skid steer controls??

[Dr. W]

I will soon be looking for a skid steer. I have used a CAT skid steer, and loved the way the controls were all in joysticks. My question is, what other brands use a simular design joystick controls? to me it dose not make much sense to controll the bucket functions with your feet, seems like you would have much more controll with your hands!! Now this is just my opinion. any recomendations on a joystick controled machine would be great!!!

I have owned a 277B and a 287B.. I did a demo on a T320 with the joysticks and found it to be no CAT. I like CAT the best, the sticks require very little movement and are smooth! I am in the proccess of trading the 287B for a 289. The 289 sticks are now elec/hyd but still operate great!

 

[Squizzy246B]

Welcome to the Heavy Equipment Forums Dr.W.

We'll be counting on some pics of that 289.

 

[Dr. W]

It would be my pleasure, in about to two!

Located in Houston Texas.. Cheers mate!

 

[heavylift]

I would pick CAT... newer model even have air suspension seats... plus the track suspension... smoooth ride on every surface.... bigger rocks tend to ride rough...
Ours have buckets that are 6" wider than the tracks foot print 3" each side..Helps keep stuff away from tracks
We have a 247 and 257... the 247 faster than the 257.... they have the same engine... the weight difference slows the 257 ..
Excellent for grading less aggressive tread than others
Snow removal WOW
I like a tooth bucket for every application, they are mounted on top of the cutting edge
Tracks were rated for 1000 hrs average, maybe higher now... the first set I got 1900 hrs, I put about 1800 of that on the machine. After they started using on different jobsites the 2nd set only made it to 1100 hours... most likely do to the first time operators that say yes, but don't have a clue.
The 247 we have is fuel thirsty.. it will only run 8 hrs working it hard all day... an extra 2 gallons tank would have been nice.
257 has a bigger tank so fuel issue not a problem.
Just a pain if the foremans not around to fuel...

 

[Dr. W]

CAT is my machine of choice..My 277B was a great machine and I traded to a 287B to get a little more lift. I was aware of the track ajustment problems, but got a great buy on the machine because the C series coming into service. I have 700 hrs on the 287B and will make 1000hrs on the first set of tracks. This is however the reason that the machine will be replace with a 289 in the next few weeks.
I lift a lot of large trees and do heavy underbush. The Mitsubishi engine has great power, is quite and the fuel numbers are great. 3.2gph when running full throttle for the brush mover and loading debris with the foot throttle is about half that!

 

[fordshipper]

case 40 xt

anyone know where to head with this? pull safety bar down,start ok ,but wont move at all.to tip cab up so i can see and get at things in there ,loader has to be all the way up to tilt cab,but nothing moves.im assuming it something to do with rods under there.any ideas?thanks cam

 

[willie59]

Welcome to the forum fordshipper. :usa

Be patient and maybe someone can help with your problem. We got a couple of good Case techs here on the forum.

If you get in 3 posts on the forum, after a short time, you will be able to start your own thread.

 

[Squizzy246B]

Does the 40XT have a seat switch?

 

[KSSS]

It's a good question. When I went from the 465 to the 272C I wasn't convinced that the Cat was a better machine. Now that I've logged a thousand hours on the Cat, I can say that I much prefer it for many reasons. First, the power difference is negligible. Second, there is NO replacement for a nice luxurious cab (air ride seats, AC, cup holder, better joy sticks, and MUCH MUCH quieter machine than the 465). That's actually an important point. The 465 you need ear protection... the Cat is so quiet. The cab is SO nice... and the windows still slide. The Cat's bucket is further ahead too so you can see better what you're doing but it's a bit longer a machine. I work in some tight areas but the Cat still gets around quite nicely so it's not a problem. (also, cat control are easier)

The Case 465's controls are stiffer, the AC is problematic in my exp, the cab is not sealed and the windows get gummed up easily. It's loud, but very powerful. I would say it has a bit more power than the Cat. On the plus side for the Case, they have mastered the ride control for this machine. It is a dream. If the Cat had a ride control system like this it wouldn't even be a contest...and of course it's case controls (up to your preference)

Don't get me wrong. Both are very very nice machines for different reasons. If it all came down to it, I like the Cat 272C better. Does that help?

The cab on 465 is poor compared to the new CAT cab and the new CASE cab. Comparing the Series 3 CASE with a C series Cat is more equal.

I have owned 2 95XTs and my current 465. I have not found a machine equal to the 465 yet.........from a performance standpoint. It has been trouble free until last week when the digital dash went crazy at just over 1000 hours, $304.00 for a new one. The AC has been fine so far. The Series 3 makes up for the shortcomings of the original 400 series. I feel strongly that the Series 3 improvements should have been intoduced with the 400 series.

