Cat 287

[ikold]

Cat tracks

Not sure if this topic has been covered, did a search and could not find anything.

We have a 277b Cat and it needs new tracks. Dealer wants close to 6k for new tracks. What are my options?

Thanks

 

[Stick Pro]

Have to put a new set of tracks on my 287b we don't want to pat the cost of a new set, so we are concerding tradeing it in on a 289. The apraising guy was out here today looking at our tractor. He mentioned there is a undercaraige that u can bolt up on your b model that will make it a ctl. He is suposed to get me some more info on it I will keep u informed.

 

[catmtl]

MTL track can be temprimental in certin conditions. 3-pt turns will increase life and proper tension is a must, check monthly . I have seen tracks run 600hrs and up to 1500hrs. 6k is about the $ for a replacment set on the larger machines, check with your local dealer for national discount programs. not all dealers are on the programs but many are.

I have no seen a retro kit from MTL to CTL, if you kow of something I would like to see more info. There is a retro for the 247/257 to convert to the B2, new motors, frames, rollers and tracks but the cost is about 16K

 

[ikold]

Cat 277b tracks

We decided to try the tracks from Titan Track. They were fully 2k less than the Cat tracks and that included freight. Hope they are good and that our decision does not come back to bite us in the butt.

Once we've got them mounted up I'll give a review.

 

[Tigerotor77W]

There is no kit that takes a MTL UC and swaps it for that of a CTL. He's referring to VTS, which replaces a SSL with a CTL UC.

 

[KSSS]

There is no kit that takes a MTL UC and swaps it for that of a CTL. He's referring to VTS, which replaces a SSL with a CTL UC.

You right Tigerotor but perhaps that would be a good idea. swap out the MTL for a CTL undercarriage. That would be a great project for Master's thesis.:drinkup

 

[Bobcat s330]

I will agree that the cat mtl by far has the nicest ride but you will be crying your eyes out later once that machine hits 700-800 hours. I have seen plenty people trade these machines in because there undercarragie cant handle the things there trying to do it with. Thats why a lot of people go with the rigid undercarrage it will hold up a lot better. The windows will rattle on any ctl machine if your riding on asphalt but i have other machines so im not riding my ctl on pavement that much. On any 2008 and up bobcat ctl they new put windows guards i guess you would call them on the outside windows it helps plenty when riding on pavement. Also i give caterpillar a chance every time im ready to buy a new skid steer they do not have more power then bobcats

 

[Digdeep]

I will agree that the cat mtl by far has the nicest ride but you will be crying your eyes out later once that machine hits 700-800 hours. I have seen plenty people trade these machines in because there undercarragie cant handle the things there trying to do it with. Thats why a lot of people go with the rigid undercarrage it will hold up a lot better. The windows will rattle on any ctl machine if your riding on asphalt but i have other machines so im not riding my ctl on pavement that much. On any 2008 and up bobcat ctl they new put windows guards i guess you would call them on the outside windows it helps plenty when riding on pavement. Also i give caterpillar a chance every time im ready to buy a new skid steer they do not have more power then bobcats

I have over 2000hrs on my ASV undercarriage and I'm far better off than most of the customers I sold Bobcats to regarding undercarriage costs.

 

[Bobcat s330]

I have over 2000hrs on my ASV undercarriage and I'm far better off than most of the customers I sold Bobcats to regarding undercarriage costs.

2000 hrs i dont know what kind of work you do but you should sign that machine up for some type of award because your the only person i know that even has a mtl with that many hours :beatsme.. But on a good note when i traded in my old t190 with 1700 hours I only had to change one sprocket and it was under warrenty other then that no problems

 

[Digdeep]

2000 hrs i dont know what kind of work you do but you should sign that machine up for some type of award because your the only person i know that even has a mtl with that many hours :beatsme.. But on a good note when i traded in my old t190 with 1700 hours I only had to change one sprocket and it was under warrenty other then that no problems

First off, I don't own a CAT...I own an ASV, but I'm sure you must know of more than just me. You said earlier that you've seen "plenty" of people trade their MTLs in. I know the odds are low, but I'm sure someone in your neck of the woods has to have reached 2000hrs on their machine. You should call Milton CAT for a reference. Maybe I'm really lucky, or just good. Or maybe the undercarriage will last plenty long if a guy operates it the way it should be operated, maintains it the way it should be, etc. ASV was in business for over 25 years making these undercarriages before Terex bought them for almost a half a billion dollars. I'm sure something must be working right. If not, that's a whole lot of 800-900 hour undercarriages in the garbage.

