How much does it cost per hour to run a tractor.

[Utopia Texas]

When you add in the cost of the new barn for the tractor be sure to add in the expense of electricity for the beer fridge.....:drink:

 

[namesray]

Cost per hour.
I have crunched some numbers on this awhile back. Dont know if I did it right but here is my figures.

buy up
maintenance
insurance
fuel usage
trade in/depreciation value

Keep in mind the longer you keep the tractor and more hours per year you use it, the less per hour your costs will be, so those who buy a 20,000 tractor to mow 10 acres, till the garden once or twice, and plow the driveway each winter will have a higher per hour cost then someone who mows more, tills more, and plows more driveways.

Here is my example.
Kubota b7800 tractor with loader
buy up= 16,000
maintenance per year=300
Insurance per year=200
fuel per year (1/2 gal/hr@ $4.00/gal)=600
I put about 300 hours per year r on unit and plan on keeping it for 10 years. As for the trade in/depreciation I take the buy up cost and double it as to guesstimate trade in value towards buying a new replacement and add for inflation of future sale prices, so now buy up/trade in/depreciation cost is 32000 or 3200/year for 10 years.
Total approx cost per year to run tractor (add up all costs)=4300/year
Now divide by total hours per year (my case 300)=$14.33/hour

So for me to own and run my kubota b7800 costs me about $14.33/hour.

Now the is other variables such as mentioned like saving money by not hiring out and saving on hassle. The list could go on and on. I have actually tried to figure all my variables in and came up with a per hour cost of $6.00/hour. That is a story for an no ther day.

Dont know if I did all that math right, but that is how I figure my operating costs.

 

[deanwerden]

This is not even something I had consider wasting my time trying to figure out.

I wanted a tractor. I bought a tractor. I enjoy my tractor. If it breaks I'll fix it. repeat

 

[zimbo]

Easy to work out - if you need to. Have a look here. Estimating Farm Machinery Costs | Ag Decision Maker

The big question I think is ownership VS renting, and this mostly applies to fieldwork or larger jobs where you would use a machine for a specific time or job.
The little garden machines don't make financial sense for many years, but try keeping your property in shape with out them.

 

[JDgreen227]

Oil, filters, hydraulic oil, filters, air filters, parts, repairs, depreciation.. I'm sure there's more

No offense meant to OP but he is asking about a wildly variable range of factors that will vary from tractor to tractor and owner to owner. My 2002 Deere 4210 has 1215 operating hours and I have kept very careful records about EVERYTHING involved as to maintenance and fuel purchased....EVERYTHING...meaning I could if I so chose figure out the cost per hour. HOWEVER:

Mine has been well cared for (always garaged, never abused, maintained far in excess of what the manual calls for) while another of the same model may have been left outside, abused and poorly maintained...and I have done ALL the maintenance myself rather than paying the dealership for transportation to the shop and back and paying their inflated prices for maintenance.

My usage has been easy, never running over 2300 rpm, meaning my cost per hour has been lower than someone running at maximum rpm all day long.

Depreciation is almost impossible to compare because different models depreciate at different rates in different locations...let alone calculate fuel costs at the wildly variable rate per gallon.

I could go on and on, but I think the cost per hour is a very hard figure to put a value on. Closest figure I can get without figuring in depreciation and repairs, etc, is for fuel and maintenance costs on my machine...an oil filter, 4 quarts of 15-40 oil and grease for 100 hours costs me about $22. Diesel usage is about .67 gph average. At $4 a gallon, I am calculating my Deere costs me about $2.90 per hour for light maintenance and fuel for 100 operating hours. Sound about right?

Now, how much do I deduct from that out of pocket cost per hour for the enjoyment and pride my machine gives me....? :laughing:

 

[Deere Dude]

Just depreciation alone without the daily expenses got to me. I bought a new large JD garden tractor one year with a big deck for approx. $12k. Four years later the warranty period was done so I wanted to trade it in for the same style only new. I was told it would cost $6000 to boot. I basically mowed lawn and snowblew for half the hours and the other half I would take short drives down to the lake or to the neighbors to chit-chat. The tractor and only had 250 hours on the thing.
I did find a dealer who said $2500 to boot, but anyway that still is $10-$20 an hour for usage.
I could have bought a cheapo $1000 tractor and did the same thing and got most of my money back, but I got what I wanted and I helped prop up the economy for somebody.:confused3:

 

[Tomtint]

what size skid steer?

It's a Cat 246 with Logering tracks

 

[LD1]

I have a spreadsheet I made up to get a close cost since I use it for business. To the average owner, it dont matter much. I'll hit on some of the main points.

Fuel..............................1-gal +/- per hour average...............................................$3.50
Tires (fronts)....................New pair ever 800hrs ($300)...........................................$0.38
Tires (rears)....................New every 1200 hrs.....($700)............................................$0.58
100hr service...................Engine oil/filter ($40).........................................................$0.40
200hr services..................Hydraulics ($110)..............................................................$0.55
Tubes o grease and other misc parts per 500hrs ($500)................................................$1.00

Big one...Depreciation. This is assuming tractor last 6000hrs, and is worthless at that point,
Which will pretty much be if traded in on a new tractor. Not likely to get much for it.

6000hrs............................$18000 cost....................................................................$3.00

TOTAL....................................................................................................................$9.41

So I just call it $10/hr to run. And thats the number I use when figuring jobs.

 

[Baby Grand]

I'm paying around $589.00 per hour. When you get a tractor you need a pole barn and a poured concrete floor. And a trailer. And a new truck to pull the trailer. Plus all the attachments I wouldn't have to buy if I didn't own a tractor. Plus all the time I waste on here when I could be working making money. It's very, very expensive and I really don't want to figure it out because it's probably higher than I think.

Happy New Year!

That is the most honest & complete estimate that I have seen.
That being said, I like to factor in the benefits that (somewhat) offsets that cost:

> I can tell myself that I can still get just as much done in a day as I could when I was 21 and not lie to myself.
> My back is not in pain all the time and I can't remember my chiropractor's name.
> It keeps me off the streets.
> I get the work done when I want it done.
> One of the sons of fellow we bought our place from called his tractor his "thinking machine".
> If I turn the cell phone off and operate the tractor for a few hours, I start thinking clearly again.
> I don't have to compete with ridiculously overpaid people to contract yard work.
> Since the tractors really don't depreciate much with time, they make a good, hard asset to offsets the risk of currency instability.
> It's fun!

 

[JDgreen227]

LD1....respectfully disagree with your figures....once again, too general. Where does that 18 grand figure come from? My Deere with a deck, back blade, and FEL cost me 20 grand back in 2002, and that amount DOES NOT include finance charges. And unless a tractor was horribly beat up and sadly neglected from new to the 6000 hour mark, it always WILL be worth something. Given the dollar amounts you note for service, it's a safe bet said tractor was decently maintained. One last thing...A DOLLAR AN HOUR FOR TUBES OF GREASE AND MISC PARTS? In 1215 hours my Deere has needed, aside from the service costs you mention...two new batteries, one set of mower deck blades, two sets of air and fuel filters, and two coolant flushes and refills, and one set of radiator hoses, 2 drive belts, and $50 worth of welding. plus 20 tubes of grease...about $500 for 1215 hours...a cost of 41 cents per hour.