Gehl

Gehl RT105

$42,000before options, dealer-quotedRadial LiftRubber tracks
Gehl RT105
Rated capacity of tipping load35%
1,050 lb rated3,000 lb tipping

The bright segment is what Gehl RT105 is rated to carry; the grey run past it is the rest of its tipping load. Bar length is tipping load drawn to the same scale on every machine on the site, so a short bar is a smaller machine and not a conservative rating.

At 50.8 inches wide with a 34.7 hp Yanmar diesel, the Gehl RT105 targets backyard landscapers and rental fleets in the Bobcat T450/Cat 239D small-frame class. It's the smallest track loader in the Gehl line, a 4,720 lb radial-lift machine built by Manitou Group and also sold as the Manitou 1050 RT.

Also sold as

The same machine is sold as the Manitou 1050RT, which we do not list separately. Different paint and a different dealer network, same hardware.

Suits: Homeowners, fencing crews, and backyard landscapers who need a gate-friendly CTL they can tow behind a half-ton pickup Its radial lift path reaches furthest at mid-height, for digging, grading and backfilling.

Lifting and reach

Rated operating capacityTrack loader rating convention
1,050 lbs
Tipping load
3,000 lbs
Lift height to hinge pin
109 in
Lift path
Radial Lift
Operating weight
4,720 lbs

Power and hydraulics

Engine power
35 hp
Engine
Yanmar 3TNV88C
Auxiliary flowStandard circuit
15 GPM
Flow type
Standard
Warranty
2 yr / 2,000 hr

Fitted or available

What this machine can be ordered with. Some of these are standard and some cost extra, and which is which moves between trim levels, so check them against the quote rather than against this list.

Radial LiftEnclosed CabSelf-LevelingTracks

What owners report

Summarised from the sources listed below. Nothing here was tested by us.

Getting tracks into places tracks do not normally go is the whole pitch. Fifty-one inches across and an unusually low overhead height mean this one goes through gates and under obstructions that stop every other tracked machine, and it does it while spreading its weight well enough to keep working on ground that has gone soft.

The trade for that access is a genuinely small machine. Thirty-four horsepower is moving 4,720 lbs plus whatever is in the bucket, so heavy wet material is slow work rather than impossible. Auxiliary flow is 15 gpm with no option above it, travel is 6 mph with no high range, and ten-inch shoes keep the machine narrow at the cost of a small contact patch. Automatic track tensioning is standard and is worth more here than on a bigger machine, because a compact loader spends its life in the tight counter-rotations that punish rubber hardest.

Landscaping, fencing and confined residential work on soft ground is where it earns its keep, where the wheeled R105 would be spinning and a mid-frame simply would not fit. If the ground is firm and access is the only constraint, the wheeled R105 is lighter, cheaper to run and only three inches narrower. Gehl publishes no price, so collect quotes under both the Gehl and Manitou 1050RT names, and measure your tightest gate against the bucket rather than the chassis before committing.

What owners like

  • Fifty-one inches wide and, per Gehl's own product literature, an exceptionally low 71.5-inch overhead clearance height - that combination gets a tracked machine through a standard gate and under a garage door or low soffit that stops everything else with tracks under it.
  • The 1,050 lb rating is at 35 percent of tipping load on a 3,000 lb tipping load, where the wheeled R105 quotes the same 1,050 lbs at 50 percent on a 2,100 lb tipping load. Identical decal, 900 lbs more reserve - this is the clearest illustration in Gehl's range of why the rating basis matters.
  • Gehl describes this as the lowest ground pressure in its track loader range, which is the argument for it over the wheeled R105 - it keeps working on saturated ground and leaves less mark on finished surfaces.
  • A 109-inch hinge pin height is respectable for a machine under 5,000 lbs and comfortably clears dump trailers and one-ton dump beds.
  • IdealTrax automatic track tensioning is standard across the range, which matters disproportionately on a small machine that spends its working life in tight turns - track tension is the main thing that determines how long rubber lasts, and this removes the chance of getting it wrong.

What owners complain about

  • Fifteen gpm with no high-flow option means the attachment list is fixed at purchase and stays fixed. Mulchers, planers and most breakers are permanently out of reach.
  • Six mph single-speed with no high range makes any move across a property slow, and on a machine this small there is no way to option around it.
  • The 34.2 hp engine is working hard with a full bucket of wet material, and it is a genuinely small engine to be moving a 4,720 lb machine plus load - expect to be patient in heavy dirt rather than productive.
  • Ten-inch track shoes are narrow, so although Gehl claims the range's lowest ground pressure for this model, the contact patch is small in absolute terms and the tracks themselves are a recurring cost on a machine that turns tightly all day.
  • It weighs 520 lbs more than the wheeled R105 and is three inches wider, so it gives up some of the access and towing advantage that makes the small Gehls attractive in the first place.
  • Gehl publishes no list price, and small-frame CTLs hold their value unevenly, so both the purchase figure and the resale figure have to come from the market rather than from a published reference.

