fishfactor
Gold Member
OK, we've had the GT 25 for a little while now so I figured I would post my thoughts. When we were considering making the purchase I couldn't find any reviews, so maybe this will help someone. I have been operating a Bobcat T320 with a fecon mulcher for about 3 1/2 years. The GT 25 is a 2005 with just over 2000 hours.
The GT 25 mulches great. On small stuff (4" and under) you can put it in low gear (ours is a 3 speed) and go almost full speed about 2" off the ground as long as it's not all 4" and not extremely thick. Then drop down and back drag leaving a very nice, fine mulch, finished product. It would take 4 or more passes with the hammer head to get anywhere close to the quality. Larger trees are no problem especially with sharp teeth. The largest I have cut is a 20" white oak which took just under 10 minutes.
The cab: Nice and quiet. It has been wet so I can't speak for the dust situation. Plenty of room, although no cup holder but I plan on fixing that. The cab is pressurized so I would assume that dust won't be a problem. If you just barely open the door the engine is very loud so things seem to be sealed well.
Fuel consumption seems very good, but I only ran one test. Our transfer tank has no meter and we use it for our Bobcat as well. To get an idea I filled the GT 25 and ran it for 8 hours on a logging cleanup job. Then filled it at the gas station with 55 gallons. This comes to 6.875 gallons/hour. We ran 2250 RPM which isn't WOT. I have never been a fan of wide open.
Manueverability is a little lacking, especially compared to a CTL. Turns need to be 3 point it most situations. You can spin 360 degrees on flat ground, but how often are you on flat ground?
Maintenance is normal so far. If you sharpen the teeth daily I can do it in about 30 minutes. I don't try to achieve a razor sharp edge because it would only last a few minutes anyway. The engine compartment is spacious and everything is easy to get to, except that hydraulic filter under the cab in the bottom corner. You have to stand on your head to change it.
The undercarriage gives a much better ride than the CTL, and if I ever get around to fixing the air in the air ride seat it will be even better. I think the little 12V compressor is dead, just haven't taken the time to check on it.
The unit really needs a hydraulic push bar which I may add. Smaller (6") trees are constantly falling over the top of the push bar and then spinning to lay sideways between the cab and the push bar, on top of the hoses. Stopping to move them is a pain. Leave them and you may spring a leak. Maybe it's the operator (me) but a hydraulic push bar would solve it for me.
So far two concerns which could become big negatives: tracks and teeth.
The tracks are original and have 2000 hours on them. A few of the crosslinks were broken when we got it and we brushed it off as no big deal. They were fine on flat ground. This week we were on steep, bad terrain. No rocks, just steep and gully's. The few broken crosslinks grew. I'm hoping it was a chain reaction from a broken one putting more stress on the next one causing it to break and so on. I ended up changing 12 of them all on one side. That seemed strange to me. I also may have had that track too tight. If this is a result of tired tracks I'll be OK once we decide to drop $9k on a new set. If this is normal this is a BIG negative.
We have had problems with the teeth staying tight. I installed a new set including bolts, nuts, and those funny lock washers (nord I think)and used a 600ft/lbs impact wrench and blue loctite. After the first 8 hours several were loose. I have since started checking them each day while sharpening using a 1/2" ratchet and a 3ft cheater bar putting all I can on it. I usually find 1 or 2 a little loose. I have not put loctite on them since the first time which may help. Teeth that get loose quickly break off the lip on each side that holds them straight which results in wear to the mount base. If you don't catch it soon, you will be welding and grinding to rebuild your base.
Overall I am happy with the purchase decision pending the track situation. We bought this machine used and you never know what a used piece of equipment has been through. For the price we paid, the performance per dollar is very high. If we had paid the new price of $350K feelings may be a little different. Flat ground 4" and under you can mulch an acre with a nice finish in 1 1/2 - 2 hours. The combination of the Gyro Trac and T320 is nice. The bobcat makes a great chase mulcher for the tight spots and the stray limbs, etc that fall to the side. It would be difficult to do most jobs completely with the Gyro Trac simply for this fact. Some ditches and gullys you just can't get into with a large machine.
