299D vs TL12

[searcyfarms]

ok fellas lets hear it, I am fixing to rent a machine for 10 days for a land reclamation job, will be using a vail X series and machines will be hi flow, also a tree puller for the bigger stuff.

I sat in both machines that will be available for for that week - nothing else available with the polycarbonate door or high flow.

I liked the size of the cab on the Takeuchi and the taller roof for bouncing in the seat but to be honest I never really checked the seat out. DUH.............so when i sat in the CAT oh baby the seat caught my attention - I have air ride in my tractor and it felt similar. They rental guy at Cat said they put those in most all their rental machines.

I will need the AC running obviously for brush cutting/mulching. I wasnt able to start either of them it was pouring rain out so it was a quick look.

Could any of you provide your opinion on the quietness and dust proof of the cabs and then of course the seats/ride as I will be living in this thing for 10 days and i want to be comfortable.

Thanks in advance,
Robert

 

[Reuben Frazier]

CAT across the board, all 299’s come with air ride seats and the Tak will fill the cab with dust and dirt running a mulcher because the cabs are not sealed up worth a flip.Dirt work I’d say it’s a toss up but running a mulcher it’s a one sided fight.

 

[searcyfarms]

Thank you so much reuben, this is the kind of feedback I am looking for. The TL12 is older, pre V2/R2 so a little bit older cab setup so that was a concern.
Since this bid job will be around 70hours in 8 to 10 days you can see I am going to be living in it.

1) I know cat service is better response or swap me a machine if needed + Cat
2) I want to be CLEAN as possible, I dont expect perfect but the less inside the better.
3) I perfer the quieter machine also. ( not sure on that ) but presuming cab seals better Cat would win?
4) Comfort ( ride ) is a big concern.

I talked to the farmer since I met with the owner and the farmer is fine with brush cutting the smaller trees and pulling the larger ones. So I will not need the mulcher head I will be getting a HEAVY high flow Vail X series cutter mulcher. I also will be demoing a Prime Attachment cutter with the 412lb 4 blade center spindle.

 

[searcyfarms]

CAT across the board, all 299’s come with air ride seats and the Tak will fill the cab with dust and dirt running a mulcher because the cabs are not sealed up worth a flip.Dirt work I’d say it’s a toss up but running a mulcher it’s a one sided fight.

Thank you Reuben - didnt get the quote thingy on the first go

 

[Reuben Frazier]

You had better not scratch the CAT up one tiny bit or be prepared for some hellacious damage fee’s.... Even if it’s already scratched they will pop you for every one you add to it. If you think I’m joking your going to find out the hard way LOL,, Renting from CAT needs to be done with the anticipation of paying damage fee’s so you had better have that figured into the job.

 

[Mark13]

The Cat will be a quieter cab, likely a cleaner cab, controls are E/H so you'll likely have to mess with settings to find something you like. Being a rental the machine maintenance and debris buildup inside won't be a concern to you (just have a plan if the clearing debris in the belly pan/ behind the engine catches fire).

The older Tak will be a more basic and simple machine, controls are all pilot controls so no electronics or settings to adjust. The cab is much larger but likely will get dustier inside. The overhead door is nice for access but will rattle when open or closed.

Personally I'm a Tak guy but the Cat would suit your needs as well for the project.

 

[searcyfarms]

Hey Mark,

thank you, yes its around a 2011 machine and it was VERY dirty inside the cab when I looked at it and the seat was not very comfy, loved the larger cab size and seemed to sit up higher which i like vs the cat - I hope I get along ok with the Cat looks like i am going that route. partially due to logistics, support for service and backup machine if it goes down.

fingers crossed on all of it

 

[searcyfarms]

so after 4 days of running this 2020 w/1040 hours on it - 299D3 rental hi flow machine here is my synopsis. Running it hi flow on a Vail rotary mulcher head.

goods = air seat is good, a/c is cold, lights good for working at night, relatively quiet but dang the hydro motors whine!!! rides descent, cab pretty dust free.

bads = running on hilly ground wet pasture it lacks power running the mulcher, it must have some kind of power distribution control because it seems to vary power/speed when trying to turn or run up hill and if you pin the sticks to try to move it doesnt do anything but bog down even more, takes it a while to catch its breath even with the head free spinning and not engaging product. I am thinking the soft pasture ground and going up hill are just a lil much for it. Frustrating as it cuts production down tremendously, fought it all day today. Didnt notice it as much the first two days before the rain.

Went into limp mode the first day, fuel leak detected - cat tech came out, lost a day of work so worked into the night after repairs to play catchup. They are not allowed to carry filters and he determined low fuel pressures from diagnostics machine. He has to go 120 miles round trip to retrieve a filter.

Fuel gauge doesnt work - gets stuck at 3/4 tank and just sits there.

A/C system needs a recirculate mode, i do not like smelling the cedar trees i am mulching all day, very strong smells will get trapped in cab.

poly door doesnt seal good , added weatherstripping around door to help seal it up.

pretty small cab - tolerable but would be nice if it had a lil more room.

hydraulics seem a lil loud and with the sensitivity of the power/flow/distribution and terrain, you can get slung forward at times if you are not careful

overall rating 6.5 out of 10 - nothing worse than needing more power and fighting getting work done.

 

[Reuben Frazier]

FYi night and day difference on a mulching head running the XE verses XPS model. We ran an XPS model as a loaner for 2 days and told them to come get it because we were simply wasting fuel. If you do it again go with the XE or be prepared for very slow working conditions as you’ve described. They will work but only when you don’t know the difference lol Your bogging down is 100% due to the XPS model, on paper their isnt a ton of difference, in real life it’s night and day.

 

[BCG]

FWIW, I've had the issue with loud hydraulics and a machine losing speed on hills and RPMS falling when running a hydraulic attachment and changing the hydraulic fluid and filters made all the difference in the world. At just over 2,000 hours, if it hasn't been done, it's time. I have Kubota and they recommend servicing the hydraulic system every 1,000 hours. It's about $400 - $500 for the fluid and filters but, it makes a very noticeable difference in the performance of the machine.

 

[searcyfarms]

Heres some pix

 

[searcyfarms]

And more

 

[searcyfarms]

And......

 

[searcyfarms]

Etc...

 

[searcyfarms]

Just had to take my time be more patient worked on hills more ground not so soft from rain seemed to help - thanks for the tips - back again tomoro

 

[searcyfarms]

Worked it on some more slant saturday and boy i would def have to get an XE and try it, I was tired of stalling/waiting for the machine to catch up. All in All, i made it thru and got the job completed. I did enjoy the machine outside of the slowness of work at times. I found the cab filters and gave them a good cleaning. I will say even on the warmest day with 85 temps that AC was FREEZING cold I ran it on low fan speed the entire time.