What does your Tractor cost you per hour of operation.

[dodge man]

I've kind of guesstimated my BX2350 at about $15 per hour. That includes fuel and maintance. I'd say just as a wild estimate, your $17 per hour isn't to bad.

 

[smstonypoint]

Your estimate for cost of ownership per hour should not be based on trade in value... It should be based on tax depreciated value. Theres a couple of ways to do it and each has its advantages and impacts on the value.

????

Tax-based depreciation is relevant in the calculation of the after-tax cash flows required to compute the net present value of the acquisition of a durable asset (e.g., a tractor), but is irrelevant for computing ownership costs.

Steve

 

[ovrszd]

I don't think you'll truly know what it costs per hour until you sell/trade the machine.

But for the sake of discussion it's interesting to hear opinions. Most are too low.

I paid $41,500 for my Kubota. It's now 4 1/2 years old with 1200ish hours on the clock. If I was to trade it on a new one I'd probably get around $33,000 for it. Might be able to sell it outright for $35,000 if I was very, very patient. So, it's cost me $8,500 in depreciation alone, or, $7 per hour. That number gets smaller as I go along assuming I keep the machine in good working condition.

There are some members here on TBN that can give you a real world answer.

 

[MMfrompa]

I don't think you'll truly know what it costs per hour until you sell/trade the machine.

But for the sake of discussion it's interesting to hear opinions. Most are too low.

I paid $41,500 for my Kubota. It's now 4 1/2 years old with 1200ish hours on the clock. If I was to trade it on a new one I'd probably get around $33,000 for it. Might be able to sell it outright for $35,000 if I was very, very patient. So, it's cost me $8,500 in depreciation alone, or, $7 per hour. That number gets smaller as I go along assuming I keep the machine in good working condition.

There are some members here on TBN that can give you a real world answer.

I think you nailed it, there is no exact answer only estimates. Also, a lot depends on how well you take care of machine. You will get more for it if it's well taken care of therefore you will get more when you sell or trade lowering your overall ownership cost per hour.

 

[mike69440]

I have put at least 6500 Hours on my various equipment over the last 12 years.
I do 85% of the repairs myself, otherwise I could never afford these toys.
The B7200 was the least expensive to run. Sold it for what I paid for it, and over its life a few thousand in repairs, then Oil and fuel.

The L39 has over 2000 hours and repair cost I'm guessing have be $10K. A lot of the mods were done as favors or I did them myself.

The Excavator I've put on a bit less than 1500 Hours and it has cost me a bit over $12K for repairs and add ons like new bucket, hydraulic thumb, Cylinder repairs. Valve repairs, etc.

The RTV900 has 1500 hours. I figure $3000 for repairs All and all very dependable. I'm shocked how much we use it!

The Max28 is new, sort of. (Bought just before New Years 2014) Not much for repairs and maintenance in 200 hours, but I've done Mods and attachments so figure $2500

Rough guess maybe $115,000 to buy all the toys and attachments.

Figure at least a Gallon per hour for fuel.
So anyone want to figure what all this cost. I don't have the stomach to come up up a number.

$25/hr would not surprise me.
Replacement cost would be crazy, as everything runs decent, if fact the Max28 & L39 are stronger than brand new replacements.

 

[MossRoad]

That's hard to put an exact cost on.

Purchase price + shipping + fuel + oil + filters + batteries (3 over 16 years) + repairs + lubricants + tires (I've replaced 1) (+ insurance for some folks), and + anything I missed all added up. Then subtract what you could get for the tractor if you sold it at the time of the calculation and divide that total by the number of hours put on the machine and that's how much it cost you per hour to operate it.....

EXCEPT FOR YOUR LABOR! That's the most expensive part. What do you value your time at?

Several years ago after we started heating with wood instead of natural gas, I determined that I spend:
1 day dropping trees.
1 day dragging them out of the woods.
5 days cutting them up and hauling them home.
5 days splitting and stacking.
1 day over the course of the winter hauling them from the stack into the house.
13 days total spent on firewood handling.

13 days X 8 hours per workday = 104 hours.
104 hours X the value of my labor = ???

104 X $7.50 (minimum wagish) = $780.

Our winter natural gas bills are about $800 for six months (includes hot water, stove and furnace).
By heating with wood, I was able to cut it down to about $35 per month for six months, so $210.

$800 - $210 = $590.

I save $590 per year by heating with wood when I could work a minimum wage job and earn $780 in the same amount of days.... $190 MORE!!!

And that includes NONE of my tractor, chainsaw, gas, oil, trailer, truck, insurance, plates, taxes, wear, tear, etc... NONE!

And my splitter was given to me FREE!

I put a new motor on it this year (it was 30 years old) and that was another $100 (Harbor Freight... works great!).

Plus the cost of the woodburner, chimney and installation!

But, most of that isn't related to your question.

You'd have to sell a heck of a lot of wood and have a very efficient operation (way more efficient than the average home owner) just to cover the costs of the equipment needed and labor.

Most places that sell firewood around here are tree services. They already have the equipment and on days when there's no trees to drop, their labor guy makes firewood. And none of them have a tractor! :laughing: Pretty much all have tracked skidsteers.

 

[TheeKb]

????

Tax-based depreciation is relevant in the calculation of the after-tax cash flows required to compute the net present value of the acquisition of a durable asset (e.g., a tractor), but is irrelevant for computing ownership costs.

Steve

First Reggie Watts style response I've read on a forum... I LIKE IT!

 

[smstonypoint]

First Reggie Watts style response I've read on a forum... I LIKE IT!

I had never heard of Reggie Watts, so I had to resort to Google: Reggie Watts - Wikipedia. Having done so, I am confused: I don't whether to interpret your comment as a compliment or as an insult.

Steve

 

[CajunRider]

Between my naivete, crooked sellers, crooked repair dealers, hurricanes and salty flood water, my cost of ownership is $42.15/hr based on my hours and actual cost receipts (except for the fuel that I didn't tally up the receipts and estimated instead). That astoundingly high number sometime depresses me. Operating my tractor is always an adventure that involve breakdowns lurking at every corner. Yeah, yeah, I know I know about maintenance etc but there is only so much a man can do with all other things going on.

Yet with all that, I enjoy every seat hour. I figure that from now on every hour of operation is a bonus that will drive that cost number down. When the tractor finally breaks for good, I will lovingly give it a welcome rest at my friend's scrap metal yard. Any tractor that has moved pieces 3 broken houses and 33 thousand cubic yards of hurricane debris has earned its keep.

 

[Texasmark]

I think you nailed it, there is no exact answer only estimates. Also, a lot depends on how well you take care of machine. You will get more for it if it's well taken care of therefore you will get more when you sell or trade lowering your overall ownership cost per hour.

+1............. no way of knowing. It's like you need it or you don't. Get what you need and use it whatever it costs.