I will add any future findings as they occur, good or bad.
The GT 25 mulches great. On small stuff (4" and under) you can put it in low gear (ours is a 3 speed) and go almost full speed about 2" off the ground as long as it's not all 4" and not extremely thick. Then drop down and back drag leaving a very nice, fine mulch, finished product. It would take 4 or more passes with the hammer head to get anywhere close to the quality. Larger trees are no problem especially with sharp teeth. The largest I have cut is a 20" white oak which took just under 10 minutes.
The cab: Nice and quiet. It has been wet so I can't speak for the dust situation. Plenty of room, although no cup holder but I plan on fixing that. The cab is pressurized so I would assume that dust won't be a problem. If you just barely open the door the engine is very loud so things seem to be sealed well.
Fuel consumption seems very good, but I only ran one test. Our transfer tank has no meter and we use it for our Bobcat as well. To get an idea I filled the GT 25 and ran it for 8 hours on a logging cleanup job. Then filled it at the gas station with 55 gallons. This comes to 6.875 gallons/hour. We ran 2250 RPM which isn't WOT. I have never been a fan of wide open.
Manueverability is a little lacking, especially compared to a CTL. Turns need to be 3 point it most situations. You can spin 360 degrees on flat ground, but how often are you on flat ground?
Maintenance is normal so far. If you sharpen the teeth daily I can do it in about 30 minutes. I don't try to achieve a razor sharp edge because it would only last a few minutes anyway. The engine compartment is spacious and everything is easy to get to, except that hydraulic filter under the cab in the bottom corner. You have to stand on your head to change it.
The undercarriage gives a much better ride than the CTL, and if I ever get around to fixing the air in the air ride seat it will be even better. I think the little 12V compressor is dead, just haven't taken the time to check on it.
The unit really needs a hydraulic push bar which I may add. Smaller (6") trees are constantly falling over the top of the push bar and then spinning to lay sideways between the cab and the push bar, on top of the hoses. Stopping to move them is a pain. Leave them and you may spring a leak. Maybe it's the operator (me) but a hydraulic push bar would solve it for me.
So far two concerns which could become big negatives: tracks and teeth.
The tracks are original and have 2000 hours on them. A few of the crosslinks were broken when we got it and we brushed it off as no big deal. They were fine on flat ground. This week we were on steep, bad terrain. No rocks, just steep and gully's. The few broken crosslinks grew. I'm hoping it was a chain reaction from a broken one putting more stress on the next one causing it to break and so on. I ended up changing 12 of them all on one side. That seemed strange to me. I also may have had that track too tight. If this is a result of tired tracks I'll be OK once we decide to drop $9k on a new set. If this is normal this is a BIG negative.
We have had problems with the teeth staying tight. I installed a new set including bolts, nuts, and those funny lock washers (nord I think)and used a 600ft/lbs impact wrench and blue loctite. After the first 8 hours several were loose. I have since started checking them each day while sharpening using a 1/2" ratchet and a 3ft cheater bar putting all I can on it. I usually find 1 or 2 a little loose. I have not put loctite on them since the first time which may help. Teeth that get loose quickly break off the lip on each side that holds them straight which results in wear to the mount base. If you don't catch it soon, you will be welding and grinding to rebuild your base.
Overall I am happy with the purchase decision pending the track situation. We bought this machine used and you never know what a used piece of equipment has been through. For the price we paid, the performance per dollar is very high. If we had paid the new price of $350K feelings may be a little different. Flat ground 4" and under you can mulch an acre with a nice finish in 1 1/2 - 2 hours. The combination of the Gyro Trac and T320 is nice. The bobcat makes a great chase mulcher for the tight spots and the stray limbs, etc that fall to the side. It would be difficult to do most jobs completely with the Gyro Trac simply for this fact. Some ditches and gullys you just can't get into with a large machine.
I will add any future findings as they occur, good or bad.
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