Drawn from gehl.com, compactequip.com, melkerbaltik.eu.

What buyers ask

How is the RT105's 1,050 lbs different from the wheeled R105's 1,050 lbs?
Same number, very different machine. The tracked RT105 is rated at 35 percent of a 3,000 lb tipping load; the wheeled R105 is rated at 50 percent of a 2,100 lb tipping load. The tracked machine holds back around 900 lbs more reserve at the identical decal figure. It is the cleanest example in Gehl's range of why you should compare tipping loads rather than rated capacities.
What will it fit through?
Fifty-one inches wide across the machine, and Gehl's literature makes a point of a 71.5-inch overhead clearance height, which is low enough to matter under garage doors and low soffits. That vertical dimension is the unusual one and is worth measuring for, not just the width. As always, the bucket is wider than the chassis.
Can it run a mulching head?
No. Fifteen gpm is the ceiling with no high-flow option available, so mulchers, cold planers and most breakers are off the list for the life of the machine. Light augers, brooms, grapples and a bucket are the realistic tooling.
Is 34 hp enough?
For landscaping, material shifting and light grading, yes. For sustained digging in heavy wet clay, it will feel underpowered - there is not much engine moving 4,720 lbs plus a loaded bucket. Buyers who need to push hard rather than simply reach difficult places are better served a size up in the range.
Should I buy this or the wheeled R105?
Ground conditions decide it. The tracked machine floats where the wheeled one spins, and Gehl claims the lowest ground pressure in its track loader range for it. In exchange it is 520 lbs heavier, three inches wider, and it adds tracks, rollers and final drives to your running costs. On firm ground the wheeled R105 is the cheaper machine to own and it is narrower into the bargain.
How long do the tracks last?
That depends far more on how it is driven than on the machine - tight counter-rotations on abrasive surfaces are what destroys rubber on a compact loader. Automatic track tensioning is standard and removes over-tensioning as a cause, which is the failure owners can actually control. Budget for tracks as a consumable and ask the dealer what a set costs before you buy, not after.

Put the Gehl RT105 against

ASV RT-25ASV RT-50Gehl R105

Machines in the same range

The rest of the Gehl line
Gehl RT135

Gehl

Gehl RT135

$48,000

Radial Lift · rubber tracks

Also sold as the Manitou 1350RT

1,350 lb rated35% of 3,858 lb
Engine
47 hp
Aux flow
17 GPM
Weight
6,510 lbs

Slotting between the gate-friendly RT105 and mid-frame RT165, the Gehl RT135 is a small-frame radial-lift compact track loader from Manitou Group, also sold as the Manitou 1350 RT. A 46.6 hp Yanmar diesel, a 1,350 lb rated capacity, and a 57-inch width aim it at the Bobcat T550/Cat 249D class.

Full sheet & owner reports
Gehl RT165

Gehl

Gehl RT165

$64,850

Radial Lift · rubber tracks

Also sold as the Manitou 1650RT

1,650 lb rated35% of 4,715 lb
Engine
70 hp
Aux flow
18.7 GPM
Weight
8,020 lbs

IdealTrax automatic track tensioning, a 69.9 hp Yanmar diesel and a 1,650 lb rated capacity make the Gehl RT165 a value-priced alternative to the Bobcat T595/T64 class. It's a mid-frame radial-lift compact track loader built by Manitou Group and sold in identical form as the Manitou 1650 RT.

Full sheet & owner reports
Gehl VT320

Gehl

Gehl VT320

$85,000

Vertical Lift · rubber tracks

Also sold as the Manitou 3200VT

3,201 lb rated35% of 9,145 lb
Engine
114 hp
Aux flow
29 GPM
Weight
11,799 lbs

The Gehl VT320 is the only vertical-lift track loader in the Gehl line and its outright flagship, built by Manitou Group and also sold as the Manitou 3200 VT. A 114 hp Deutz turbo-diesel and a 3,201 lb rated capacity put it head-to-head with the Bobcat T870 and Cat 299D3 at a substantially lower price.

Full sheet & owner reports