Caterpillar debuted the 308CR fixed-boom mini excavator at this year’s World of Concrete in Las Vegas, replacing its 307.5 with more hydraulic power and efficiency.
In the video above, Equipment World got a walkaround of the new 308CR and its key features.
As the latest addition to Cat’s 8-metric-class lineup, the 308CR brings a new compact-radius design with 67% less overhang when using the 550-pound counterweight and 61% less with the 1,100-pound counterweight.
Under the hood, a 69-horsepower Cat C2.8 Turbo (similar to Cat's larger mini excavators) is equipped with auto idle, auto engine shutdown and a variable displacement pump for hydraulics. The 308CR’s operating weight comes in at 18,659 pounds.
Caterpillar increased digging depth to 15 feet 5 inches and maximum reach to 22 feet 8 inch in the long-stick configuration. Minimum-maximum configuration lift capacities have also increased when operating over the front with blade down and over the side.
Greg Worley, market professional at Caterpillar, says the 308CR meshes well with the growing trend of urban redevelopment.
Compared to the 307.5, other upgrades on the 308CR include increased track width of 7 feet 7 inches and increased undercarriage length of 9 feet 5 inches.
In the sealed and pressurized cab, operators will find:
- Next-gen monitor with customizable preferences.
- Standard Cat stick steer with button activated switching from lever and paddle to joystick control.
- Fluorescent seatbelt. (A seatbelt reminder system is optional.)
- Cruise control options.
- Improved air conditioning.
- Adjustable wrist rests.
- Suspension seat.
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00:00:00:00 - 00:00:11:13
Greg Worley
We know that people with these size of machines like to work in tight, confined spaces, and we can do that with the three or white compact radius machine. Now.
00:00:17:08 - 00:00:45:06
Greg Worley
Hi Greg Worley, market professional for Cat covering many hydraulic excavators 1 to 10 ton. Well here we go to concrete 2026. And we're here to introduce the brand new 308 compact radius. Fixed boom machine. This model replaces the previous 307.5, which was a fixed point machine but was a standard towel, so I had lots of overhang. Many benefits come between compact radius and standard towel.
00:00:45:11 - 00:01:08:28
Greg Worley
With that compact radius and the extra counterweights, you get that stability without sacrificing that overhang of the standard towel sewing machines. When it comes to the front of the machine, fixed boom versus swing boom. There's pros and cons, whichever one you want. With a fixed boom machine, if you're in a tight space, you can't dig a square trench without repositioning.
00:01:09:00 - 00:01:33:09
Greg Worley
So do you dig in a V pattern like an ice cream cone? If this was a swing boom machine, we could dig a ten foot square without repositioning the machine. However, a fixed boom machine, you can lift more and lift quite closer to up tight to the bodywork of the machine. So as our construction practices change, basically we're doing more and more brownfield development.
00:01:33:11 - 00:02:02:26
Greg Worley
Basically, we're going back in redeveloping or filling in the spaces in urbanized areas, less green construction going on nowadays. So when you go into these urbanized areas, you need as much power, performance and capability in the machine. Smallest package possible. So that's why moving from a standard tell swing machine and the eight ton platform with a fixed boom to that compact radius is important as we get more done in these smaller, tighter environments.
00:02:02:29 - 00:02:27:29
Greg Worley
Now, with the 308 replacing, the 37.53, 7.5 had a different engine and hydraulic system. The 308 see fixed boom now has the same engine and a hydraulic system as the bigger brothers and sisters. The Cat C 2.8 engine with turbo. With that new engine on this size machine, we can run the same hydro mechanical tools that we run on the swing boom machine.
00:02:28:01 - 00:02:48:06
Greg Worley
So we're common izing those attachments across the range of all machines from the eight, nine and ten ton machines. We also get the track options. We only have one track option on the 3 or 7.5, and on the 308 range of machines, we have three track options the rubber belt, the steel track, or the steel track with pad that we have here on this machine.
00:02:48:09 - 00:03:16:15
Greg Worley
This machine also comes with a cut indicate card indicate is at entry level. Grade control system indicates system no orders. As well as introducing that, we're introducing a laser catcher. The laser catcher is now available on all of our mini excavators from five ton the ten ton. The laser catcher allows you to have a reference of your laser beam across the jobsite, so when you're moving around, that point never changes.
00:03:16:18 - 00:03:36:27
Greg Worley
Currently today, without the laser catcher, it works very well, but we're working on Earth reference, so we're taking another step up with that technology. One of the things we're trying to do here at Cat is offer the basic excavator that just digs a hole. And then if the customer preference requires technology, we stack it and we continue to second.
00:03:37:00 - 00:04:05:24
Greg Worley
So as well as this machine having Cat indicate on it, it's also got cat grade 3D on this machine as well. So we've totally loaded it up for the show. So our 308 comes as a fixed boom, a swing boom, a variable angle boom. And then the bigger brothers and sisters, the 309 with that longer undercarriage on and that dedicated ox pump and then the Big Brother, the 310, 10.2 metric ton machine.
00:04:05:24 - 00:04:12:28
Greg Worley
So we're trying to give as many different options and versatility to the customers as we possibly can.
