Caterpillar 305ECR hits the spot for Gap Plant

Sun 26 Jan 2014

Caterpillar 305ECR hits the spot for Gap Plant

Having first integrated Caterpillar machines into its portfolio in 2011, Scottish based national plant hire player, Gap Plant & Tool Hire has continued to invest heavily in the famous company’s products, which have been well received by its customers. When I was first contacted about this job deployment, I was told it would be on a Gap Plant Hire machine from the Exeter depot, naturally I assumed it would be a Kubota machine as they have been running that brand for some considerable time, so it came as a bit of a surprise when I arrived on site to see the low houred Caterpillar waiting for me.

I have spent some short periods in 305E models in the past at Caterpillars Desford facility in Leicestershire, and during a brief stint of working for the South West Compact Cat dealership WH Bonds, but had not spent any real time site working hours on one, so I was looking forward to getting to grips with the compact radius machine.

My first impression when climbing into the cab was of a fairly basic, but comfortable place to spend a shift. There is no air-conditioning system in this particular plant hire market machine, but I believe that it can be specified if required. It does however have a good heater on board, which was a bonus during last week’s windy and rainy conditions. Sadly being a hired machine, there was no fitted radio either, but the machine is actually radio ready with all the necessary wiring and speakers already in place to the rear of the cab.

Operation wise the machine is all we have come to expect from Caterpillar, with smooth and precise hydraulics and plenty of power in the dig. For the type of work we were doing, in the back gardens of a housing development, this size machine is excellent and the Cat’s compact radius design gives you peace of mind as an operator when working in tight quarters.

To the front right of the cab you find the COMPASS control panel, which stands for yet another Cat acronym, Complete Operation Maintenance Performance and Security System. The operator can check and adjust a multitude of functions via this easy to use display screen, including setting an anti-theft passcode.

There are some neat features in the cab, including the off-set arm function being controlled by a roller thumb button on the left hand joystick, and the float function on the blade control which is something of a unique feature on many models in Caterpillars mini excavator range.

The floor of the cab is clear of any pedals except the tracking pedals, which are connected to the levers. If I had to find one fault, it is that these pedals are tiny making them difficult to use effectively. I am only a size 7 boot, but as you can see my footwear is way bigger than the actual pedals.

In summary the Cat 305ECR is a very nice compact excavator, which is obviously proving to be a good choice for Gap Plant Hire.

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