Ctl for grading

[Wisentaner]

I am looking for a machine that will be used almost solely for grading, lots of rolling terrain grading. I have been in a T300 for a few days and could not stand it. The thing is like driving a brick. I had a T190 a few years back and it was ok could have had some more power. I currently have two deer 320's and need something with tracks. I need a machine that is really maneuverable and can push loose material well. I would be working in sandy light soil. Pilot controls would be a must as I can barely walk after 8 Hrs on foot controls anymore. I have seen a lot of cat 257's in similar applications and they seem to ride really smooth, but have not tried on yet. What would be your favorite machine in these conditions?

[stuvecorp]

This is what works for me. It's mainly sandy soil here. I tried the rigid track loader and did not like it where this has some 'give' so it floats more like the Cat/ASV style.

[Dirtman2007]

I'll say takeuchi like I always say, A TL150 ( now a TL250) skid steer is one of the best CTL out there in my opinion. It will push as much as a cat D3 will and yet you can pull it behind a 250 or 2500 work truck. Mine has a one yard bucket on it and had not problem rolling dirt over the back of it when pushing without stalling. The 100 HP motor also helps, being sandy the machine will definitely ride smoother as the taks will beat you to hell on solid ground.

[ccstrebe]

What you need is a Cat MTL!! http://www.cat.com/cda/layout?m=308428&x=7

[wanabe]

This is what works for me. It's mainly sandy soil here. I tried the rigid track loader and did not like it where this has some 'give' so it floats more like the Cat/ASV style.


Thats one nice looking 70XT! How do you like that cutting edge?

[stuvecorp]

Thats one nice looking 70XT! How do you like that cutting edge?

I have to be honest, I can't really tell much difference with the Rezloh(my other bucket is the same). But it does look cool.:) The 70 has 1003 hours now.

[NateV]

We have a Rezloh on our 60XT. It works good for what we use it for. Its easy to clean the street and get scoop up next to the curb.

[bobcat_ron]

A Takeuchi will beat you to death, they have more steel in the tracks unless you went to an aftermarket track, then the ride will be the same as the T300 you used.
A Cat 257 is a good choice, turn up the anti-stall and injection pump, but the tracks and rollers will wear faster if you get carried away.
The 247 is a better choice, lighter on the undercarriage and better balanced.

The ASV system is good, but it's bad, I am on the fence with it, I like it, but I hate it, but it has more ground contact, less weight/ground pressure, better traction, climbs like a mountain goat on smack, good for long travelling.
But quicker wearing on any rock bigger than your thumbs, tracks are expensive (use only ASV OEM) it's all about the nut behind the butt in the seat.

Cat/Deere/ Komatsu all use the same system of triple and dual flange front idlers/rollers that do give a smoother ride, but the rubber where the roller/idlers run on will degrade with high rock ingestion, that's where Takeuchi has everyone beat.

[tbi]

A Takeuchi will beat you to death, they have more steel in the tracks unless you went to an aftermarket track, then the ride will be the same as the T300 you used.
A Cat 257 is a good choice, turn up the anti-stall and injection pump, but the tracks and rollers will wear faster if you get carried away.
The 247 is a better choice, lighter on the undercarriage and better balanced.

The ASV system is good, but it's bad, I am on the fence with it, I like it, but I hate it, but it has more ground contact, less weight/ground pressure, better traction, climbs like a mountain goat on smack, good for long travelling.
But quicker wearing on any rock bigger than your thumbs, tracks are expensive (use only ASV OEM) it's all about the nut behind the butt in the seat.

Cat/Deere/ Komatsu all use the same system of triple and dual flange front idlers/rollers that do give a smoother ride, but the rubber where the roller/idlers run on will degrade with high rock ingestion, that's where Takeuchi has everyone beat.

Can you put a bucket bigger than 1/8cy on a Cat and still use it? They seem to really like small buckets on them. Why?

[bobcat_ron]

Can you put a bucket bigger than 1/8cy on a Cat and still use it? They seem to really like small buckets on them. Why?

My 247 will handle a 1 yard bucket, on flat ground, but a 257 will handle one better, but the 66 inch bucket i have is a .52 yard (half yard) so a .75-.85 yard bucket would be better.

And yes I have the proof that my Cat can handle it, just look for it in my YT vids.

[ksss]

CAT runs small buckets across the board. You could hook up to any bucket you want to, but CAT specs small buckets on all their machines. Why that is I could only guess. Better breakout performance, better ride/stability, better digging performance all come to mind, but what CAT's reason is I have no idea, you cant deny that their buckets are smaller.

[BIGBEN2004]

For allot of sandy material depending on what size machine you want I would recommend a Cat MTL. They are the best for sandy light duty digging and superior in fine grading.

[bobcat_ron]

For allot of sandy material depending on what size machine you want I would recommend a Cat MTL. They are the best for sandy light duty digging and superior in fine grading.

Amen to that.

[AWJ Services]

I am looking for a machine that will be used almost solely for grading, lots of rolling terrain grading. I have been in a T300 for a few days and could not stand it. The thing is like driving a brick. I had a T190 a few years back and it was ok could have had some more power. I currently have two deer 320's and need something with tracks. I need a machine that is really maneuverable and can push loose material well. I would be working in sandy light soil. Pilot controls would be a must as I can barely walk after 8 Hrs on foot controls anymore. I have seen a lot of cat 257's in similar applications and they seem to ride really smooth, but have not tried on yet. What would be your favorite machine in these conditions?

