My 3215: Finally I put it to work

[mjzman]

Well the new 3215 HST I bought the end of June has finally been put to use. It sat unused in my garage for more than two months waiting for construction of a building to put it in at my new property where I have a new home beginning to go up. If you remember my posts from a while back, there were delays with building permits etc. I only wanted to move the tractor once so I waited until the new 'barn' was ready. In the meantime four or five acres of weeds grew to more than waist high.

This week I have been mowing with the 3215 and 5 foot bushhog. It's doing a great job of cutting it all down, but its slow work. Some of the ground is pretty rough, sort of like washboard. So one moment the mower will be trying to eat into the dirt and the next moment it will be a foot in the air. I was constantly turned facing rearward and adjusting the lift height on the hitch. I also managed to get stuck once in a low spot. The bushhog was hung on a high spot and one front wheel was also on a high spot. The rear wheels were lifted just enough to not have any traction. I got out by sticking some old lumber under a tire and driving up the board. Maybe I could have gotten loose by engaging the differential lock-- but I didn't think of that until later.

This is my first experience with anything bigger than a lawn tractor. Overall I am pretty happy so far. There are a few minor things about the tractor that I wish were different- I don't know if they are unique to the 3215 or are the same for all CUTs. The tractor is quite comfortable though and seems to 'fit' me just right.

 

[BobG_in_VA]

Congrats on the "new" tractor. Don't worry about any "ooopps!" as you are now officially climbing the "learning curve". Yeah, it can be steeps sometimes, but lots of fun learning. Hope you have some tools and the desire to use them down the road. Good Luck! BobG in VA

 

[MajMac392]

When you stop learning what your tractor will do and you think you are an expert it may be time to stop using it because you may be an accident waiting for a place to happen. There are a lot of experienced tractor folks on this site and most of them/me have made mistakes that we try not to make again. Safety first and go slow until you have a feel for the tractor.

 

[Nissan197]

Mjzman,

I am also looking at the 3215 HST and the 2815 HST. Where did you purchase your tractor from and if you don't mind what did it cost you? I have not went to a dealer yet, but from the website the 2815 HST shows to list at 15,535 and the 3215 HST at 16,900. It appears the only differences in these tractors is 4 HP, 3215 weighs 11 pounds more and is turbocharged. Is 4 HP and turbo that much of a difference for almost 1,400 more dollars? Any replies reference the differences between these two models is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[DavesTractor]

Mjzman,

I am also looking at the 3215 HST and the 2815 HST. Where did you purchase your tractor from and if you don't mind what did it cost you? I have not went to a dealer yet, but from the website the 2815 HST shows to list at 15,535 and the 3215 HST at 16,900. It appears the only differences in these tractors is 4 HP, 3215 weighs 11 pounds more and is turbocharged. Is 4 HP and turbo that much of a difference for almost 1,400 more dollars? Any replies reference the differences between these two models is appreciated. Thanks.

Same tractor, but for the turbo. At altitude, it is a huge difference. You lose about 4% HP per 1000 elevation with a non-turbo. At 5000 feet, a common altitude for homes in the hills around here, that would be a 20% loss. So the 2815 would have around 22HP, the 3215 would still have 32HP. For those in lower elevations, this isn't an issue. The 3215HST has some good incentives this month, narrowing the gap between the two.

 

[mjzman]

Nissan 197-

I was going for max horsepower, but in retrospect the extra cost probably was not justified. And I live outside St.Louis where elevation is not an issue. That said, I do like the power that this tractor has whether or not it is all that different from what 28hp would provide. I bought in Illinois (about 60 miles away) and paid $19k for tractor, Mahindra FEL, and a 5ft brushhog. I figure that came to about 15% off list.

A couple of minor things I wish were different on these Mahindras. The fuel tank is 5 gallons, which seems a little small. The plastic hood tilts up but there seems to be little that needs to be maintained from the top. Most of the routine maintenance access is at the side of the engine and the raised sides of the hood don't provide as much clearance as I would like to see. On my particular tractor the parking brake does not lock in easily- I think thats just an adjustment for my dealer to make eventually.
Otherwise the tractor seems great at 14 hrs. Only operator errors like I managed to puncture both front tires the same morning on some locust thorns.

mjzman

 

[DavesTractor]

You might want to fill those front tires with foam. Not cheap, but no more flats. Good report on your first 14 hours.