A Shantui grader from Cobra Equipment Sales is thriving on a 250,000-acre farm due to its simple design and ease-of-use
Owning a remote cattle property in central-west Queensland, Greg Boyd needs to be able to work independently.
If he has problems, he needs to be able to fix his farm machinery on his own account, as he is nowhere near any places that can lend a hand.
It’s why he has been thrilled with his SG21-3 Shantui grader from Cobra Equipment Sales, stating that it’s more simplistic and easier to use than some of the other new graders on the market.
“The Shantui grader has less chance of big problems occurring that need to be fixed externally, in comparison to some of the other big brands on the market,” Boyd says.
“I’m out in the bush so a key reason for buying this machine was its simplicity. If it has any small problems, I’m able to fix it on my own without travelling long distances to external people.”
The SG21-3 was acquired as an upgrade on some of Boyd’s old graders that he says couldn’t do the vigorous work which his property required.
“We had a couple of really old graders and the work that I was doing was just too much for them to handle, so I decided to get the newer and bigger Shantui machine,” he says.
When he was looking for the new grader, he came across Cobra Equipment Sales through his son who was browsing online for machinery.
Based in Brisbane, Cobra Equipment Sales is an authorised dealer and distributor of Shantui equipment.
Luckily for Boyd, Cobra is the closest Shantui dealer to his remote property – which made the process a lot easier.
The customer service was also top tier for Boyd, with Cobra’s founder George Nason going out of his way to make sure Boyd was comfortable with the machine he was purchasing.
“George and the team have been really helpful and really good to deal with,” Boyd says.
“At the time we bought the grader, there wasn’t a lot of these models in the country and George put us in touch with another recent buyer of the same grader so we could talk.”
Having this chat with another buyer, who gave great feedback, ultimately justified Boyd’s decision to go with the Shantui SG21-3 grader.
Farm work
Owning the machine for three years now, the grader has been thriving on Boyd’s massive 250,000-acre property.
Due to its sheer size, Boyd’s property has many kilometres of access roads which the grader has been helping to create.
“All of the grader’s work has been done purely on our own property,” he says.
“Our property is huge and the Shantui has been really good in grading some of our roads.”
Boyd says he has also been using the machine to create fire breaks on his property – given how devastating Australian bushfires can be and how quickly they can move.
With these man-made fire breaks put in place, the grader has helped to minimise the chance of bushfires spreading through the 250,000-acre property.
Simplistic design
A particular standout for Boyd, is the SG21-3 model’s simple design, reminding him of machines he grew up with.
“For me it’s a brand-new machine that virtually represents the simplicity of a 1980’s grader,” he says.
“The main selling point for me was that it didn’t have too many computerised controls that can be a bit complicated.”
Boyd says apart from the Shantui, he struggled to find a new grader without computerised controls, as graders are made differently compared to his youth.
Easy to use without being too complicated, Boyd says the SG21-3 is built for hard work, with 215hp (160kW) and an operating weight of 17,500kg with a blade and rear rippers attached.
From simple to state of the art, including the Leica fully automatic levelling system – the Shantui range of graders offers all options.
Cobra Equipment Sales has been an official Shantui dealer since 2018.
“When I was deciding on which grader to buy, for me it had to be a Shantui from Cobra Equipment Sales,” he says.
To learn more about the full range of Shantui graders visit www.cobraequipmentsales.com.au or call 07 3379 9419.