CATERPILLAR Excavators Upcoming Auctions

About Caterpillar Excavators

Caterpillar revealed its first hydraulic excavator, the Cat 225, in 1972, and since then the company has gone on to establish several long-standing model lines that have stood the test of time. These machines fall into three different categories on MachineryTrader.com: mini excavators (up to 12,000 pounds), crawler excavators, and wheel excavators. Cat diggers offer varying operating weights, boom lengths, and other features that make them well-suited for a wide range of applications, such as digging holes for foundations, making trenches, and general construction and forestry work.

General Overview

Caterpillar excavators fall under one of several Cat-specific categories: mini, small, medium, large, demolition, and frontless. While the first four relate to the size of the digger in question, demolition excavators are designed for “low-level demolition” and “above-ground-level tasks,” according to Caterpillar, and frontless models come without sticks, booms, or buckets, so you have the flexibility to find the right attachments for your specific operation. Available Cat attachments include augers, compactors, couplers, grapples, hammers, rakes, rippers, thumbs, and more.

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2016 Cat 305E2 CR mini excavator with an 8-foot, 5-inch boom and 24-inch bucket.

Caterpillar provides enhancements for its excavators in the form of advanced technologies like the Cat Grade control system. Cat Grade helps you guide the bucket more accurately to improve efficiency. There is also a version of this solution called Cat Grade With Assist, which automates some of the movements of the boom and bucket so you can enter the desired depth and slope angle into the system and simplify the digging process.

Cat Mini Excavators

One of the most popular model groups in the Caterpillar mini excavator category is the 305. One entry in the group, the Cat 305E2 CR, features a Cat C2.4 engine that produces up to 40.2 net horsepower, an operating weight of 11,443 pounds, a reach of roughly 18.3 feet with the standard stick, a bucket digging force of 10,050 pounds, and a stick digging force of 5,550 pounds.

The smallest model available is the Cat 300.9, which has a 13-net horsepower Yanmar 31N70 engine, an operating weight of 2,170 pounds, a reach of just over 10 feet, 2,000 pounds of bucket digging force, and 1,011 pounds of stick digging force. Other popular Cat mini excavators include the 301, 302, 303, 303.5, 304, and 305.5.

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2015 Cat 320EL crawler excavator with an 18-foot, 8-inch boom and 9-foot, 6-inch stick.

Cat Crawler Excavators

There are typically thousands of Caterpillar crawler excavator listings on MachineryTrader.com, and the most commonly available model is often the Cat 320. This machine sports a Cat C4.4 ACERT engine with a net flywheel power of 162 horsepower. It also has an operating weight of 49,600 pounds, fuel tank capacity of 86.6 gallons, maximum reach of 32.4 feet at ground level, a bucket digging force of 38,811 pounds, and a stick digging force of 23,911 pounds. Other popular models in this category include the 308, 312, 329, 330, 336, and 349.

Cat Wheel Excavators

The most popular Cat wheel excavators on MachineryTrader.com are the M313, M315, M316, M318, and M322. The 2017 Cat M318F model, for example, features a Cat C7.1 ACERT engine that produces 169 net horsepower and up to 578 pounds-foot of torque. Depending on the configuration, it has an operating weight of between 37,919 and 43,431 pounds.

M318F models will typically have one-piece booms or variable angle (VA) booms. The maximum reach with a one-piece boom is 30.17 feet, while the maximum reach with a VA boom is 30.83 feet, both at ground level. It also has a fuel tank capacity of 87.2 gallons and a maximum travel speed of 22 mph.

Find Your Match

Whether you’re looking for a compact machine for work in tighter spaces or a larger one to handle the heaviest loads, you’ll find thousands of new and used Caterpillar excavators for sale at MachineryTrader.com that will meet your needs.