Homeowner here, needed to buy a z-mower for my 1 acre yard. Wanted something a little tougher than what you see at lowes/hd. Went to local Toro dealer and settled on the Titan HD 1500. He mentioned time and again that it came with the ZT-3100 Hydrostat. So I purchased for $5500. They delivered today, and I double checked the model number (74453). And it in fact comes with the ZT-2800. I even took a picture of the part number off the hydrostat and confirmed on HydroGear's website.
I called back to the dealer, he was very upset with himself, the tag they had was for last years which came with the 3100, but the new year the entry level commercial starts out at the ZT-2800. He was very apologetic about it. I don't feel like this was done maliciously at all.
Here is my scenario. I am looking to have a very well built mower that will last a very long time (investment). Also looking for it to be powerful enough to moonlight doing some yards on the side.
My question: Am I okay with the ZT-2800 hydrostats? Are they serviceable? Also, didn't know if for that price, if it was a good deal, or if I need to basically say "Hey you said 3100, this isn't 3100, no deal"
I purchased a Titan HD 1500 last year over the Exmark Radius E specifically because it had the ZT-3100 vs the ZT-2800 on the Exmark. I was sad to see that Toro downgraded the hydros on the 2019 models to match the Exmark.
As far as ZT-2800 vs ZT-3100 goes, I do remember the 3100 is rated for a vehicle weight of 1200 lbs vs 1000 lbs on the 2800. Is this a big deal? I don't know.
Exmark is a very solid brand, so if they are running the 2800s on the sister mower the Radius, I'm sure it is fine.
