Cat skid steer

Laura Paynter · Sep 26, 2008

Has anyone else had a cat skidsteer burn up while operating? Mine was a 277B and almost killed my operator,he couldn"t get out right away.There"s also been a recall notice about the window as well.has anyone out there got any info for me?

JBMac · Sep 26, 2008

We had ours burn up last year, exact same model running a brush cutter head. It's so important to keep the engine compartments cleaned out on those things. Dry mulched twigs and leaked hydraulic/engine oil in a hot enclosed area is not a good combo. My guy got out pretty easy though.

Laura Paynter · Sep 26, 2008

Mine was blown out at least 2 times a day and the dealer still blamed it on me and forced my insurance to pick it up.I think it's a design flaw.Also there was a wiring harness that burned on it before that, so I think it could've been an electrical fault that caused it.Anyway I don't think I should be paying for it.

02XLT4X4 · Sep 26, 2008

(quoted from post at 07:57:33 09/26/08) Mine was blown out at least 2 times a day and the dealer still blamed it on me and forced my insurance to pick it up.I think it's a design flaw.Also there was a wiring harness that burned on it before that, so I think it could've been an electrical fault that caused it.Anyway I don't think I should be paying for it.

Without knowing what started the fire it is hard to say. It could have been wiring that wasn't made properly, it could have been wiring that got damaged, could have been some trash stuck in a hard to reach area... it could have been started by a lot of things.

glennster · Sep 26, 2008

a friend of mine does land clearing in texas. he has had 3 of his cat skid steers burn up. cat said nothing wrong, his insurance paid for them. dont know all the specifics, but sure seems like something is wrong with the machines.

noncompos · Sep 26, 2008

Don't know anything about these machines, but questions do come to mind...
What body oversees const/ag eqpmt safety, and was it that body that issued the recall and/or forced Cat to issue the recall re' the window??
Does this body (if any) have other reports of similar fires with this unit? Cat, of course, would not divulge, would maintain any such info they had "proprietary" (read: secret).
For your own info, you might post the same question you posted here on any other farm/ag/const eqpmt sites or forums you can find
If any such safety body or authority exists, you should report your experience; generally these bodies are at least half in bed with the m'f'rs, but can be forced to move when complaints, especially life-threatening experiences, pile up.
Email if you like and I'll advise the ag/eqpmt sites I know of. Take care. Bud

Laura Paynter · Sep 26, 2008

Thanks for that.I hope nobody raising a bunch of kids dies in one.I'm going to try and do something to get this info out to the public.

Laura Paynter · Sep 26, 2008

Thanks for that.I hope nobody raising a bunch of kids dies in one.I'm going to try and do something to get this info out to the public.

Laura Paynter · Sep 26, 2008

You are correct that Cat does not give out any info.I have not found a body that oversees heavy equipment safety issues as they are not titled or consumer products, like say a hair dryer is.I want it to get out that these are not safe to rent or operate.There have been over a dozen or more in a year burn in my area.I don't know about injuries, my guys just heard it from the Cat mechanic.Please get it out on your sites though and thanks for any more info that you might run across about a place to find out actual fire statistics.

mole · Sep 26, 2008

I turn wrenches for a cat dealer and we have hundreds of them out working and none have burnt up since they first came out. Only exception I can think of is one that was working at trying to shove one more log on the brush fire and the pile shifted and caught the machine on fire due to poor operator judgement. It must be something to do with what they are doing with the machine that makes it more susceptible to catching fire. I wouldn't be so quick to blame the machine until all details are looked at. I think they are a good machine that are not as dangerous as they are being made out to be and my opinion is based on working on them since the day CAT rolled the first one off the assembly line

Anonymous-0 · Sep 26, 2008

There are safety standards that have to followed. Roll bars have to be certified and I think the back window has to be lexan or something so it can be easily kicked out in case of emergency. Also there has to be guards/windows on the sides so that someone doesn't decapitate their head or rip their arm off. A wiring fault could cause a fire though as well as just one branch or piece of garbage sitting on the exhaust or other hot area. Does your operator smoke? A hyd. oil leak could start a fire as well. The hydraulic lines themselfs are hot enough to start a fire with the right material. I would see if it's possible to have a thorough investigation of the fire done by someone qualified to do it. Not the Cat dealer. The dealer will approve an insurance claim so that they or the OEM doesn't have to take the responsibility unless it's obvious the machine caught fire because of operator error or lack of cleaning the machine out. What was the machine being used for when the fire started? Dave

Lee in Iowa · Sep 26, 2008

I don't know if it is what caused the fire, but from what I have seen I think the cat skidloader that belonged to the guy that did some work for me was designed poorly. The radiatior sits above the motor and the fan pulls air up through it so the fan pulls dust off the ground and heat off the motor and it overheats. I guess there are kits available to reverse the fan and this helps. Lee

Cat skid steer

Laura Paynter

New User

JBMac

Member

Laura Paynter

New User

02XLT4X4

Member

glennster

Well-known Member

noncompos

Well-known Member

Laura Paynter

New User

Laura Paynter

New User

Laura Paynter

New User

mole

Member

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

Lee in Iowa

Member

Similar threads