Bobcat L255 vs. CAT 938: When a Large Wheel Loader Beats a Small One

Most contractors shopping for a wheel loader pick their class first — small, compact, or large — and then shop brands inside that class. That habit makes sense most of the time, but it quietly breaks down right at the edge between classes, where the top machine in one manufacturer's small-wheel-loader range and the bottom machine in a different manufacturer's large wheel loader range end up closer in capability than their category names suggest. That's exactly the situation between the Bobcat L255 and the CAT 938 right now, and it's worth a straight comparison before you assume the class label on the brochure is telling you the whole story.

Bobcat didn't build large wheel loaders at all until a few years ago. The L205 through L285 lineup was a genuinely new product category for the brand, built from the ground up rather than scaled up from the compact loaders Bobcat is known for, and the L255 sits in the lower-middle of that four-model range. CAT's 938, on the other hand, has been around in one form or another for decades as the flagship of CAT's small wheel loader lineup — the machine contractors reach for when a skid steer or compact track loader runs out of bucket capacity but a full-size loader is more machine than the site needs. Put the current versions of both side by side and the lines blur more than the category names let on.

Bobcat L255: the new kid with real numbers behind it

The L255 runs a 172-horsepower diesel and carries an operating weight of roughly 30,903 lb, putting it at the small end of Bobcat's large-loader range but still a substantial machine. Bucket capacity runs 3.5 to 5.0 cubic yards depending on configuration. Tipping load comes in at 24,839 lb in straight-frame configuration or 21,894 lb articulated, with rated operating capacity (at 50% of tip) of 12,420 lb straight and 10,947 lb articulated. Travel speed tops out at 23.3 mph forward and 14.9 mph in reverse, hinge pin height at full lift is 10.66 ft, and the hydraulic system runs a 3,844 psi main pump pressure with 40.9 gpm available at the auxiliary circuit for attachments.

There's no direct predecessor to point to here — Bobcat simply didn't compete in this weight class before, so there's nothing honest to compare the L255 against inside Bobcat's own history. What it's really competing against, in practice, is the top end of the small-wheel-loader field and the bottom end of established large-loader lineups from brands that have been building full-size loaders for generations. The CAT 938 is the cleanest example of the first group.

CAT 938: the small loader that's bigger than it sounds

The current 938 is rated at 191 horsepower gross (143 kW, per SAE J1995) and carries a standard operating weight of 35,528 lb — heavier than the Bobcat L255 despite wearing a "small wheel loader" badge. Bucket capacity ranges from 1.9 to 5.0 cubic meters (roughly 2.5 to 6.5 cubic yards) depending on the bucket fitted, and top travel speed reaches 25 mph in fourth range. CAT's small wheel loader line has been through several generations — the 938 name has carried through the G, H, K, and M series over the years, with each generation bringing updated hydraulics, cab ergonomics, and emissions compliance — and the current model continues that steady evolution rather than any single dramatic redesign.

Spec by spec: where the overlap actually sits

Line the two machines up and the picture that emerges isn't "small loader vs. big loader" — it's two machines separated by about 19% more horsepower and roughly 15% more operating weight on the CAT's side, with a meaningfully wider bucket capacity range. For a lot of jobs, that's the difference between "comfortable" and "a little tight," not the difference between two different categories of equipment.

• Operating weight: Bobcat L255 — 30,903 lb vs. CAT 938 — 35,528 lb

• Rated power: Bobcat L255 — 172 hp vs. CAT 938 — 191 hp gross

• Bucket capacity: Bobcat L255 — 3.5 to 5.0 yd³ vs. CAT 938 — 2.5 to 6.5 yd³

• Top travel speed: Bobcat L255 — 23.3 mph vs. CAT 938 — 25 mph

• Tipping load (straight frame): Bobcat L255 — 24,839 lb

The honest takeaway isn't that one machine beats the other — it's that both manufacturers are competing for the same contractor, just from opposite directions. Bobcat built the L255 to give large-loader capability to shops that trust the Bobcat dealer network and parts ecosystem they already use for skid steers and compact track loaders. CAT built the 938 to give small-loader agility and fuel economy to shops that need more muscle than a compact loader but don't want the size, turning radius, or price tag of a full-size wheel loader. If your work genuinely needs 5+ yard buckets and higher breakout force more often than not, the 938's wider bucket range and extra weight class room make it the safer pick. If you're moving aggregate, mulch, or landscape material in the 3.5-to-5-yard range most days and want a true large-loader frame and stability, the L255 is purpose-built for exactly that.

