Head to head
Cat 262D3 against Cat 299D3 XE
Only the Cat 299D3 XE runs tracks, so their advertised capacities are not measured the same way; only the Cat 299D3 XE runs rubber tracks.
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These two are rated differently on purpose. A wheeled skid steer is rated at half its tipping load and a track loader at 35 per cent, because the track machine holds back more reserve. So the capacity rows below are not a like-for-like contest, and the tipping load row is the closer thing to one.
| Spec | Cat 262D3 | Cat 299D3 XE |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Dealer quote only | Dealer quote only |
| Rated capacity, as advertised | 2,700 lbs | 3,560 lbs |
| Rated at | 50% of tipping load | 35% of tipping load |
| Tipping load | 5,400 lbs | 10,170 lbs |
| Capacity at its class convention | 2,700 lbs | 3,560 lbs |
| Engine power | 74 hp | 110 hp |
| Engine | Cat C3.3B DIT | Cat C3.8 DIT |
| Auxiliary flow | 23 GPM | 23 GPM |
| Lift height | 124.9 in | 126.3 in |
| Operating weight | 8,296 lbs | 11,756 lbs |
| Lift path | Vertical Lift | Vertical Lift |
| Rubber tracks | No | Yes |
| High flow available | Yes | Yes |
| Enclosed cab available | Yes | Yes |
| Two-speed travel available | Yes | Yes |
| Self-levelling available | Yes | Yes |
| A/C and heat available | Yes | Yes |
| Warranty | 2 yr / 2,000 hr | 2 yr / 2,000 hr |
What owners say about each
Cat 262D3
- 2,700 lb rated capacity on a wheeled frame handles most palletised material a landscape or masonry crew moves.
- High Flow XPS at 32 GPM and 4,061 psi runs planers and mulching heads that the standard circuit cannot.
- Vertical lift at 124.9 inches to the pin clears the sides of a tandem truck.
- Same 74 hp engine as the smaller D3 machines, so the parts and service knowledge is shared across a mixed fleet.
- No Cat MSRP is published for it, which makes it hard to tell a good deal from a bad one.
- At 8,296 lb it is getting heavy for a half-ton tow, so the trailer and truck have to be sized for it.
- It is the outgoing generation, and the 260 that replaces it is on the same lot.
- Cat parts pricing is the highest in the class and does not discount with the machine.
Cat 299D3 XE
- The XE circuit at 40 GPM runs the same class of attachment as the next-generation machines that replaced it.
- 3,560 lb rated at 35 per cent of a 10,170 lb tipping load is genuine large-frame capacity.
- The C3.8 is a larger-displacement engine than the C3.6 in the machines that succeeded it, which some owners prefer.
- Outgoing-generation stock is where the discounts are on a machine this expensive.
- No published MSRP, and on a machine at this end of the range that is a wide unknown.
- Superseded twice over by the 275 and 285, so it is the oldest design in Cat's large-frame line.
- At 11,756 lb it is a dedicated-trailer machine.
- XE hydraulics are wasted money unless a high-flow attachment is the reason you are buying it.