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Cat 299D vs BobCat T770

Joined
Sep 7, 2017
Messages
8
Location
Gulfport, Ms
Looking at leasing a CTL for my business and these are the top two contenders (I welcome other suggestions) I'll be able to look at the machines in person in the next week and a half but I'm leaning towards the bobcat due to warranty, adjustable controls, and the fact that the hydraulics are run inside the lift arms.

We will be using the CTL for general dirt work, brush clearing, and lot cleanup, attachments would be standard bucket, root grapple, brush cutter, and possibly others down the line.

I haven't had a chance to measure but would either piece of equipment be likely to clear the 14yd dump bed on our 1989 Mack Type R?
 

Shimmy1

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2014
Messages
4,260
Location
North Dakota
You really should run each machine before you make a decision. If you are fussy like me, you will prefer the Bobcat joysticks over the Cat, much better fine control. We have almost 800 hours on ours, not easy hours either, and haven't had any major problems yet. I do believe that a Cat would outlive the Bobcat, but you will also spend $15k (or more) extra for the Cat.
 
Joined
Sep 7, 2017
Messages
8
Location
Gulfport, Ms
You really should run each machine before you make a decision. If you are fussy like me, you will prefer the Bobcat joysticks over the Cat, much better fine control. We have almost 800 hours on ours, not easy hours either, and haven't had any major problems yet. I do believe that a Cat would outlive the Bobcat, but you will also spend $15k (or more) extra for the Cat.

I haven't run equipment with joysticks enough to be picky yet, I've run one skid steer in my life (about 10 years ago) and the last piece of equipment I operated with joysticks was a D5G over 5 years ago.
I definitely plan on demo-ing both before signing a lease, I do like that the bobcat controls are so adjustable (sensitivity, position, and the various other adjustments).

I'll be operating the skid steer the most, my dad will be operating the excavator (looking at possibly leasing a Cat 307) for the majority of the time so Dad is leaving most of the decision about the CTL up to me, the Cat salesman said I'll be able to demo the 299 when I'm back in town in a week, I haven't heard back from BobCat but their Dealer is pretty small so I'll probably have to drive 1.5-2 hours to a dealer that would have the bigger machine.
 

CatToy

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2014
Messages
247
Location
SE Tn
I tested almost all the major brands last year, including NH, if all I did was move dirt, the Cat 299 is nice but they were 17k more than the T770 with roller suspension which I ended up with. The first thing any Cat owner will tell is resell is better, but I always reply, I am not selling it, I am buying it and plan to use it, not sell it.

The Tak T12 was a strong runner but more $ than the Bobcat and I did not see a reason to pay the premium. The Deere 333 was not as good as the others and premium prices near the Cat. The Kubota 95 was not available for testing then, but I tested one this week, when I replace my T770, it will be with a SVL95, seemed to handle all things about the same as the T770 but has one big advantage, door opens vertical.

I do not think you could go wrong with either Cat or Bobcat, to me it would come to $ and dealership support. Some folks on here complain that Bobcat parts are sometimes hard to get but I have not seen a issue getting any of the parts I break.
 

CM1995

Administrator
Joined
Jan 21, 2007
Messages
13,250
Location
Alabama
Occupation
Running what I brung and taking what I win
I'll be operating the skid steer the most, my dad will be operating the excavator (looking at possibly leasing a Cat 307) for the majority of the time so Dad is leaving most of the decision about the CTL up to me, the Cat salesman said I'll be able to demo the 299 when I'm back in town in a week, I haven't heard back from BobCat but their Dealer is pretty small so I'll probably have to drive 1.5-2 hours to a dealer that would have the bigger machine.

Your local dealer for the machine is a very important part of this decision too. If your local Bobcat dealer is too small to even have a machine you want to demo - what does their parts stock and service abilities look like?

Every machine will go down, having service and parts support is a huge factor when the clock is ticking.
 

still learn'n

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2012
Messages
455
Location
Kansas
A couple years ago when we were looking at buying a new ctl we tried bobcat cat and Deere and got a cat. We have good dealers for all 3. We was totally unimpressed with the way the bobcat run but that was pretty much our experience with bobcat. Go in to a pile to load bucket and the thing would power out and die. It was a t series but wasn't the biggest one. Just our experience
 
Joined
Sep 7, 2017
Messages
8
Location
Gulfport, Ms
Got back home on Thursday and friday went to the CAT dealer and looked at a used 299 XHP, new 289 and a used (less than 20 hours) Kubota, based on several factors (dealer support, cab seal, door design, and others) we're looking at the new 289D, it'll be plenty to run a mulcher with the high flow attachment and do just about any dirt work we want to.
 

KSSS

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2005
Messages
4,319
Location
Idaho
Occupation
excavation
The 289D is only 75 hp. That is not going to be overly productive running a mulcher, and you will be just over 3K psi on high flow instead of the 4K that the XHP gives you. It will run one certainly and for light clean up or something might be fine, but if your seriously going to mulch I don't see that machine getting much done.
 
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