Gaining access to your maintenance items should be quick and easy, and shouldn't
require your toolbox. Bobcat engineers believe routine maintenance checks
should be at your fingertips when you open the tailgate. Sounds simple, right?
Not so fast. On many compact track loaders you've got to move the radiator,
raise the lift arms, or install lift arm support devices, then you can finally
check your engine fluids, filters, and other checkpoints. But as you'd expect,
Bobcat understands what fast and easy maintenance is all about. Let's check
them out. On Bobcat loaders you don't have to raise the lift arms or get out
your tools, you simply do this. Now, this is full access. The Bobcat radiator and
hydraulic oil cooler are protected high above the engine and uprights, and the
engine is turned sideways or transversely mounted. Meaning, you can
quickly reach short-term and long-term maintenance items. It's this simple. You
can easily put your hand on the fuel fill, belt, alternator, throttle, engine
block heater, fuel filter, oil filter, oil fill, starter, dipstick, drive belt, and
battery, and you can even reach the pressure and temperature sensors. Let's
check out the others. Caterpillar has the radiator mounted up high, out of the way.
However, they do not have a transverse mounted engine, meaning your maintenance
items are buried deeper into the dark corners. You can raise the radiator to
help crawl into those dark crawl spaces, but I don't see the battery.
I can't put my hand on the starter, and the alternator is behind this cover. And
the engine oil filter is a full arm's length in. It doesn't even come close to
the access of a Bobcat loader, and what about this filter. They must have thought
that this filter was a little unreasonable to reach, so they grabbed
some extra hoses and brought it out here to the tailgate. It certainly gets the
filter closer to you, but now you have unnecessary hoses fittings and potential
leak points, and this little fix required about 15 feet of hoses. Let's take a look
at another one. One unique thing about this John Deere machine, there is no
tailgate. We can open the small gate and this is nice and convenient, if you're
seven feet tall. So, how do you get in here? First, pray that your problem isn't
an engine or hydraulic failure, because you got to raise these clumsy lift arms
and then you remove the side panels just to gain access. Even after you've
completed all those steps, you still don't have anything close to the access
that Bobcat offers. One of these brands has to come close to the access you get
on Bobcat loaders, right? Maybe Takeuchi can be the one. More radiator and not
much access. Get your tools out again. I can reach over the radiator and get the
dipstick in the oil fill, but that's about it. Like Caterpillar, they felt
sorry for you so they brought this water separator out to the door. It's more
convenient, but it requires extra fittings and nearly 15 feet of extra
hoses. It can get punctured or rubbed, maybe this
mirror can make the objects closer than they appear. With Bobcat loaders, you can
easily reach your daily, monthly, and long-term maintenance items. You're more
likely to complete that critical, preventative, maintenance when it's easy
to do. You get reduced operating costs, more uptime, and a better bottom line.
Easy, serviceability. That's a Bobcat Advantage.