Takeuchi
Takeuchi TL8R2
The bright segment is what Takeuchi TL8R2 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.
A ground-up redesign of the TL8, this mid-frame radial-lift track loader comes from the company that invented the CTL. The TL8R2's 74.3 hp Kubota V3307 avoids DEF, the reinforced undercarriage carries Takeuchi's reputation for track life, and the R2 update added a roomier quiet cab, a 5.7-inch multi-function display, creep mode for attachment work, and an available 33.8 GPM high-flow package - keeping the dig-first radial geometry that made the TL8 a favorite of dirt-moving owner-operators.
Suits: Takeuchi durability and a dig-focused radial CTL with a no-DEF Kubota Its radial lift path reaches furthest at mid-height, for digging, grading and backfilling.
Lifting and reach
- Rated operating capacityTrack loader rating convention
- 2,115 lbs
- Tipping load
- 6,040 lbs
- Lift height to hinge pin
- 121.2 in
- Lift path
- Radial Lift
- Operating weight
- 9,182 lbs
Power and hydraulics
- Engine power
- 74 hp
- Engine
- Kubota V3307-CR-TE5B
- Auxiliary flowStandard circuit
- 20 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 owners report
Summarised from the sources listed below. Nothing here was tested by us.
Dirt work is what this one is built around. Radial-lift geometry gives it the breakout force to dig and grade rather than the reach to stack, and the redesign from the original TL8 concentrated on the parts that cost owners money - a completely new undercarriage with triple-flange bottom rollers, a new track guide system, and a final drive routed inside the frame where it cannot be struck.
The 74.3 hp Kubota was chosen to stay under the threshold that would force a DEF system on it, which keeps the maintenance simple and the engine familiar to any diesel shop, though the particulate filter remains and short-cycle users still meet regeneration. Visibility is a real strength, helped by the sloped rear deck, lowered front crossmember and standard camera, and the pilot controls are light enough to matter by late afternoon. Where buyers get caught is the option sheet: Creep Mode and load-sensing two-speed travel both come only with high flow, so the machine people describe and the machine on the base price list are not the same thing.
Digging, backfilling and grading with the occasional demanding attachment is the day it fits, rather than someone whose main job is loading trucks - that buyer wants the vertical-lift TL10V2 and should budget accordingly, because no vertical version exists at this size. Order it with high flow if a planer, trencher or mulcher is anywhere in the plan, since that single box brings the two features worth having. And check dealer distance before price: Takeuchi's coverage is regional, and on a machine whose faults tend to be electronic rather than mechanical, how far away the diagnostic software sits is a real cost.
What owners like
- The undercarriage is completely new versus the original TL8 rather than a carryover, running triple-flange bottom rollers with a redesigned rubber track guide system, and the final drive is internally routed so the drive lines sit inside the frame instead of hanging where rocks and stumps can find them.
- Its highest-wear part, the bottom roller, is the same item used on the TL6 and TL10V2, so the piece you replace most often is a common shelf part across three models rather than a model-specific order with a lead time.
- The 74.3 hp Kubota V3307 sits deliberately under the 75 hp emissions threshold, so there is no DEF system to fill or maintain, and the engine family is shared with Kubota's own SVL75 - meaning any competent diesel shop already knows it and parts are not locked to one franchise.
- Creep Mode is the genuinely useful feature: twenty speed increments from 0.09 to 3.11 mph that set ground speed independently of the travel lever, so a cold planer or trencher holds an exact pace instead of being feathered by hand all day.
- The high-flow circuit delivers 33.8 gpm at 3,045 psi, enough to properly feed mulching heads and planers that plenty of other 74 hp machines cannot keep spun up.
- Radial-lift geometry and strong breakout make it a digger first, and the cab supports that work - sloped rear deck, lowered front crossmember, large rear window and a standard rearview camera give genuinely good sightlines, with a 5.7-inch colour display, low-effort pilot controls and proportional auxiliary switches.
What owners complain about
- The two features most often cited as reasons to buy this machine are both high-flow options rather than standard equipment. Creep Mode is offered only on high-flow models, and so is load-sensing two-speed travel. A standard machine makes 19.1 gpm and has neither, so the brochure version and the base version are meaningfully different machines - get the build sheet, not the brochure.
- There is no factory vertical-lift version at this size. If you need truck-loading geometry, Takeuchi's answer is to move up to the TL10V2, which is a size class and a price bracket away rather than an option box.
- Ducking DEF did not duck the diesel particulate filter, and short-cycle, low-load work is where that shows up as interrupted regeneration cycles and, at worst, a machine that parks itself until a regen completes.
- Good undercarriage life is still a budget item: bottom rollers run roughly $340 to $500 each, idlers around $550 to $630, sprockets about $320 and rubber tracks well over $1,200 apiece. Plan for it as a consumable rather than discovering it at 1,500 hours.
Drawn from takeuchi-us.com, newrubbertrack.com, store.rubbertrax.com.
What buyers ask
Does the TL8R2 come with Creep Mode?
What can the high-flow package run?
How does it differ from the original TL8?
Does it need diesel exhaust fluid?
Why choose this over the vertical-lift TL10V2?
What does the undercarriage cost to maintain?
Put the Takeuchi TL8R2 against
Machines in the same range
The rest of the Takeuchi line
Takeuchi
Takeuchi TL10V2
$78,000
- Engine
- 74 hp
- Aux flow
- 18.8 GPM
- Weight
- 10,270 lbs
Built heavy at over 10,000 lbs with a 74.3 hp Kubota diesel, the Takeuchi TL10V2 is a mid-frame vertical-lift compact track loader from the company that invented the CTL. It sits between the TL8 and TL12V2 for contractors who prize Takeuchi's tank-like construction and undercarriage.
Full sheet & owner reports
Takeuchi
Takeuchi TL6R
$56,000
- Engine
- 65 hp
- Aux flow
- 17.7 GPM
- Weight
- 7,780 lbs
A frame just over five feet wide with a 65 hp Kubota diesel inside it: the Takeuchi TL6R is the smallest compact track loader from the company that invented the category. It's built for tight-access landscaping and backyard work where full-size CTLs simply can't go.
Full sheet & owner reports
Takeuchi
Takeuchi TL12R2
$88,000
- Engine
- 111 hp
- Aux flow
- 23.3 GPM
- Weight
- 12,590 lbs
Land clearing, forestry mulching, and hard digging are what the radial-lift version of Takeuchi's large-frame track loader is built for, rather than truck loading. The TL12R2's 111.3 hp Kubota V3800 turbo-diesel feeds an available 40.4 GPM high-flow circuit, bucket breakout tops 8,200 lbs, and the heavy 12,590 lb frame with Takeuchi's stout undercarriage keeps it planted on slopes. Where the vertical-lift TL12V2 chases lift capacity, the R2 trades reach at height for a simpler, stronger boom that attacks the ground.
Full sheet & owner reports