John Deere

John Deere 331 P-Tier

$94,809before options, dealer-quotedVertical LiftRubber tracks
John Deere 331 P-Tier
Rated capacity of tipping load35%
3,150 lb rated9,000 lb tipping

The bright segment is what John Deere 331 P-Tier 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.

Deere's new CTL lineup has its volume workhorse in the 331 P-Tier, the large-frame machine that replaced the 331G in mid-2024. It pairs a 98 hp turbo Yanmar with a 3,150 lb rated operating capacity (35% of a 9,000 lb tipping load) and Deere's patented vertical-lift boom, then adds a one-piece pressurized cab, EH joystick controls, 132-inch hinge pin height, and optional 39 GPM high-flow hydraulics.

Suits: Dirt-work and landscaping contractors who want a modern large-frame CTL with Deere dealer support without stepping up to flagship pricing 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
3,150 lbs
Tipping load
9,000 lbs
Lift height to hinge pin
132 in
Lift path
Vertical Lift
Operating weight
11,914 lbs

Power and hydraulics

Engine power
98 hp
Engine
Yanmar 4TNV94FHT
Auxiliary flowStandard circuit
25 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.

Vertical LiftHigh-FlowEnclosed CabTwo-SpeedSelf-LevelingA/C & HeatTracksA/C

What owners report

Summarised from the sources listed below. Nothing here was tested by us.

Large-frame capability without the grade control, which makes this the value entry into Deere's big track loaders and the one that most owner-operators actually need. Rated 3,150 lb on the 35 percent tracked-loader basis with 98 hp and a 9,000 lb tipping load, it does the heavy pallet handling, demolition cleanup, snow contracts and feedlot work that the 333 above it also does — it simply cannot take factory SmartGrade and does not reach the same hydraulic ceiling. Owners of the 331G it replaced in 2024 described it as the sensible one in the range.

What you live with is mostly maintenance discipline rather than design flaws. The cooling package is this family's genuine advantage and the reversible fan is worth having, but debris still loads it fast enough that a daily engine-bay cleanout is not negotiable in mulching or demolition. The failure list owners actually report is unglamorous: hydraulic leaks at couplers and seals becoming the dominant item past 2,500 hours, injector carbon on bad fuel, DEF and aftertreatment fault codes that come with every Final Tier 4 machine, and the electrical wear — corroded terminals, flaky starter solenoids, parking brake sensors — that shows up on any machine past 2,000 hours. The rare expensive one is a travel failure where the machine runs but will not move, which is exactly why you test drive under load.

The case holds if you genuinely need large-frame capacity and will not use grade control, and be honest about that — the clearest advice from owners who have moved up a frame is to buy for the work rather than because bigger sounds better, because on light property work this is more weight and more cost than the job asks for. Against rivals it wins on cooling, engine record and dealer coverage, and loses to Kubota on lift and flow and to Bobcat on ride. Before signing, drive it loaded in both directions and through the full boom arc, pull stored fault history rather than active codes, measure track lug height and check roller condition, and price the high-flow option in from the start if mulching is anywhere in your plans. Weigh it seriously against a low-hour example of the outgoing model, which does most of this for appreciably less.

What owners like

  • Cooling is the reason owners picked this frame over rivals. The large-frame G-Series introduced a three-cooler arrangement that operators specifically credited in hot-day mulching, dust-heavy demolition and sustained high-flow attachment work, and the optional reversible fan lets you clear the core rather than dig it out.
  • The Yanmar 4TNV94FHT in this frame has a long service record — the 91 hp version of the same engine ran seven years in the outgoing machine and owners consistently describe it as reliable when it is actually serviced on schedule. Problems traced back to clogged filters and neglected fuel, not to the engine itself.
  • Vertical lift to a 132-inch hinge pin clears high-sided tandem trucks and feed mixers, which is the difference between loading a truck and building a ramp to load a truck.
  • Electrohydraulic joysticks with adjustable boom and drive response are standard here, where the machine it replaces made you buy a performance package to get features like return-to-dig and electronic self-level. On repetitive truck loading, self-levelling alone recovers real time across a ten-hour shift.
  • Attachment couplers on this large-frame family are internally mounted and sleeve-protected, which owners working brush and forestry called a real durability advantage over external-coupler designs that catch everything they pass.

What owners complain about

  • High flow is an option, not standard equipment. The 25 GPM standard circuit runs ordinary attachments but not a serious mulching head, and on the outgoing machine the gap was 23.5 GPM standard against 36.5 with the package. Order it up front or accept the limit, because this is not a sensible retrofit.
  • Kubota's SVL97-3 simply outlifts it — 3,459 lb against 3,150 here — and moves more oil at 41.2 GPM high-flow. If your work is pure lift and hydraulics rather than cooling and dealer reach, that is a real alternative.
  • There is no torsion suspension. The rigid roller frame is why Bobcat's 5-Link machines remain the ride benchmark, and on rough ground at speed the bucket bounces more and holds less.
  • Hydraulic leaks at couplers, seals and hose connections were the most-reported maintenance item past roughly 2,500 hours across this family, and fuel injector carbon build-up is documented on machines run on poor fuel or with skipped filters — owners doing hard hours were being advised to have injectors professionally inspected around 2,000 hours.
  • The large-frame G-Series measured 78.9 inches wide, which ruled it out of tight residential access, and this is not a narrower machine. If most of your work is between a house and a fence, this is the wrong frame regardless of what it lifts.
  • P-Tier pricing moved up sharply. A new large-frame P-Tier was landing around CAD $145,000 to $170,000 and up while a low-hour G-Series did the same work for $20,000 to $30,000 less, which is why so many owners looked at a used predecessor instead of trading.
  • Track replacement on this frame ran roughly CAD $4,500 to $8,000 depending on width on the outgoing machine, before rollers and idlers. Undercarriage, not fuel or filters, is what actually determines what this machine costs per hour.

