Cat’s All-New Beast of a Compact Track Loader: The 285 XE

Earlier this year Caterpillar unveiled its Next Generation compact track loaders and skid steers, marking the biggest updates to the models in over a decade.
Amid the rollout, the company revealed its largest-ever CTL, the 13,669-pound 285 XE.
“It’s a big, strong machine,” says our guest on The Dirt, Cat Senior Product Specialist Trevor Chase.
Not only is it big and strong, it is a complete redesign from previous generation Cat CTLs. It can handle high-flow attachments like mulchers and cold planers. It also gets heftier lift height and capacity, as well as increased breakout forces.
The cab gets big changes as well, with hints to the cockpit for a fighter pilot with its advanced joysticks that enable all functions at the operator’s fingers.
Cat fans and all those interested in compact track loaders will want to watch this latest episode of The Dirt to see the slew of features and capabilities packed into this compact yet hefty loader.
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In This Episode:
00:00 – Cat’s Largest CTL: The 285 XE
00:24 – Cat 285 XE Overview
02:17 – The Evolution of CTLs
03:50 – New Equalizer Bar Undercarriage
06:08 – Rated Operating Capacity
09:49 – Cat Next Generation Improvements
13:58 – Pricing
15:06 – Final Thoughts

Video Transcript:
Bryan Furnace
Today we're here to talk about the humble skid steer. We're here to talk about Caterpillar's new 285 skid. And here to help us with information on that product is Trevor.

Bryan Furnace
Well, Trevor, thank you so much for taking time to be on the dirt today. I appreciate your time.

Trevor Chase
Thank you for having us on. This is a it's an exciting time and really appreciate the chance to talk with you.

Bryan Furnace
Yeah, absolutely. It is. Is it? It is an exciting time. We're getting into these bigger and bigger skid steers, and I'm eager to hear about some of the new stuff that's coming. So that being said, will you give us kind of an overview of the 285 and what it's bringing to the table?

Trevor Chase
Sure. So 285 XY this is a size class of machine that we've not had before. So this is an all-new platform for Cat. So this machine it's a big strong machine on the Z. You can get up to 134 horsepower. Wow. To be able to run, you know, hungry attachments. Right. Things like motors and coal planers, whatever it may be.

Trevor Chase
But that's just one aspect of it. So you get a lot of horsepower. You get a lot of hydraulic power, a lot of flow, a lot of pressure to be able to run those attachments. But also, we have things like 146in a B pin lift height. Wow. Really strong lift and tilt forces. So we've increased the breakout forces in those machines.

Trevor Chase
And we've also increased just overall capability. Our stability of the machine. And then of course all of the other neat things also inside the cab, you know, changing to that new next gen cab and making that common among all the next gen machines. So difference in undercarriage. Also, we made some changes and moved away from the torsion bar suspension that we've traditionally had in that 299 and in the 275 and the 285.

Trevor Chase
We now have an equalizer bar type of undercarriage that we can talk about here coming up. But this thing is a clean sheet of paper design. Yeah. All of the DNA that we have had and learned about in the last 25 years of making, skid steer loaders and track machines, it goes in there. It's pretty awesome.

Bryan Furnace
Yeah, that is it's it's so interesting to see how these machines have evolved. You know, it. Back in the day, it was it was exciting to have this little machine that was just really versatile. And it could do 360 spins and and you know, it was nice. And now we've moved into this space where a 130 horsepower out of one of these little units.

Bryan Furnace
I mean, they've gone from being a handy little tool to these are powerhouses on the job, and you're able to move unbelievable amounts of material. And we've used them in such a variety of applications. And now all of the sudden they're not just productive at moving dirt. These are becoming a main tool in land clearing operations, where that used to be reserved for dozers and excavators.

Bryan Furnace
And now these skid steer is really coming in and making an impact. So it's awesome to see what the industry has done with these machines.

Trevor Chase
Yeah, it you know, asset utilization comes in a lot now with these machines because of their capabilities. In all fairness, they're able to replace other machines. Now they may not you know the 285. We don't put it out. There's this is a replacement for a dozer right. Like this isn't replacing a D1 or D2 or D3 dozer, but can it go out there with a with a...