I would like to trade up to Series 3 but that is put on hold until things turn around. I cant say enough about what the 465 does for my business. I use a forestry mulcher on it, load trucks, lot of concrete demo, its a well built machine, but in original 400 series dress it could be more comfortable.

 

[Bobcat s330]

I have 2 Bobcat T300 and I prefer the hand controls. I also have a bobcat A220 with joy stick, I really don't like joy stick controls. The reason I don't like the joy stick controls is I like to be able to feel how much power I'm putting to the drive motors by pushing on the levers, IMHO I don't get that same feel from the joy sticks. I also feel that in close in areas (working around foundations) to me it feels like there is a slight lag in and or jerkyness with starting an stopping. These are just my opinions I'm sure others have different experiences.

I prefer the hand and foot controls as well. I been telling people for years I feel like im getting more power out of the machine when pushing on the levers. People tell me im crazy . But I know im right..

Also i was in a newer t320 with the joysticks not to long ago and they seem to have worked all the bugs out it didnt have a delay which was nice..

 

[ikold]

277b

I see that you upgraded from the 277b for more lift. Do you mean to lift more weight or to lift higher?
I just picked up a 277b (got a great deal) and we don't know much about it. It will need a new track and many of the rollers. How much is that going to set us back?

We need the machine to move 3000lb pallets around our yard among other things.

 

[KSSS]

I see that you upgraded from the 277b for more lift. Do you mean to lift more weight or to lift higher?
I just picked up a 277b (got a great deal) and we don't know much about it. It will need a new track and many of the rollers. How much is that going to set us back?

We need the machine to move 3000lb pallets around our yard among other things.

I don't think there is such a thing as a great deal on a used MTL. The costs to keep them up are huge. If you paid in the low teens which is what they seem to bring on the used market when the tracks and rollers are bad, you will spend 50-75% of your purchase price on replacing the suspension and track components.

 

[ikold]

Yep

Yea, you couldn't be more right. If I had to guess how this plays out I would expect that rather than getting a great deal we will be saving about 3-5k off of what a fully ready to go unit would sell for from a dealer. However, our machine will have spent 3 weeks in the shop getting fixed while the other machine would be out earning. So at the end of the day its probably a wash.
We will however have new tracks, rollers, and some attachments and we will know the work was done correctly. But no "super good" deals on these things.

J

 

[The Baron]

I own two Case skid steer's now (420 and a 445) and am seriously debating a 3rd (tracked unit). I am looking at lightly used units, and there seem to be a lot more Cat's than Case out there to choose from. I was wondering how the control's differ (I've never run a Cat) and this thread has been very helpful to me... especially Dissident's information. Thanks guys.:notworthy

 

[KSSS]

I own two Case skid steer's now (420 and a 445) and am seriously debating a 3rd (tracked unit). I am looking at lightly used units, and there seem to be a lot more Cat's than Case out there to choose from. I was wondering how the control's differ (I've never run a Cat) and this thread has been very helpful to me... especially Dissident's information. Thanks guys.:notworthy

The CAT B series and CASE 400 series from 2006.5 until now use pilot controls. The same Rexroth control system is used in both only CASE did a better job on putting the system together IMHO. Its much more smooth.

CATs C series uses EH controls.

Go to Equipment Alley.com to check out some CASE machines.

 

[BIAVAEX]

I personally like the std Case h controls. 1 more post

 

[KSSS]

I personally like the std Case h controls. 1 more post

I do also. Both my 400 series machines are servo and they are low effort, not as low as pilots but it they offer very good feel and responsiveness.

 

[Farmguy]

Test

 

[watglen]

This thread is pretty interesting. My first look at the skid steer section. In the excavator section opinions on CAT are very mixed with lots thinking they are overpriced hype. Here, CAT seems to rule.

I own a CAT as well, a 257b mtl. We looked at a bunch of different units and brands, and once you run a cat mtl, you never want to run anything else. The controls are smooth as glass, and at that time they had track suspension which makes it a world above anything else.

Really happy with that unit. The tracks will cost a fortune one day, but i wouldn't be without them. They make it possible to do so much more work, far more than tires allow.

 

[Tiger41]

I am new to this forum, I hate to steal your thread but there seem to be some cat people here. I just bought a 226 cat skid steer, cheap. The guy didn't know what was wrong with it but the right side won't work, in otherwords the left tires will turn and all the machine does is go right. He said it was running and just quit. The Hydraulic fluid looks dirty but it is not low, motor runs great all other functions work perfectly. Oh yea the hydraulic light is on not sure what it means. I would take it to a dealer but can't load it with one side turning and I really don't want to pay a service call. Any ideas?