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We have 2 257B machines along with all of our yellow iron being
Caterpillar. Here is why I feel they make a superior product to Bobcat, ASV, and for that matter any of the rice burning machines.
1st. Product support. Being that Caterpillar sets the standard for the industry in many classes of equipment, they took that same support they provide to their heavy iron and rolled it into their little machines. Last year we sucked a turbo on a 257B, I loaded the machine, took it to our dealer. They gave me a machine to use until ours was done. We got a call the next day, all ready to go, OK to run but the oil sample report was not in yet. I got a call a few days later asking where we were working...They needed to change our engine because steel had contaminated the oil. They brought me a new 257B, took ourrs, and gave an engine, free of charge with no down time.
In comparision...In another life time, we had a Komatsu dozer. At the sale it saved us $37,000.00 over a Cat. So, we bought it....When it went down a few months later, it took 6 weeks to fly parts in from Japan, and we had to lease a machine to use while making payments on the one we bought. All in all, every bit of down time that had over the Cat, we lost $127,000 in billable hours so we really saved didn't we? That was the last Jap machine owned, 24 years ago.
2nd. Controls with simplicity and ease. Bobcat makes a good product, but, that pull one push one mentality with foot controlled bucket boom kills your ankles and you have less control. Cat's joystick controls can be operated by a 5 year old and my 12 year old daughter cuts grades with the 6 way blade whenever she is free on Saturdays... Foot throttle vs joy stick throttle. Cat has both, bobcat has a joystick. Let me tell you why not having a foot throttle is bad. There will come a day when you have an employee running your machine. Employees basically are like kids in many ways. You are in constant training with them. Since your machine is not their machine, they will have little to no regard for using it the way it should be used.
In a joystick throttled machine, it is very easy to be lazy and climb out to go hit the can, never having pulled the throttle back from full power...So, there your machine sits getting the snot beat out of it with the engine winding at 2500 RPM while your employee takes a leak instead of being shuit off, or at a dead idle. It is very bad for turbo charged machines to be shut down under throttle, rather, they should be idled for a few minutes to cool, then shut off. With the foot throttle going back to idle, it takes the knitwittery out of operation.
3rd More places to clean the tracks, and a better ride from boogie/torsion bar suspension. Bobcat uses a solid rail system and a steel vulcanized track system that will turn your kidneys into jello by the end of the day. The vulcanized system will peel apart from heat and wear faster and become unusable faster than the flexible Cat/ ASV track system. Also, stability on hills and the ability to side slope is better with an ASV suspension than it is with a rigid suspension. It takes more horsepower to turn the solid suspension system, so when you are trying to load and drive at the same time, the machine will bog down faster than a Cat.
4th Engine compartment accessability. The radiator and fan are easy to reach, open a hinge and up they go so you can work on the engine. Bobcat has it's radiator tucked in front of a transverse style engine.
All in all, I have never operated a Bobcat I can say that I was happy with. They got the job done, but the way they are designed stems from 40 year old technology. They make a durable machine, but you will get out of one much more sore and tired at the end of a day.
As for ASV, there will come a day in the future when ASV will be absorbed by Caterpillar. True they share components with Cat, As Cat uses ASV undercarrage and ASV runs Cat engines and controls, but it is only a matter of time...Why do you think Cat has matched machine sizes with ASV?
If I have one critiszm of the 257B, I would say it needs about 15 more horses and 30 more cubic inches. But then I am a power freek. I like to be able to have more popwer than I ever need, because if you don't need it, you can always take your foot pqart way off the loud pedal, but if I need power and it is not there I will get off the machine in need of a cold shower from frustration.. I have not driven a Bobcat that when you place it into a full tilt turn, won't kill it's engine.
Now, said all that, before you buy, I strongly recommend signing up for Caterpillar MTL training. There are certain things you should not do with an MTL, like turn hard on top of demolitian. Like turn 360° rather than doing a 3 point style turn. And, without a doubt, an MTL requires more maintenance than a wheeled machine. Track tension should be kept at 1/4", and, you need to check this. You will burn about 17 gallons of fuel per 8 hour shift. A rubber tired machine of the same size should use 5 or so less gallons. And, the weight is alot more, so, you will need to check your trailer capacities.
My two cents. Good luck on your purchase.
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Bill Schwab
In the year 1491, if the Naturescape Landscape Company did the site work in Pisa, Italy, they would not be calling it the "leaning" tower.
Encinitas, Ca. 92024
www.naturescapelandscape.com
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