Gehl Mini Excavators??

[J. Peterson Grading]

I hate asking these questions on here for fear of the off topic non helpfull directions these posts end up going. So helpful or not I need some info here.

I am looking at getting another Excavator going to pull the trigger in a month or so.

I have been thinking about a Gehl 603. I have found some decient prices on usd ones, and with the fininacial situation we are seeing I think I will be seeing more good deals.

So Anyone know anything about them? Good or bad? They seem nice enough. Most have Heat and AC. Some hace quick tatch and multiple buckets (Plus) I need a bigger machine for some of the work we have been doing as of late. I rented a Volvo ECR58 and liked only the cab. Machine was hated by all my operators as well.


Bobcats are totally out of the question!!! So leave it alone there JR. lol

J.
J.

[Dirtman2007]

Did you notice how short the booms/ reach is on the volvo mini excavators? I don't know why they have such a small boom and stick.

I've never been on a gehl so I cant voice an oppinion on them, Personally I would only have a takeuchi for a mini if it was up to me. 2300 hrson a tak TB135 and the only thing that had to be replaced was a starter. Can't get any better than that in my book. I wish my boss would trade in that freaken yanmar of ours for a tak 145 mini.

Do you have any experience with the tak mini's

[J. Peterson Grading]

Yes I have experience on just about everything. lol I had a Take 135 for a few months last summer. It was ok. But not for me. I spend alot of time in a mini, about as much time as you do in you Volvo or Daewoo. I need comfort as well as performance. The Volvo had comfort not perfomance.

I am not interested in any other brands. I like the looks of the Gehl/mustang/neusson just need to know if anyone has seen or operated one.

The Volvo had a long stick so it had quite a bit of reach. We we doing a large bank stabilization project and we were able to reach down 12ft with it and actually dig, not reach down and have some one shovel it into the bucket. it was nice.

J.

[lawnboyblake]

J,
I have a 603 that I bought this summer to start doing some excavating work. I havent ran a lot of hoes, but I can say that every one of my buddies that is a union operator has ran my machine and has given it many compliments. As far as power, they all have said my machine smokes any others in the class. The cab I will say could be improved, as in comfort wise that is. It also has a/c but blows kinda warm and has a valve to shut off the heater core, but when you do that the machine runs hot when its 85 out or more. You should head down here on a not busy day and take a look at mine, give me a call and we can check it out and head to lunch... You should still have my number but if ya dont just let me know...

[Dirtman2007]

Interesting I was just looking at the volvo mini's the last time I was at the volvo dealer and the booms all looked too small for the machine. Looked like a boom for a 6000LBS machine was on a 10,000lbs machine.

just to be nosy, what was it that you did not like about the tak?

[stuvecorp]

I personally have never come across one but doesn't mean they are good or bad. I think Curt(RockSet) runs a bigger one that he has had for awhile. Dale(KRTraxx) would have an opinion as he sells Gehl/Mustang.

[Mowingman]

FYI: Gehl/Mustang was recently sold to some large equipment company, as I recall. It might be Terex that bought them out.

[RockSet N' Grade]

I am a Gehl guy. I have an older 802. Have run from the 803 down to the little itty-bitty fit through the door type gehl excavator. I like them. They are generally a no frills type unit, not as roomy as a Cat, have good spec's on crowd and bucket breakout force. I get excellent service and that is one reason I use Gehl......I believe they are a good value when you balance out price vs. performance. The only other mini I would consider would be a Takahoochi, but dealer support is so bad........they are ruled out. I have heard, but not yet bucked-one-out in the field, that the new Cat mini's are pretty good......but the price to actual value keeps me out of their sandbox.

[RockSet N' Grade]

JP.......I think it is www.casece.com where you can dial in the different machines and see their spec's side by side........ I guess the bottom line is, ya gotta sit in one and see how it feels.......everybody's body is different and fits different in a cab. I sit in mine all day and am quite happy with the comfort and ability. I would buy another gehl again in a heart beat for a mini.

[AWJ Services]

I will add that The Kubota is on tops spec wise and there cycle times are much faster than Takeuchi.
Of course under extreme diging conditions they all seem to even out but if you do a bunch of deep trenches waiting on a slow machine to pull the bucket up out of the trench gets old fast.
The Cats are nice but there cycle times are slower than Kubotas as well.
I still Like Komatsu mini excavators controls the best.
Maybe I need to demo a Gehl?I have never used one.

I honestly do not think there is a bad excavator out there.They all seem to be making money for whoever owns what brand and there is very little negative posted about any brand here on Lawnsite.