I personally sold over 200 Bobcat tracked machines as a former salesman and your blanket statement of "Thats why a lot of people go with the rigid undercarrage it will hold up a lot better." is a blind one because it simply isn't true. I have seen Bobcat undercarriages last longer than CAT undercarriages and I've seen just the opposite take place. See my comment above regarding operation, preventive maintenance, etc. You've been reading too many marketing materials, spec sheets and listening to too many young eager salesmen spewing Bobcat talking points.

I remember going to all those "Bobcat Bootcamps" over the years and wondering how what they preached could be so different to what I really saw out in the "real world". Well after about 7 of them it dawned on me that maybe they didn't spend enough time out in the market instead of in a office. Ultimately that is why I own a RC50 and a S220. Don't drink the Kool Aid.:drinkup

 

[Bobcat s330]

First off, I don't own a CAT...I own an ASV, but I'm sure you must know of more than just me. You said earlier that you've seen "plenty" of people trade their MTLs in. I know the odds are low, but I'm sure someone in your neck of the woods has to have reached 2000hrs on their machine. You should call Milton CAT for a reference. Maybe I'm really lucky, or just good. Or maybe the undercarriage will last plenty long if a guy operates it the way it should be operated, maintains it the way it should be, etc. ASV was in business for over 25 years making these undercarriages before Terex bought them for almost a half a billion dollars. I'm sure something must be working right. If not, that's a whole lot of 800-900 hour undercarriages in the garbage.

I personally sold over 200 Bobcat tracked machines as a former salesman and your blanket statement of "Thats why a lot of people go with the rigid undercarrage it will hold up a lot better." is a blind one because it simply isn't true. I have seen Bobcat undercarriages last longer than CAT undercarriages and I've seen just the opposite take place. See my comment above regarding operation, preventive maintenance, etc. You've been reading too many marketing materials, spec sheets and listening to too many young eager salesmen spewing Bobcat talking points.

I remember going to all those "Bobcat Bootcamps" over the years and wondering how what they preached could be so different to what I really saw out in the "real world". Well after about 7 of them it dawned on me that maybe they didn't spend enough time out in the market instead of in a office. Ultimately that is why I own a RC50 and a S220. Don't drink the Kool Aid.:drinkup

Your right if you take care of your stuff the right way it will last i agree. Im glad you dont work for bobcat no more i can see why acutally, it just seems like you knock there equipment a lot but then again you still own one? What type of work do you do?

 

[Digdeep]

Your right if you take care of your stuff the right way it will last i agree. Im glad you dont work for bobcat no more i can see why acutally, it just seems like you knock there equipment a lot but then again you still own one? What type of work do you do?

I think I knock all OEMs equally. Nobody makes a perfect machine. Truth be told, I'm very partial to Bobcat; however, I don't spout out all the "talking points" like a lemming. Where they are good I make positive comments and where they are bad I make negative comments.

I'm a full time algebra teacher now (too many 15 hour days behind the windshield as a salesman) and I mostly sub contract in the summer to many of my former customers and I have some snow removal contracts in the winter.

 

[Bobcat s330]

I think I knock all OEMs equally. Nobody makes a perfect machine. Truth be told, I'm very partial to Bobcat; however, I don't spout out all the "talking points" like a lemming. Where they are good I make positive comments and where they are bad I make negative comments.

I'm a full time algebra teacher now (too many 15 hour days behind the windshield as a salesman) and I mostly sub contract in the summer to many of my former customers and I have some snow removal contracts in the winter.

dig deep as a former bobcat salesman what machine was your biggest competition selling against? And what good and bad things do you think bobcat has? Im curious you would know you sold them for 7 years?

