I really love this machine. It's a Swiss army knife so to speak. I'm a long term skid steer operator so that is my reference point. If you're looking for any serious performance of any measure, i.e. loading height, speed, lift capacity, then a Cat 259 / 255 would be a better choice. That said, this machine has some advantages and there's nothing to compare it to in the US market. The cab is very large and roomy and it's nice to get in from the side rather than though the loader. To use one of these machines like a skid steer for grading and digging you MUST get a long floor bucket. The one in the video is a Cat 74inch industrial bucket. It's a bit heavy but it totally transforms grading and you can now see the leading edge. Stability is decent but the loader moves forward as you lift a load so if you lift something heavy then keep it low. The machine tracks have good traction and lots of pushing power. This might be due to it's 10,000lb weight. It's isn't a fast machine and only has one speed. It feels low geared so as I said pushes well. Turning is good and it rotates well without churning up the ground. It's very old school inside the cab but perfectly functional. AC works very well. There's several flat steel surfaces, which I have used to mount a magnetic cup holder and phone holder. One function I really like is the ability to still operator the backhoe while facing forward or move the machine tracks a bit when trenching, without needing to rotate the seat. Very clever! One thing I have to mention is that there are a lot of grease points. Some of them are tough to access too. That said it is 2 machines is one so it's somewhat expected. It will take me a good 20 mins to grease the machine. In summary, a 255 is a better skid steer if ultimate performance is needed from a small package, but if you want a utility machine with ability to complete a lot of tasks then this is a very useful tool.
@@christiannicholson7848 thanks I appreciate the overview, If you had to do it again with the the knowledge & experience you had with it would your get a skid & a mini combo or just get the jcb , was looking to get into mostly residential work pipe repair walls grading etc
@@ambitiousdirtwork For what I do, I am very happy with this machine. As you know, everything is a compromise. The rear end is really pretty strong and smooth. The sideshift is so useful to position the arm on the edge of a deep cut so it's going straight down into the hole, maximizing depth and not cutting the corner off the top if you're parked side-on to the hole. No brand of mini gives you that in the same way. The cab is tall so visibility around the machine is very good. I was grading in between trees this week with just 6-10 inches either side of the tracks with confidence which was a positive. A skid steer definitely has better visibility of the bucket though. Hence my comments about getting a long floor bucket which helps with this. Machine stability when lifting heavy loads with the loader will be better with the skid steer, they seem to sit flatter on their tracks, but the Hyd lift power is actually OK. (repositioning the backhoe out a bit temporarily adds counterweight if you move a heavy pallet etc). One control limitation on mine is when raising the arms and dumping the bucket, the flow isn't that smooth going between the two functions. Mine is an older model, the newer ones may be better but this is something to check if you go for a Demo. Put a skid steer bucket on the machine for the demo too. This machine is heavier than either the Skid or the Mini that do the same job, but much easier to move than both. Yes I really like it for what I do, even though I love the Cat skid steers.
Any way we can get more videos on this machine & how to you like it & what are pros & cons ?
I really love this machine. It's a Swiss army knife so to speak. I'm a long term skid steer operator so that is my reference point. If you're looking for any serious performance of any measure, i.e. loading height, speed, lift capacity, then a Cat 259 / 255 would be a better choice. That said, this machine has some advantages and there's nothing to compare it to in the US market. The cab is very large and roomy and it's nice to get in from the side rather than though the loader. To use one of these machines like a skid steer for grading and digging you MUST get a long floor bucket. The one in the video is a Cat 74inch industrial bucket. It's a bit heavy but it totally transforms grading and you can now see the leading edge. Stability is decent but the loader moves forward as you lift a load so if you lift something heavy then keep it low. The machine tracks have good traction and lots of pushing power. This might be due to it's 10,000lb weight. It's isn't a fast machine and only has one speed. It feels low geared so as I said pushes well. Turning is good and it rotates well without churning up the ground. It's very old school inside the cab but perfectly functional. AC works very well. There's several flat steel surfaces, which I have used to mount a magnetic cup holder and phone holder. One function I really like is the ability to still operator the backhoe while facing forward or move the machine tracks a bit when trenching, without needing to rotate the seat. Very clever! One thing I have to mention is that there are a lot of grease points. Some of them are tough to access too. That said it is 2 machines is one so it's somewhat expected. It will take me a good 20 mins to grease the machine. In summary, a 255 is a better skid steer if ultimate performance is needed from a small package, but if you want a utility machine with ability to complete a lot of tasks then this is a very useful tool.
@@christiannicholson7848 thanks I appreciate the overview, If you had to do it again with the the knowledge & experience you had with it would your get a skid & a mini combo or just get the jcb , was looking to get into mostly residential work pipe repair walls grading etc
@@ambitiousdirtwork For what I do, I am very happy with this machine. As you know, everything is a compromise. The rear end is really pretty strong and smooth. The sideshift is so useful to position the arm on the edge of a deep cut so it's going straight down into the hole, maximizing depth and not cutting the corner off the top if you're parked side-on to the hole. No brand of mini gives you that in the same way. The cab is tall so visibility around the machine is very good. I was grading in between trees this week with just 6-10 inches either side of the tracks with confidence which was a positive. A skid steer definitely has better visibility of the bucket though. Hence my comments about getting a long floor bucket which helps with this. Machine stability when lifting heavy loads with the loader will be better with the skid steer, they seem to sit flatter on their tracks, but the Hyd lift power is actually OK. (repositioning the backhoe out a bit temporarily adds counterweight if you move a heavy pallet etc). One control limitation on mine is when raising the arms and dumping the bucket, the flow isn't that smooth going between the two functions. Mine is an older model, the newer ones may be better but this is something to check if you go for a Demo. Put a skid steer bucket on the machine for the demo too. This machine is heavier than either the Skid or the Mini that do the same job, but much easier to move than both. Yes I really like it for what I do, even though I love the Cat skid steers.
very nice baby bulldozer, what's the travel speed like on these
Thank you. It's not a fast machine compared to any modern skid steer. This machine is low geared, so has good pushing power. It doesn't have 2-speed.