The attachment and dealer-network question

Specs only tell part of the story — what happens when the machine needs a part or a new bucket matters just as much. Bobcat's dealer network was built around skid steers and compact track loaders, and the company has spent the last several years extending that same parts pipeline and attachment catalog to the L-series large loaders, so a shop already running Bobcat compact equipment can often pull from a parts bin and attachment inventory it already understands. CAT's dealer network for the 938 is the more mature of the two in pure wheel-loader terms — CAT dealers have been stocking 900-series parts, buckets, forks, and quick-coupler attachments for decades, and that depth shows up in attachment variety and used-market liquidity if you ever need to trade up or sell. Neither answer is wrong; it depends on which dealer relationship your shop already has and trusts.

A Florida angle worth factoring in

For contractors working Florida's limerock and aggregate pits, nursery and landscape material yards, and the post-storm debris cleanup work that ramps up every hurricane season, the choice between these two machines often comes down to bucket range more than anything else. Limerock and crushed aggregate are dense, abrasive materials that reward the 938's higher breakout force and wider bucket ceiling when loading tri-axle dump trucks all day. Mulch, topsoil, and landscape material handled by South Florida's nursery and hardscape suppliers is lighter and higher-volume, which plays more to the L255's larger operating envelope relative to its weight class. Either way, salt-air corrosion and near-constant humidity in coastal Florida markets make undercarriage and hydraulic seal maintenance schedules matter more than they do inland — something worth discussing with your dealer regardless of which brand you choose.

Rent vs. own: the math contractors actually run

A machine that straddles two classes like this is exactly the kind of equipment contractors end up renting over and over because they're not sure which class they really need — and that's usually the most expensive way to find out. Renting a wheel loader for a stretch of material-handling work makes sense when the need is genuinely short-term: a single site-prep phase, a one-off demolition cleanup, a landscaping contract that wraps in a few months. But once a loader is on your jobsite more weeks than it's off it, the rental invoices stop looking like a convenience and start looking like a second equipment payment you'll never see equity from. Owning the machine — financed through a structure that matches your cash flow instead of draining it — means every hour the loader works is building value you keep, not value you're renting back from someone else every single month.

Who actually buys which machine

Site-prep contractors and general contractors running multiple small-to-mid residential and commercial jobs tend to gravitate toward the L255 because it slots in alongside the skid steers and track loaders they already run from the same Bobcat dealer relationship. Landscape materials yards, nurseries, and bulk aggregate suppliers loading dump trucks and flatbeds all day lean toward the 938 for its wider bucket range and the extra breakout force when working dense or compacted material. Demolition and debris-handling crews moving mixed, unpredictable loads often split the difference and look hard at both before deciding based on dealer support and parts turnaround in their specific region — which, for a lot of operators in the Southeast, ends up mattering as much as the spec sheet itself.

Finance either one the right way

Whichever machine fits your work, the financing decision matters as much as the equipment decision. BFC Equipment Loans works with contractors nationwide to structure financing and leasing on wheel loaders from both of these manufacturers and the rest of the approved equipment list, matching terms to your season and cash flow instead of forcing a one-size payment plan onto a business that doesn't run that way. You can review wheel loader financing options on our wheel loader financing page, and see how other contractors have sized this exact decision in our breakdown of Bobcat's large wheel loader lineup and our earlier look at CAT's compact wheel loaders against Bobcat's L95.

Fuel burn and duty-cycle fit

Horsepower and weight numbers don't tell you much about what a shift actually costs in diesel. Generally speaking, a loader running closer to its rated capacity all day burns noticeably more fuel per yard moved than one with some headroom left — which is the practical argument for sizing slightly up rather than slightly down when you're on the fence between these two. A 938 loaded light all day is paying for horsepower it isn't using; an L255 run at the top of its bucket range all day is working harder than its lighter frame was optimized for. The honest advice is to size for your heaviest routine day, not your average day, because the average day is rarely where a loader struggles.

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