 

[Digdeep]

dig deep as a former bobcat salesman what machine was your biggest competition selling against? And what good and bad things do you think bobcat has? Im curious you would know you sold them for 7 years?

I sold them for just over 8 years. I attended 7 annual “Bobcat Bootcamp” training sessions in AZ. At one point Case was probably the stiffest competition here in Wisconsin, but when CAT came out with skids that started to change. I still thought that Case made an overall “stronger” skid, but they couldn’t compete with CAT very well for some reason. I think it had something to do with the local CAT dealer and a slow decline at the dealer level for Case even though Case has a long history here in Wisconsin. You can still look around and see gobs of 1800 series machines along with many XT machines. John Deere used to also have some success up here with their “New Holland” machines, but the reliability issues on the 200 series killed that (not too mention the fact that they are loud, hard to get in and out of and the visibility stinks). Mustang and Gehl are still around in smatterings because of their Midwest connection

My intention was not to offend you by “trashing” Bobcat because I sold tons of them, and made good money doing it. My personal favorites were the 553, 753, 773, and the 863 and I was over the moon with the S300 when I saw it for the first time in 2001 before it was released. I still think that the S series are a mostly good machine, but it’s hard to say they make the best (even though I’m biased toward them) because I don’t think anyone does. They all have their strong points that stand out for some customers and their weak points for other customers. To be honest, I think the cabs could have been updated quite a few years back; I hated the hand throttle location and you mentioned the window rattling, but I think it was mostly little things that add up...poor transition to a joystick control (poor performing E/H), no hinges in the cooler/radiator/condenser, the need to remove the overflow bottle to get to the before mentioned items, battery location, big problems initially with the tracks, drive motors, bearings, fan belt springs, motor mounts (all on the track machines). I know they have worked many of these issues out, but it was inexcusable for me to go to these training sessions to listen to them bag on the others when they knew they had big problems.

 

[Bobcat s330]

Thats some good info digdeep we have had everyone one of those machines from the 553-743-753-763-773 all very good machines. We have good luck with bobcat machines the g series were nice and the k series are just a tad better. Hopefully the m series which looks real real nice will make some customers happy. I must say thou i have demoed everything out there and just seem to keep going back with bobcat. There easier to get in and out of the visibility is real good i like the cab the deluxe panel is easy to use and understand. Hopefully they got the pressurized cab down because that was an issue with dust in cabs.

 

[Digdeep]

Thats some good info digdeep we have had everyone one of those machines from the 553-743-753-763-773 all very good machines. We have good luck with bobcat machines the g series were nice and the k series are just a tad better. Hopefully the m series which looks real real nice will make some customers happy. I must say thou i have demoed everything out there and just seem to keep going back with bobcat. There easier to get in and out of the visibility is real good i like the cab the deluxe panel is easy to use and understand. Hopefully they got the pressurized cab down because that was an issue with dust in cabs.

Maybe bobcat is like a nice pair of boots...you have more expensive, even fancier pairs in the closet, but you just keep going back to what works best for you. :drinkup

I've heard more positve things said about the 743 over the years than compared to probably every other Bobcat skid...bullet proof.

 

[Dr. W]

Just traded a 287B for a 289C.

The 287 is great machine!

 

[petiewolf]

I have a 06 257B and yesterday it "ran away' meaning it revved up beyond redline and would not shut off until I cut the fuel line. I am not a happy CAT owner right now. The warranty is out, so it might become an anchor somewhere unless they do right by me.

 

[Bobcat s330]

I have a 06 257B and yesterday it "ran away' meaning it revved up beyond redline and would not shut off until I cut the fuel line. I am not a happy CAT owner right now. The warranty is out, so it might become an anchor somewhere unless they do right by me.

257b machines are nightmares!!!! good luck :usa

 

[petiewolf]

Where can I find other people with similar problems, or recall notices. I know of only one other person with the same machine and he lost a head gasket at 500 hrs. I have only about 550. At 1100 he has to replace the whole undercarriage. I love how the machine works but i am not ready to drop another big check to fix this one. Any ideas on a better machine?
thanks