[Construct'O]

Since i have a Cat and now a Deere,i can't comment on Gehl other then i thought they was made by Kobelco,who i also thought makes the Case(also New Holland) mini:confused:

Someone else will have to confirm that info tho.Do you have a service department close to you if you need repairs or parts?

Rock,i was wondering how getting parts and repair for your machine in your area has been? Do you have to wait for your parts or have they been availably fairly fast.I know you have done some repairs as stated before?

J good luck:usflag:

[J. Peterson Grading]

Thanks for the info guys.

Gehls and mustangs are built by Neusson.

It all comes down to price with me fellas. I have no brand loyalty other than ASV. So what I get doesn't matter. As long as its comfortable to be in all day, and can do some digging or what ever else I decide to do with it it will be a winner in my book.

J.

[AWJ Services]

It all comes down to price with me fellas. I have no brand loyalty other than ASV. So what I get doesn't matter. As long as its comfortable to be in all day, and can do some digging or what ever else I decide to do with it it will be a winner in my book.

I agree.

I bought my machine because of price.
Saved about 20 k over new.

[QwikDraw]

I have a Mustang 6003. Priced good for a used machine, purchased with 365 hours. No complaints, I bought mine based on horsepower and hyd flow to the stick, they are easily the best in class.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f226/CTTedD/phonepics2003-1.jpg

[J. Peterson Grading]

Sold!! to quickdraw. Its official I am buying it now. Seeing that mower on there is what did it. One of the things I have planned for it is light brush clearing on un-even ground. And looks like thats what he uses his for.

I have a selective clearing job, that i have had for a year now. Every time we go in with a track loader mower we either slide into ruts, or get stuck. I would like to get this job going again this winter, but with the snow you can't see anything below it. So it would be nice to kinda feel my way in and actually not worry about slipping or sliding some place bad.

J.

[QwikDraw]

It's been a good excavator for a mower, it's 90% of what I use it for. The Brush Hound head has been an issue. They don't spec a correct size hydraulic motor for the flow, either run it at 3000 RPM (with a set up for the Kubota 161) and break knives and bearings daily or run the next size up at 1600 rpm and cut slower and it also limits your material size to 3". They are really missing the correct sized motor for this unit. If I had to do over again i would try the US Mower.

Cooling is an issue too as the radiator sits right out front and will clog up with debris quickly. Fall time was really bad, running it in the winter in the snow is ideal.

Good luck with your descision.

I'd be happy to answer any other ???s

[J. Peterson Grading]

Thank you. Nice website and work as well.
J.

[ksss]

Sold!! to quickdraw. Its official I am buying it now. Seeing that mower on there is what did it. One of the things I have planned for it is light brush clearing on un-even ground. And looks like thats what he uses his for.

I have a selective clearing job, that i have had for a year now. Every time we go in with a track loader mower we either slide into ruts, or get stuck. I would like to get this job going again this winter, but with the snow you can't see anything below it. So it would be nice to kinda feel my way in and actually not worry about slipping or sliding some place bad.

J.

TK would probably not be a great match if you want to do a lot brush clearing with it. Whatever the reason I am not sure, but they don't have the greatest aux. flow. They dig nice but not a good match for this application.

[AWJ Services]

What is the Aux flow for that machine?

[minimax]

I have looked at the brushhounds and was not inpressed by them,they are good at marketing but not building mowers.US mower makes a good mower for the money.QwikDraw, why don't you run a bigger mower on that machine?
Here is one job I did with my mini-x and mower combo.
130104

130105
minimax

[QwikDraw]

From the service manual.

28 gpm @ 217 psi

down to - 7 gpm @ 3481 psi

I'm not sure how the other manufacturers state thier flows, I think at 0 psi (no load)

[AWJ Services]

That does not make sense.
My Kubota makes almost 20 gpm at 3000 psi.

[QwikDraw]

I think it is 20gpm with a maximum pressure of 3000psi.

I've pressure checked the aux and got 4100psi, which is the max stated for Gehl/Mustang.

[AWJ Services]

That does not seem right.
It has to make more if it spins the KX161 mower to fast.
My machine is a KX161.
I looked on there website an dthey do not list the Aux flow.

You can change the HYD motor so that it will be matched to your machine.
Both US Mower and Edge industries require the aux flow and psi to match the mower to your machine.

[QwikDraw]

It does have more GPM. 28 (Gehl) vs 20 (Kub). Which is about right since the mower is supposed to run at ~1800-2000 rpm. Hydraulic hp is a function of GPM and psi, as the motor is loaded the gpm goes down and the pressure goes up. We turn the pressure up on our ASVs from 3300 to 4200 and it's a world of difference. GPM = rotational speed and PSI = the force to keep it moving (torque).

