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Gehl 7800

11K views 11 replies 10 participants last post by  RHayden 
#1 ·
Not much is said on here about Gehl skid loaders. Does any one have a Gehl SL 7800? How do you like it? Or does anyone have a Gehl with a 2spd, the one I drove really shifts into high and low with a bang. I was told it is because they actually change gears unlike some other ones that change the flow of hyd. Any input would be nice, Thanks. I am looking at a used SL 7800, wow what a huge machine, nice roomy cab, 110 hp 3600# capacity. It is probably too big for a lot of people but I think it would work good for what I want, mostly will be used with forks or a boom to move equipment and on a 10' snow pusher.
 
#3 ·
Leased a Gehl 5600 series last summer and loved it, i blew out the hydros on one unit but my dealership replaced it in minutes. They had a 7800 that a customer just bought but has it as a rental when he is not using it, what a haus. way to big for what i do but that thing gets the job done, i have rented on ly bobcats before and i really liked the gehl, i did demo a 6600 series and that is probably what i am going to get, it was amazing. But yes the 7800 from what i have heard is a great machine
 
#4 ·
Vts,

I will tell you that

1. Not because much is not said about Gehl in this forum, means that Gehl is not good equipment. Gehl machines are quality, they have evolved to be very reliable. Maybe Gehl does not have the big marketing of Cat & John Deere, but I will tell you that I would buy a Gehl infront of Cat & John Deere.
Because Gehl machines will outlast them any day in the field. We have a machine with 12,000 hrs plus, model 6635, and this machine works fine with routine service.
You will hardly find this, except for Bobcat. Gehl is in the top 5 in terms of Skid Steers manufacturers and it resale value is pretty good.

2. The 35 and 40 Series units have never let us down, working alongside John Deere units, the have a more study design as the John Deere units with 3,000 hrs have boom sway of 3-4" inches. It is my opinion that you will be very happy with your 7800 choice.

3. Buy a machine from a specialized manufacturer, you will get a more durable product. As a user of Bobcat, John Deere and Gehl. Gehl stands out at the top with Bobcat. I recently ordered 2 - 6640's and 1- 5640 new for use with various attachments.

I would buy the 7800 if I needed large machine. Good Luck,
 
#6 ·
I bought a brand new Cat 236B last year and love it. I have heard alot of good things about gehl skidloaders. Espeacially there durability. I would say Gehl is as good a skidloader you can buy.

I couldn't imagine having another 30 hp in my loader. That would help me out alot because I dig with mine.

If you get the 7800 series give us an update on how it runs and the performance of it.

I love Cat equipment and most of all there excellent service. I wish they had a loader in the 90 to 110 hp range. I will be buying another machine in the next year and I want it to be Cat because of the service and the location of there shop but if they can't come out with more than a 78 hp machine then I might be looking at Gehl.
 
#7 ·
Thanks for the input. I did buy a 2001 Gehl 7800 with 1300 hours on it I traded a New Holland lx985 for it, I ended up having about $20,000.00 in it, with I think is a pretty good deal. I believe that the big loaders like that are hard to sell because not every body can use one that big, they are to big to be handy in some places as I have found out. But it is a horse, I have used it on a 10' snow pusher which was a bit big for my 985 used it on a vibrating sheeps foo,t have hauled alot of sand with it, the ride control is nice for that. I like the cab better than my 985 or even the newer lx180. The hydros are a lot quieter than New Hollands. Not saying the NH are bad loaders because I have had good luck with them and I believe they are a good machine, you can't hardly beat the balance on a New Holland. But the way my 7800 boom is I can see out the front, sides and rear better, and it is balanced nice too. For what I do with it I think it is going to work out good. I used it to load some 3000 lbs cement blocks on a semi trailer and it would pick them up from the top with a chain no problem, on the other end we where unloading them with a JD 8875 and we had to get under them to get them closer to the machine and still had quite a time. But there is quite a difference in the raitings. Anybody considering a larger machine I would recomend the 7800. Some of my help does not like the Gehl controls but I get along fine with them. Well that was probably long enough rambling and not really saying anything. Again thank for the input and all the other posts on this site.
 
#8 ·
Ok a few more ramblings. As far as digging it is great, run out of traction even in hard dirt before I run out of power. Performance has been fine with every thing I have used it for. The down side of it is the size and weight, hard to get into tight areas and it does weigh over 10,000 lbs. It is to wide and to heavy to haul on most skid loader trailers and needs to be hauled on a deck over trailer.
 
#9 ·
I´ve a GEHL 5640 without any troubles,
we had an 5635, 4635 3825, 1620, 1625 and 1640 before
the 5640 is the best of it,
first we have some problems, with 2 pipes that was not tighten enouth,
but we had now problems

the noise wenn you switch to high gear is "normal"
because wenn you switch to high gear,
the piston of the hydrostat-pump with have to oil for some second,
that was the noise,
that have sayed the local dealer here,
it was a good friend of my, so it must be okay,
i also see this on different maschines of gehl,
so it must be normal, you only have been care, wenn you switch from high speed at full speed to low speed,

the hydro-gliede option is also fine,

thanks
Paul
 
#11 ·
7800 Gehl's have a 3600 SAE rated loaded capacity. Remember that 1/2 of actual tip load or the carry weight were the back tires start to come off the ground. So you can actually lift over 7,000 pounds. My dad's best friend unloads 7,200lb mower conditioners off of the semi trailer's with one of these!
Also your in good shape their in Minnesota as Gehl has a good dealership presence their. The tandem pump or transmissions so to speak in the things are extremely strong, powerfull, and reliable. We have run Gehl products as
well as Cat and Bobcat products for over twenty years and believe the Gehl's to be the best. Maybe a little rough around the edges but extemely strong and performance oriented. It's almost like the Gehl is the Mercedes Benz of skid steers, Cat's are like Buick's and Bobcat's are like Chevrolets. All are capable performers in their own right.
 
#12 ·
We've ran Gehl for well over 20 years. We recently just added a 4840 and we have a 4835 and a 3410. Extremely reliable machines. This is our size of choice for what we do. The older 3410 has almost 5000 hours on it with very few repairs along the way. The 78's are an awesome machine but just a little big for what we do.

I think a lot of it is regional preference and market exposure. Gehl and Case are big around here. Bobcat is probably the next most common.

Anyway, we are big fans of the Gehl line. What part of Illinois areyou located in btw?
 
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