Cat 528

[JustinW_NZ]

Hi there

Anyone with experience on the Cat 528 skidders?
I'm looking at buying one with a swing grapple on it which is rather hard to find around this country but I think it might be very useful around my milling operation as well.

Anything to look out for on these machines in particular?
Its a 1988 machine so the last of 528s I believe.

Cheers
Justin

[giant splinter]

Justin
I had a 518 1986 I thought they finished that series in 1989 but not sure .... your looking at a bigger machine and you can find out about them through the auction companies like Richie brothers and iron planet, I had very good service out of mine, just over 14000 hours ad no major repairs.

[ClarkF66]

Justin
I have around 12000 hrs on a Cat 528, and about the same on different other skidders combined. In my opinion, and if you search this forum you will find others who say the same, the 528 is the best skidder ever made. I don't know of any week spots to speak of. Mine where 15 years old but completely rebuilt when I got it, and all I ever did was maintenance such as brakes, muffler, belts and hoses. It had the Gearmatic 190 winch and that wasn't quite up to the standard of the rest of the machine. The one you are looking at might have the Cat winch which is stronger.
When I got it everybody told me to stay away from Cat because of the pricey parts, but that doesn't matter to much when you hardly ever buy any.
I would not get a 528 in generally worn out condition, though. To fix one up all around would be expensive.
One more thing; they are great in steep terrain. Just make sure to lower the blade when stopping on a hill, dont trust the parkingbrake.

[JustinW_NZ]

Thanks for the info, sounds promising.
This unit has 14,000 hours on it, had the tranny done a little while ago.

Cheers
Justin

[JustinW_NZ]

Thanks again for the feedback, im making an offer tomorrow which should be agreeable for all.

Those esco swing grapples are something else arnt they?
I had not seen one in action before.

Cheers
Justin

[RunningRoot]

Let us know how it goes....

[JustinW_NZ]

Let us know how it goes....

The guy took our offer  8)
So that's a new fun toy haha

Will post up some pics soon.

Cheers
Justin

[RunningRoot]

Congrats Justin   8)

The 528 looks to be one hell of a machine... Far to big for me, but that doesn't stop me from wanting one  :D

[JustinW_NZ]

Congrats Justin   8)

The 528 looks to be one hell of a machine... Far to big for me, but that doesn't stop me from wanting one  :D

My other skidder is a treefarmer c4, so now i cover each end of the scale!

Cheers
Justin