Cat 289D

[grk82]

Ive never never owned a Cat ctl and dont have much experience with pilot controls, (always used hand and foot controls). Anything i should be worried about with this machine? It has the single flange idlers on it, should i upgrade to triple flange?

Anyone else switch controls, how long did it take to become just as fast and efficient after switching? Ive used pilot before and have no issues moving piles of stone/dirt and pallets but I cant finish grade very well with pilot. I've been using hand and foot controls for 18 years...

 

[Digdeep]

I would go with the triple flange. You will get the best ride and if you work on slopes will minimize your risk of throwing a track. You will get used to pilots. The CAT allows you to adjust the sensitivity to your liking.

I've recently demoed a new D series that was fully loaded out- air ride heated seat, back-up camera, etc. One of the things that struck me was the attention that CAT took to the little things like a self priming fuel pump, an A/C system fully integrated into the cab so you don't have to break any seals also making service access under the cab easier, no stacked coolers or condensers, decel pedal feature, throttle smoothing, etc. By comparison it takes two people just to prime a new fuel pump in the new Bobcats if you don't want fuel all over- one to man the bleeder screw and another in the cab turning the key. The fuel filter on the Bobcat is held to the frame with two cheap hose clamps. These are just two small things but it tells a tale.

 

[heymccall]

We went with the Kubota over the Cat based primarily on visibility, but the Kubota is surprisingly miles ahead of my TL150s in control smoothness.
Haven't heard of any horror stories on that series Cat. I just couldn't get past the visibility restrictions.

 

[grk82]

Kubota was miles away on leasing, I have a U55 and love it so the first machine I looked at was an svl90. While driving it and functioning the bucket the machine slowed way down, i can't imagine how bad it is on soft dirt with the bucket full.
So now I'm looking at the 289D and a T750.

 

[heymccall]

Having 3 TL150s, first Kubota look was at the SVL90, BUT, dealer only had a SVL75 to try out. The SVL75 is definitely worth the look. Loaded for $44k, and it will do everything my TL150s will do, only better. Definitely see the advantage of the vertical lift, too. So smooth to operate and do finesse work, and, never noticed the loader hydraulics slowing down the travel.

As for finish grading, even my truck driver can do that in an SVL75. And, when going enclosed ROPS (EROPS), only Kubota and Takeuchi have the excavator style flip up windshield, giving you the "no tools required" choice of window open or shut.

I would definitely recommend trying an SVL75.


For experience, we have:
3 Case 1845C
1 Cat 248B
3 Takeuchi TL150
1 Kubota SVL75
8 flat buckets (1 with Rezloh edge)
7 4in1 buckets (2 with Rezloh edges)
6 Landscape Rakes (rockhounds)
5 Harley Rakes (or variants of)
5 pallet forks
2 brush grapples
1 Preparator
4 WS18 wheel saws
1 18" planer
2 24" planers
1 electric seed spreader
2 6 way dozer blades


Naturally, only the the 1845s and the 248B have high flow for the saws and planers, though.

We install municipal sewer lines, so we restorate an average of 50k feet of 30' right of way every year with them.

 

[grk82]

I've ran an svl 75 that only had 500 hours and it already felt loose, the svl90 i ran last week didnt have enough power to cycle the boom and drive at the same time. Like i said it was the first machine i looked at, plus the leasing program cat has is so cheap it doesnt make sense to buy. Thats why im interested in cat. The cab on the kubota was awesome and tak is out of the question, no dealers in my area.

 

[heymccall]

I've ran an svl 75 that only had 500 hours and it already felt loose, the svl90 i ran last week didnt have enough power to cycle the boom and drive at the same time. Like i said it was the first machine i looked at, plus the leasing program cat has is so cheap it doesnt make sense to buy. Thats why im interested in cat. The cab on the kubota was awesome and tak is out of the question, no dealers in my area.

My SVL75 has 1500 hours now, and it is still tight.

 

[durallymax]

Ive never never owned a Cat ctl and dont have much experience with pilot controls, (always used hand and foot controls). Anything i should be worried about with this machine? It has the single flange idlers on it, should i upgrade to triple flange?

Anyone else switch controls, how long did it take to become just as fast and efficient after switching? Ive used pilot before and have no issues moving piles of stone/dirt and pallets but I cant finish grade very well with pilot. I've been using hand and foot controls for 18 years...

Technically speaking the 289D does not have pilot controls. Pilot controls use a Pilot hydraulic syste operated by servos at the sticks. The onlder B series Cat's had these as do many other machines in the industry. The C and D series use EH (Electric/Hydraulic) controls which is what most new SSL's and CTL's offer versus pilot controls.

What I believe you are referring to though is the ISO pattern which many associate with Pilot controls as many were setup that way. It takes awhile to get used to the ISO pattern but once you do get used to it you will really like it especially coming from hand/foot controls. Your body will thank you. When you are starting out keep your right hand on the arm bar anytime you do not need to run the loader control. When you need to run the loader take your hand off the drive stick and run the loader. Eventually you will be able to start operating both at the same time without issue.

One issue a lot of our guys seemed to have after the switch was making the single drive stick do everything you can with two sticks. The issue I found was that most of them were using the foot throttle to control speed and running the stick all the way forward all the time then just moving it to the sides to turn. Once they figured out that moving the stick back along either of the sides while turning starts to engage the other set of wheels then their issues subsided. I still use the foot control to control speed usually, its more efficient and its easier to control I think. Just remember that the entire area that the stick travels is used to get the same action as two sticks.

The new D series machines look very nice. Rear visibility is their main fault but I would just opt for the backup camera and you will be set.