Another factor, Gehl 69 HP gross and 57 HP net.

I'm no hydraulic engineer but that's the way I understand it, I could be wrong but it seems to make sense.

I had to jump through hoops to get the flow, finally called a tech at Gehl. Then I found it in the tech manual that I ordered after I got the machine.

Maybe it's not the best machine but I did a lot of reasearch and I think it is. :confused:

[AWJ Services]

The Gehl seems like the perfect machine for mowing.
Your analogy of hyd/hp seems accurate as well.

The KX080 has about the same flow as your Gehl.
I know US mower makes a unit just for it.

[QwikDraw]

I would really like to upgrade to a mulching head but the weight is too much. I could add the extra counter weight and be a little better off. The Brush Hound weighs about 750 lbs and on flat ground is not a problem but on a hill the weight can be an issue when streched out to max reach and I always seem to be on a hill. I also have a thumb and quick attach which adds a few hundered pound out there. The mulch heads are about 16-1700 lbs too much for this size machine even if it can run it.

This bank was hard due to the slope, I could run straight up and down but that would turn up too much grass in the process. I could not extend fully without tipping.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f226/CTTedD/Tractor-McLeans004.jpg

Mini Max - as stated above I don't have a bigger head due to the weight, I was probably give bad info when I purchased it and should have looked at the US Mower, I wouldn't think it weighs too much more. Most of the work I do is brush and saplings mowing. This is one of the first jobs I did with it...really thought it would do more than it did. I found the limits real quick, it'll do 4" material but not all day. 2.5 inch and under is ideal, briars and vine your moving along good.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f226/CTTedD/Hardwickday1002.jpg

[minimax]

QwikDraw,I would not of thought that your mini-x would have a problem with the weight of your mower head.My mower head weights about 850 lbs and I run it on a 35 size mini?Here are some pic's of a lot I brush cut last month,The retaining wall on the left in the pics "steps" down 3 1/2 to 4 feet per step to give you a better idea of the slope.My machine is as stable sideways as up and down(blade up) because the track length on the ground is the same as the machine it is wide.I worked the slope in these pic's up and down and sideways and did not need to use my blade for stability.Here are befores and afters.The lot took 3 hours to mow.
130275

130276

130278

130279

130280
minimax

[AWJ Services]

Why not use a tractor?
Thats like an hours worth of work?

[minimax]

I had never mowed this lot before so I did not know what was under the brush and a tractor can't mow a 55 dergee slope that was at the bottom.And there is rocks all over this lot because it was never graded out after they cleared out the trees the summer before:hammerhead:.And threr is a ditch running down the right side that is 2 feet deep.If it had not been so rockey I could of punched it out in a 1 1/2 easy,but I did not want to buy any windows:)

minimax

[AWJ Services]

Pictures are decieving.LOL

[Junior M]

Bobcats are totally out of the question!!! So leave it alone there JR. lol


You know me to well, got to slip some bobcat equipment in here some where!


Well, since everybody else sent this off topic, I want to get into the mulching and brush mowing,like minimax, since no one here does anything like that. Plus there are alot of hunt clubs that need things cleared that they cant get a tractor to..

[bobcat_ron]

QwikDraw,I would not of thought that your mini-x would have a problem with the weight of your mower head.My mower head weights about 850 lbs and I run it on a 35 size mini?Here are some pic's of a lot I brush cut last month,The retaining wall on the left in the pics "steps" down 3 1/2 to 4 feet per step to give you a better idea of the slope.My machine is as stable sideways as up and down(blade up) because the track length on the ground is the same as the machine it is wide.I worked the slope in these pic's up and down and sideways and did not need to use my blade for stability.Here are befores and afters.The lot took 3 hours to mow.
130275

130276

130278

130279

130280
minimax


I've done slopes greater than that, I could have knocked that off in 3 hours too.
Any rocks?

[minimax]

There was lots of rocks! Some were as big as 1-2 man size.

minimax

[KRtraxx]

FYI: Gehl/Mustang was recently sold to some large equipment company, as I recall. It might be Terex that bought them out.

Manitou is who bought Mustang/Gehl..Terex bought ASV Loegering..Manitou is a huge company worldwide with sales figures just behind Deeres(for comparison sake)
Marketing will remain the same for the Mustang/Gehl product.However we probably will see an increase into what is put into R & D from what I have heard so far..