Caterpillar
Cat 285 XE
The bright segment is what Cat 285 XE is rated to carry; the grey run past it is the rest of its tipping load. Bar length is tipping load drawn to the same scale on every machine on the site, so a short bar is a smaller machine and not a conservative rating.
Caterpillar publishes no list price for this machine, and we found no dealer listing worth quoting, so there is no number here to give you. What we can say is what the machines around it cost: the middle half of the 11 track loaders within 15 per cent of its capacity list between $100,000 and $122,000. That is a fact about them, not a quote for this one.
The largest compact track loader Cat builds, in the XE hydraulic package: 40 GPM at 4,496 psi, well above both the standard circuit and High Flow XPS. Land clearing and mulching outfits are the buyers.
Suits: Running a large mulching head or cold planer most of the working day Its vertical lift path reaches highest at full extension, for loading high-sided trucks and stacking.
Lifting and reach
- Rated operating capacityTrack loader rating convention
- 4,520 lbs
- Tipping load
- 12,915 lbs
- Lift height to hinge pin
- 146.6 in
- Lift path
- Vertical Lift
- Operating weight
- 13,669 lbs
Power and hydraulics
- Engine power
- 122 hp
- Engine
- Cat C3.6 TA
- Auxiliary flowStandard circuit
- 23 GPM
- Flow type
- Standard
- Warranty
- 2 yr / 2,000 hr
Fitted or available
What this machine can be ordered with. Some of these are standard and some cost extra, and which is which moves between trim levels, so check them against the quote rather than against this list.
What the spec sheet says
We could not find owner reporting for this machine anywhere, so there is none here. What follows is read off the published specifications and what they imply, not off anyone's experience — treat it as a starting point and a list of things to ask a dealer.
Everything about this machine is aimed at one job: holding a power-hungry attachment at its rated speed all day without the loader becoming the limit. It is the largest compact track loader Caterpillar builds, and the XE designation marks the top hydraulic tier in the range, 40 gpm at 4,496 psi, paired with a higher engine tune than the standard 285. Land clearing, mulching and cold planing outfits are the intended buyers, and that is worth saying plainly, because this is an expensive way to move dirt.
Structurally the interesting part is underneath. The equalizer bar undercarriage puts a pivoting element between the track frame and the chassis so the machine can behave rigidly when lifting heavy and compliantly over rough ground, rather than being committed to one or the other the way rigid and oscillating designs are. Above that sits the next-generation cab, substantially larger than the D3 cab with a far bigger rear window and tool-free door removal, and a C3.6TA engine with much more torque across the rev range than the D3 engines it replaces. On paper the numbers are the strongest here: 146.6 in of lift height and 4,520 lb rated at the conservative 35 percent of tipping load.
What none of that tells you is how it holds up, because the machine is new enough that no long-term account of one exists. That is the central caveat for anyone considering it: there is no undercarriage wear record, no pattern of what fails first and no resale history to price against. If a mulching head or planer is the reason for the purchase and the flow requirement genuinely exceeds the XPS package, this is the machine in Cat's range that meets it. If it does not, the standard 285 does the same lifting for less. Before signing, get the spec sheet for the exact configuration quoted rather than relying on published figures, which differ between Caterpillar's own configurator and dealer material, and confirm your trailer is rated for 13,669 lb plus attachment.
What it has going for it
- The XE badge buys the top auxiliary hydraulic tier in Cat's compact track loader range: 40 gpm at 4,496 psi, against 34 gpm at 4,061 psi for the High Flow XPS package and 23 gpm at 3,500 psi standard. It is the only tier that is higher in both flow and pressure.
- The equalizer bar undercarriage is the structural headline. It behaves like a rigid frame when the machine is lifting heavy and like an oscillating suspension over uneven ground, which is a combination Cat previously made buyers choose between.
- 4,520 lb rated is quoted at 35 percent of tipping load, the conservative convention, so it compares honestly against brands that headline at 50 percent and flatters nothing.
- 146.6 in to the bucket pin is the tallest reach in this catalog, which is what loading a walking-floor trailer over its sides actually requires.
- The C3.6TA engine family carries substantially more torque across a wider rpm band than the D3-generation engines it supersedes, which is the difference between holding a heavy attachment at speed and bogging into it.
- The next-generation cab it shares with the rest of the range is around 22 percent larger by volume with 26 percent more foot space and a much bigger rear window, and the doors come off in two steps without tools.
Where it gives something up
- Caterpillar publishes no price for it, so there is no list figure to work from and no way to tell a good quote from a bad one without shopping several dealers.
- Published figures for this badge do not agree between sources. Caterpillar's own product configurator shows 122 hp and 4,520 lb rated, while dealer pages and trade coverage of the launch quote 134 hp and 4,816 lb. Get the spec sheet for the exact build you are quoted rather than trusting either number.
- At 13,669 lb before an attachment it needs a 20,000 lb class trailer and a truck rated to pull it, which is a step change from the 11,000 to 12,000 lb machines below it.
- The XE hydraulic tier only pays for itself if a flow-hungry attachment runs most of the working day. For bucket, fork and grapple work it is a premium bought for nothing, and the standard or XPS machine does identical work.
- This is an all-new size class for Caterpillar rather than an update of something, so there is no accumulated service record, no undercarriage wear history and no resale track record for it yet. Every one of those is a guess at this point.
- At this power class it carries the full Tier 4 Final aftertreatment package, which means diesel exhaust fluid, regeneration cycles and the fault modes that come with them.
Drawn from h-cpc.cat.com, foleyinc.com, constructionequipment.com, compactequip.com.
What buyers ask
Does XE mean the 285 XE is electric or hybrid?
What is the E-bar undercarriage and why does it matter?
Is the XE hydraulic package worth paying for?
How does the 285 XE compare with the 299D3 XE it effectively succeeds?
What does a 285 XE cost?
What should I ask a dealer to confirm before ordering one?
Put the Cat 285 XE against
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