Drawn from aglist.ca, compactequip.com, reynoldsfarmequipment.com.

What buyers ask

How is this different from the 333 P-Tier above it?
The 333 brings about 10 more horsepower, more rated capacity, a substantially higher tipping load, and it is the only one of the two that can be ordered with factory SmartGrade grade control. The 331 is the general-purpose large-frame machine. If you will not use grade control and do not need the biggest hydraulic circuit, the 331 does the same daily work for roughly $20,000 less.
Do I need the high-flow hydraulics?
Only if you run flow-hungry attachments. The standard circuit handles buckets, forks, augers, hammers, trenchers and brooms perfectly well. Forestry mulchers, large cold planers, commercial snow blowers and stump grinders need the high-flow package to perform rather than merely spin. It is an order-time decision, not something to add later.
Should I buy this new or find a low-hour previous-generation machine instead?
It is a genuine question rather than a formality. The outgoing model has a long field record, the same engine family, the same cooling advantage and most of the same capability, and it has been selling for meaningfully less than a new P-Tier. What you give up is the redesigned cab, the touchscreen and camera options, standard electrohydraulic joystick features that were previously a paid package, and the balance of factory warranty. For an owner running 500 to 1,000 hours a year, the older cab is adequate for the work.
What does the undercarriage actually cost to keep up?
It is the largest controllable cost of ownership. On the machine this replaces, a track set ran roughly CAD $4,500 to $8,000 depending on width, with rollers and idlers separate, and heavy use on rock or demolition shortens track life considerably. Correct tension and a genuinely clean undercarriage are the two things most within your control, and both are cheaper than the parts.
Is it too big for residential landscaping?
Usually, yes. The large-frame machine it replaces was 78.9 inches wide and owners found that ruled it out of tight residential access, and at nearly 12,000 lb it also marks up soft lawns and needs serious transport between jobs. For hardscape and residential work most buyers are better served by the mid-frame 325, which trailers far more easily.
What breaks on these?
Nothing catastrophic that owners report as a pattern, which is the useful answer. The recurring items are hydraulic leaks at couplers and seals past about 2,500 hours, fuel injector carbon build-up on machines run on poor-quality diesel or with skipped filter intervals, aftertreatment and DEF sensor fault codes common to all Final Tier 4 equipment, and ordinary electrical wear past 2,000 hours. The rare expensive failure is a loss of travel function, which a loaded test drive will expose.

Put the John Deere 331 P-Tier against

John Deere 325 P-TierJohn Deere 333 P-TierTakeuchi TL12V2

Machines in the same range

The rest of the John Deere line
John Deere 325 P-Tier

John Deere

John Deere 325 P-Tier

$76,000

Vertical Lift · rubber tracks
2,590 lb rated35% of 7,400 lb
Engine
74 hp
Aux flow
21 GPM
Weight
9,500 lbs

The 325G was Deere's best-selling mid-frame compact track loader, and the 325 P-Tier replaced it while keeping the 74 hp DEF-free Yanmar and 2,590 lb rated capacity, adding a roomier sealed cab, standard EH ISO joysticks, and optional high-flow hydraulics. It stays under the 75 hp Tier 4 threshold that avoids DEF, and the vertical lift path with a 10.5-foot hinge pin height loads tandem dump trucks cleanly - the all-around configuration that made the 325G a landscaper and rental favorite.

Full sheet & owner reports
John Deere 333 P-Tier

John Deere

John Deere 333 P-Tier

$114,464

Vertical Lift · rubber tracks
3,850 lb rated35% of 11,000 lb
Engine
108 hp
Aux flow
25 GPM
Weight
12,183 lbs

An 8% power bump to 108.5 hp, a 3,850 lb rated operating capacity against an 11,000 lb tipping load, and an optional 44 GPM high-flow system separate the 333 P-Tier from the popular 333G it replaced in mid-2024. It's also Deere's grade-control CTL - available SmartGrade Ready with 2D or full 3D SmartGrade with Topcon - wrapped in the new one-piece pressurized P-Tier cab with touchscreen display and EH controls.

Full sheet & owner reports
John Deere 317 P-Tier

John Deere

John Deere 317 P-Tier

$70,697

Vertical Lift · rubber tracks
2,125 lb rated35% of 6,070 lb
Engine
65 hp
Aux flow
17 GPM
Weight
8,423 lbs

No compact track loader in Deere's line is smaller than the 317 P-Tier, which replaced the 317G as the small-frame vertical-lift entry point to the CTL line. At roughly 8,400 lbs it still tows behind a standard pickup, while the P-Tier update brings a roomier sealed cab, standard EH ISO joystick controls, and options like ride control and a rearview camera. The 65 hp turbo Yanmar meets Tier 4 Final without DEF, and the vertical lift path with 2,125 lb rated capacity handles pallets and truck loading that radial small-frames struggle with.

Full sheet & owner reports