knocked a hole in the narrow plywood bin wall when I turned. Seldom a dull moment around here but that was a decade ago with the first Cat. I'm cautious about that even now.....But I did knock the heck out of our pecan tree when I was getting limbs gathered up after a storm.
I plan on pressure washing the 262 D3 this week so will try to post a picture of it if I get it done. One day here on the farm loading feed and it looks awful .

 

[bordercollie]

Here's a picture of the unwashed 262 D3 that I use here on the farm. It has the 2 speed selector but I seldom use that. If the image is enlarged, the anti-debris belting we added can be seen.

 

[Smilingreen]

Here's a picture of the unwashed 262 D3 that I use here on the farm. It has the 2 speed selector but I seldom use that. If the image is enlarged, the anti-debris belting we added can be seen.

Nice looking rig! I see the belting attached all down the side.

Today, I pulled the trigger on the debris kits and got a nice price sticker shock from the dealer. $7k. That includes these 4 kits:

KIT, DEBRIS .......................................... This kit provides additional components for customers in debris intensive applications that restrict debris and other material from entering the engine compartment and the lower machine frame. Provided are various seals and covers that are designed to cover the openings that exist between the frame/body/cab of the machine as well as a fuel strainer, a rubber front debris deflector, and an exhaust stack cover.

KIT, GUARDING ........................................ This kit provides additional guarding for customers in demanding applications where extra safeguarding is required. This kit provides guarding for the front work lights, rear work lights, auxiliary hydraulic connections, work tool electrical harness connection and work tool coupler area.

KIT, TURBO DEBRIS GUARD .............................. This kit contains steel mesh guards that are designed to cover the exhaust manifold and turbocharger to assist in deterring the collection of material on these components. It is recommended that the turbo guard kit be used in conjunction with the debris kit.

KIT, ENG AIR INTAKE, PRECLEANER ......................... Turbine-type precleaner for the engine air filter. For use in high dust/debris applications.

He said it takes about 13 hours to install all of the kits. I have acres of Eastern Red Cedar in my woods. If you know anything about cedar, the inner red wood turns rock hard when they die. Long branches laying on the ground become rock hard javelins when hit with a cutter. That is why I want full guards on the machine. I would imagine that new brush cutter is going to be throwing debris absolutely every where.

I know when I ran the mulcher through the woods last fall, it shot debris and dust everywhere, in some cases, about 250 foot in front of the mulcher. I had to stop a few times and let the dust clouds disperse so I could see what I was doing. That machine had all 4 kits on it. The last thing I need is for my new machine to catch on fire back in the woods from debris with no close source of water.

 

[bordercollie]

You're going to have a tank ! We did buy the Precleaner and if I remember it was $800 for that little thing and we installed it ourselves. The bad thing about the precleaner is that you can't lift the radiator screen without removing it's cap. That 's easy enough but just something else to do since it's a snug fit. It does help tremendously with the dust though. I would ask that the hoses all be tightened or check them. Our 242 had a loose air hose behind the turbo which was impossible to visually see and hard to reach. I didn't notice it therefore. Then I did notice the machine started smoking.... too late, and the deed was done....
One thing that I couldn't understand was that the air intake on that Cat, for it was right along side the lower rear wheel... the dustiest place in the world for such a thing !

 

[Smilingreen]

You're going to have a tank ! We did buy the Precleaner and if I remember it was $800 for that little thing and we installed it ourselves. The bad thing about the precleaner is that you can't lift the radiator screen without removing it's cap. That 's easy enough but just something else to do since it's a snug fit. It does help tremendously with the dust though. I would ask that the hoses all be tightened or check them. Our 242 had a loose air hose behind the turbo which was impossible to visually see and hard to reach. I didn't notice it therefore. Then I did notice the machine started smoking.... too late, and the deed was done....
One thing that I couldn't understand was that the air intake on that Cat, for it was right along side the lower rear wheel... the dustiest place in the world for such a thing !

Guaranteed main and secondary filter sales!