Ranger1969
Member
Dad's old ZD28 is running great but I had lots of down time for repairs and one super hot dusty August day last year I had to stop mowing 3 times because the high heat alarm went off. Each time I had to run back to the barn and clean out the filters with compressed air.
So I had been kicking around the idea of trading in the ZD28 for one of the new diesel mowers but could not make up my mind which one, 1211 vs 1511?
Both looked great however a big difference in price $15,000 vs $20,000 more or less for the same size of cutters. I also didn't like the idea of less HP, ZD28 was rated at 28 HP and the 1211 at 25HP. According to the dealer huge improvement with the cutting deck more than made up for the loss in HP. Sounded like BS to me, who wants less HP in a big mower?
I ran the ZD28 one last time 735-736 hours and loaded it on the trailer to trade with it at the dealer. Before I did I set up 3 test runs- 3 patches of grass ranged from ankle to knee high grass. - 3" blade height and enough speed the ZD28 would bog down and I was forced to slow.
I called all the surrounding dealers asking for prices and really all of them had slightly different prices but they all ranged within a few hundred. I did have one dealer in Ft Smith, AR that wanted to charge me tax even with a farm tax permit?? Said he had too with mowers, I think he was just trying to raise his price. At any rate I ended up at the West Tulsa Kubota dealer, Ron was the salesman and he gave me the lowest price and the highest price for my trade - 3500.
I test ran both new mowers ZD1211 vs ZD1511. Both were nice. The seat was a huge improvement over the ZD28. The ZD1211 was just as quick as the 28. The ZD1511 was a little less responsive however I could easily hear the turbo whistle. It sounded like power to me. What to do? In the end I could not justify paying 5,000 more and with the possible headache of mechanical failure ie turbo or DPF so I loaded up the 1211. The cost out the door was 11,100.
Two hours after I unloaded the 1211 I knew I had a winner. In each of my test cuts the ZD1211 was superior to the ZD28. It obviously had more cutting power than the old 28 and a much improved ride. I did notice that if you have uneven ground the large 72inch cut will scrape on occasion but for me if you have large areas to cut a little scalping is a small price to pay.
-David
So I had been kicking around the idea of trading in the ZD28 for one of the new diesel mowers but could not make up my mind which one, 1211 vs 1511?
Both looked great however a big difference in price $15,000 vs $20,000 more or less for the same size of cutters. I also didn't like the idea of less HP, ZD28 was rated at 28 HP and the 1211 at 25HP. According to the dealer huge improvement with the cutting deck more than made up for the loss in HP. Sounded like BS to me, who wants less HP in a big mower?
I ran the ZD28 one last time 735-736 hours and loaded it on the trailer to trade with it at the dealer. Before I did I set up 3 test runs- 3 patches of grass ranged from ankle to knee high grass. - 3" blade height and enough speed the ZD28 would bog down and I was forced to slow.
I called all the surrounding dealers asking for prices and really all of them had slightly different prices but they all ranged within a few hundred. I did have one dealer in Ft Smith, AR that wanted to charge me tax even with a farm tax permit?? Said he had too with mowers, I think he was just trying to raise his price. At any rate I ended up at the West Tulsa Kubota dealer, Ron was the salesman and he gave me the lowest price and the highest price for my trade - 3500.
I test ran both new mowers ZD1211 vs ZD1511. Both were nice. The seat was a huge improvement over the ZD28. The ZD1211 was just as quick as the 28. The ZD1511 was a little less responsive however I could easily hear the turbo whistle. It sounded like power to me. What to do? In the end I could not justify paying 5,000 more and with the possible headache of mechanical failure ie turbo or DPF so I loaded up the 1211. The cost out the door was 11,100.
Two hours after I unloaded the 1211 I knew I had a winner. In each of my test cuts the ZD1211 was superior to the ZD28. It obviously had more cutting power than the old 28 and a much improved ride. I did notice that if you have uneven ground the large 72inch cut will scrape on occasion but for me if you have large areas to cut a little scalping is a small price to pay.
-David
