Andrew Gate has been driving Mustang skid steer loaders in Auckland for more than 30 years. As you can imagine there is not much he hasn’t done or hasn’t seen.

Over the past 10 years Andrew has seen more and more track loaders move into the earthmoving market. While he has gotten by with over the tyre tracks for his wheeled machine and he could see the benefits of dedicated track machines,  he could also see the disadvantages. He was concerned not only with the durability of the track system, but more importantly he could see that to get a machine with enough breakout force (something Mustang wheeled machines have a legendary reputation for) the track loader needed to be in the 50+ horsepower bracket. However the machines on the market with enough grunt had 2 major disadvantages – height and/or width. Under house dig outs of old houses and low eaves around new houses make being under 2m a critical factor for his work. Then the only machines that met the power and height criteria were 1800mm wide, which around Auckland’s tight sections would cut out a lot of his work. To top it all off some even had rubber under carriage parts which he couldn’t understand given the rigours of construction work.

After 30 years of using Mustang loaders with high breakout force Andrew needed a track loaded that he and his customers wouldn’t be disappointed in.

So when Andrew was buying filters one day at Endraulic, the Mustang and Gehl dealer, he was surprised to see a Gehl RT165 track loader that was under 2m high and looked to be under 1750mm wide. Andrew said that if the machine was closer to 1650mm he would be seriously interested. Endraulic got straight on it and worked out that the machine could be supplied at only 1675mm wide with the narrow undercarriage option, the overall height was only 1.95m, and it had a 70HP engine so all the boxes on the wish list were ticked. Andrew was even more impressed when he found out the solid under carriage was made by Berco, the world leader in under-carriage components, and it had an automatic track tensioning system that ensures the perfect tension for long-term endurance of the under-carriage parts. A quick skid around the yard and Andrew was sold knowing that not only did he love the feel of the machine but that it met the criteria his work demanded, so his customers would be happy too.

If you would like to try the new RT165 track loader, available in Dual Lever Foot controls or Joystick controls, give the team at Endraulic a call on 0800 468 782.

Check out the full range of Gehl Loaders…
For more information contact Endraulic or ph 0800 468 782.