Several years back work here was thick as thieves.Contractors where getting more and more specialized and buying equipment that was dedicated to just one job and would do it better than anything else.There was endless work and the equipment stayed rolling.Over these busy years the contractors strayed far from there roots of "jack of all jobs" and became limited in there scope of work that they where able to perform.
Fast forward to today and these same contractors are in dire financial conditions due to the fact that there endless supply of work for there one faceted machines is gone.

So why would someone not buy the most versatile machine on the market rather than a one trick pony which is what the Cat/ASV is.

[SiteSolutions]

Wasn't somebody on here recently saying a Cat system had come apart just demoing it, doing a bunch of side-sloping? Every manufacturer I've seen seems to warn about this, that is, they all tend to warn you not to side-slope with the machine.

No doubt grading sandy material with a Cat MTL would work well but just trying to answer the whole question... original question involved a lot of slope work.

That said, I wouldn't know who to say has the best side-slope machine. My late '06 T-190 does fair but can be hard to turn on a hillside. I have seen some machine design lately that raises the front idler a tiny bit in relation to the other wheels to make for easier turning. Can't recall if this was on Deere, Bobcat, or???

Whoever makes a good-un, I would say that would be important to this conversation.

[bobcat_ron]

Side hill work is not recommended even for rubber tired skids, too sharp of an incline and it can run a bead off the rim, even a dozer will have excessive wear on one side of the rollers and track chains, you only side hill if absolutely necessary.

I am one of those nuts that does everything that a nut shouldn't do with a CTL/MTL, I run across roads and driveways while loading trucks, I run a jackhammer and break out walls and floors, I drive over river rock and do final grading, I will do everything I have to because the tracks give me more power, less ground pressure, smoother ride more traction, more stability and no flat tires.
You just need to know how to use the machine and it's weakness to your advantage, I've been on a few farm owned skidsteers and I still make multi point turns on pavement because I think I am running a CTL, and doing a quick 180 turn will wear the tracks.

When I had my Bobcat T190 and Cat 247 for the first 150 hours, I made myself believe the tracks were made of cheese, so when I got into situations where I wanted to make quick turns, I learned not to because I didn't want to replace my tracks before 500 hours, now my 247's tracks are at 480 hours and they are 30% surface worn, all because of how I learned to operate the machine.

[SiteSolutions]

Ron,

I agree with you. Operator is probably the #1 factor in what these machines can do and how long they last doing it. I try to baby my tracks as well. 1350+ hours on original set and still going.

That said, does anyone know of any ctl/mtl that is better suited to side slope work? I know everybody loves to hate on Deere (including me... I find them miserable to operate and hard to operate smoothly unless you are full throttle) but does their front idler arrangement make them less prone to throwing a track? I don't even know who has what on idlers. I've only thrown a track on my T-190 when I failed to properly tension them, and not on a hill either... just trying to turn on rough solid stone or broken concrete with loose tracks.

[bobcat_ron]

Ron,

I agree with you. Operator is probably the #1 factor in what these machines can do and how long they last doing it. I try to baby my tracks as well. 1350+ hours on original set and still going.

That said, does anyone know of any ctl/mtl that is better suited to side slope work? I know everybody loves to hate on Deere (including me... I find them miserable to operate and hard to operate smoothly unless you are full throttle) but does their front idler arrangement make them less prone to throwing a track? I don't even know who has what on idlers. I've only thrown a track on my T-190 when I failed to properly tension them, and not on a hill either... just trying to turn on rough solid stone or broken concrete with loose tracks.

Any CTL with a single flange front and rear idler, unless they use a triple flanged front idler or triple flanged rollers.

I have learned even with the excavators and dozers, when you need to make a turn, turn in reverse and back down as you make the turn, you are pulling the weight of the machine down, rather than pushing it up hill while turning.

[Ausman]

Well for those doomsday predictors on ASV tracks i can report that as of this morning my RC50 has 3800 hrs on it, I have not replaced a roller, and my secod set of tracks are 30% worn the first set ran 2700hrs and are still suitable to run longer, i put them on now in rock.

It is all about how you operate it and servicein it regularls and i mean servicing the whole machine not just an oil change.

[minimax]

I have a deere ct322 and it sticks like glue to slopes.I have side hilled 45 dergees and had no probs.My tracks still look like new at 440 hrs.I want to see a cat/ASV run a slope like this!
159299
minimax

[Ausman]

We have absolutely no flat country here

[BIGBEN2004]

I have a deere ct322 and it sticks like glue to slopes.I have side hilled 45 dergees and had no probs.My tracks still look like new at 440 hrs.I want to see a cat/ASV run a slope like this!
159299
minimax

You have to worry about popping a track off but I have had a Cat 267 on slopes like that allot when the tracks are still new but once they get some wear on them they tend to pop tracks on steep slopes.

[Catbloke]

Cat 299c all the way!! There's only one word to describe this machine "SMOOTH". Got over 500hrs on mine now without a glitch. Tracks are holding up fine and I estimate I'll get around 1500-1700 hrs on them. The only thing I would change is the is the air inlet for the air-conditioning as it gets dirty quick. I would highly recommend this to any potential buyer as this is a highly productive machine which is also a blast to operate. :cool2: