What if....?

[tradosaurus]

I mulled over the possibility of selling my tractor and maybe implements and just hire out jobs as I need. I bought a L3301 back in 2019 and in two years after I sold it I put 100 hrs on it. Most of that 100 hrs was making a walking trail through my woods.

I then upgraded to an MX5400 and have 11 hrs on it since I bought it in late May of 2021. I bought it new and have 6 yr note that I pay $500/mo. I also have a heavy duty rotary cutter, box blade and grapple (from EA) that is paid off.

Most of the low hrs was due to a lot of rain during May and part of June.

However I started thinking of why I need this tractor. I used it for grading the driveway once a year. I used it to pick up a downed tree every now and then. I use it to mow in certain areas of my property and thin out scrub around the trees.

I did have a few very large branches that blocked the driveway that I was easily able to lift with the tractor and bring to the burn pile. That was nice although I could have used a chainsaw to cut the branches into manageable pieces to haul off with my side by side.

I could hire someone once a year to grade the driveway. I know there are people on Craigslist that will hire out themselves with a tractor for $75/hr.

What's your opinion?

 

[Jstpssng]

Only you know how much you need it. Another option might be to rent one as needed.

 

[tradosaurus]

Only you know how much you need it. Another option might be to rent one as needed.

I talked to a guy at work that just bought a Kubota B series tractor. He said he couldn't find a tractor rent. The tractors were booked months in advance.

No, if I sold I would just hire someone from FB or CL.

 

[dodge man]

I will jump in and question your purchase. Why did you get a bigger tractor? Why did you get a grapple instead of forks? From what you describe I think your original tractor was large enough and you could get by with a smaller one.

 

[tradosaurus]

I will jump in and question your purchase. Why did you get a bigger tractor? Why did you get a grapple instead of forks? From what you describe I think your original tractor was large enough and you could get by with a smaller one.

The L3301 wasn't built for work in the woods. I had to replace two Hyd filters and install a guard around the filters. I've bent a few things under the tractor. Even the salesmen acted like he never heard my reasoning for a tractor when I first bought the L3301 and then complained to him off and on over the next 2 years.

Also I have 40 acres of large trees that when I have to move a downed tree the L3301 just didn't have ability to lift (even with ballast and filled tires) unless I cut the tree into much smaller pieces.

The MX5400 was and is the right tractor that I should have bought in the beginning. I just thinking out loud about the amount I use it versus hiring someone when I need work done.

 

[dodge man]

Reading your last post then it sounds like you are happy with your current machine. If you can afford it keep it.

 

[sea2summit]

This is exactly like the backhoe argument. Sure you can rent an ex when you need that job done and the BH isn't the greatest tool....but many convivence has it's value. You say 11 hrs since May and only that low because of rain, considering the average homeowner only uses their tractor 50-60 hrs a year you sound above average for use. You're dollars but I'd say keep it if it's not a payment burden.

 

[tradosaurus]

I can afford the payment. Just thinking out loud and wondering if other members have went through this same thought process.

 

[sea2summit]

I can afford the payment. Just thinking out loud and wondering if other members have went through this same thought process.

Well when I got my MX I had a BX for a while and decided I wasn't using it enough so sold it, I miss it all the time just because of the niche if filled. Now I've got a M4 and MX...and occasionally still miss the BX

Kind of like selling a gun, you'll always have a twinge or regret.

 

[Jstpssng]

40 acres and you want to hire out the work? That would make me reconsider.
I put around 200 hours per year on my 3301 and am in the woods about 50% of that time, the only problem I've ever had was when I got it stuck and couldn't get out for 2 weeks. (Before that I had a smaller 275 which I used equally hard for 15 years.) Still, a bigger tractor is always better for that type of work.

 

[tradosaurus]

40 acres and you want to hire out the work? That would make me reconsider.
I put around 200 hours per year on my 3301 and am in the woods about 50% of that time, the only problem I've ever had was when I got it stuck and couldn't get out for 2 weeks. (Before that I had a smaller 275 which I used equally hard for 15 years.) Still, a bigger tractor is always better for that type of work.

Interesting.

What type of work are you doing in your woods?

 

[bearthebruce]

$6000 plus fuel and maintenance per year.. 50 hours of use per year..

so that's 50 gallons of diesel - maybe a little more - call it $150.. Maintenance - if you do it yourself, probably less than $200.. all in $6350 (est.) per year cost.

Or in cost per hour: $127

If you hire someone, will it cost you less than $127 per hour for them to do the work for you?

You wrote you thought someone would do the work for $75/hour.. That represents a saving of about $2600 a year to hire someone.

Will they do the job as you would? If money is the issue and if you can hire at $75/hour, then it seems you should unload the tractor. But keep in mind that at some point the costs drop drastically when you are no longer making the payments on the machine. Once paid off, hiring out will cost more than you doing the work.

Do you enjoy the work you do on your tractor? Or do you find the chores you are doing to be a nuisance and wasting time you could be spending doing more lucrative and more pleasing things?

 

[Henro]

I never hire anybody to do anything. Did hire a friend to do the block work on my house when I built it, since I did not want to lose the summer learning to lay block at a snails pace...needed the foundation closed in by winter.

Every time I talk to someone who hires work out, they always seem to have complaints. Guy does not show up, guy does not come back when he said, guy does not return phone calls, guy does shoddy work, guy seems to be a professional excuse maker...and so on.

How old are you? Sounds like that tractor will last you 40 years easy.

Come back in 20 years and tell us how glad you are you did not sell it!

 

[k0ua]

I never hire anybody to do anything. Did hire a friend to do the block work on my house when I built it, since I did not want to lose the summer learning to lay block at a snails pace...needed the foundation closed in by winter.

Every time I talk to someone who hires work out, they always seem to have complaints. Guy does not show up, guy does not come back when he said, guy does not return phone calls, guy does shoddy work, guy seems to be a professional excuse maker...and so on.

How old are you? Sounds like that tractor will last you 40 years easy.

Come back in 20 years and tell us how glad you are you did not sell it!

I tend to agree with this line of thinking. Once it is paid off, it is all gravy. If you are near the end of your life, this probably is not going to pencil out for you, but if you have some time left, you are going to be sorry you sold it. I don't use my tractor all that much each year either, but it is mighty nice to go down to the barn and fire it up when ever you need it. I have most of the big landscaping jobs done so the tractor sits a lot. I do have to grade the road a lot more than you do though due to the steepness of the road. Besides the tractor is paid off.

 

[workinonit]

In general hiring work out for me is a really bad idea. No one else does anything like I do it. Not to say I'm better(good example is welding), lots of people do things better, just not the same. Having someone doing tractor work for me would drive me nuts. No way they could satisfy me.

 

[CausticUrbanCoast]

Nobody else seems to want to go down this route...

Why do you not simply buy an older tractor of about the same size/older for a few thousand rather than the 500x12x6=$36,000 you locked yourself into?

It is not a question of IF you need a tractor; it is more a question of return on investment.

If I used a tractor only 20 hours a year, there is little question for me if I would have it or not (some people solely have a tractor to plow their driveway in winter, and need a large FEL if it is deep enough).

Would I spend $20k+ on it for a few hours a year? No.

Would I spend $2-5k, Yes. That price range means something older (and you can find medium/medium-small tractors in that range all the time).

Now the salesmen will chime in and say old are worn out and you will be repairing it all the time. Think about your situation and how many others did the same thing .... these tractors come up at estate sales/auctions all the time and lived their lives in a garage - many go for a fraction of their cost. They have the same amount of maintenance as an older tractor that was maintained... the paint is usually not as shiny and the only ones you impress are others that use their tractors.

However, if the Jones's are important to you, new is your only option!

 

[shooterdon]

James made an excellent point....age. For example I am 70 so I look at things differently than if I was 50. Two things happen...both obvious....will you live long enough to justify the expenditure in equipment/attachments....and will be be healthy enough to do the work?

Each of us age differently....look at Biden and look at Bernie Sanders...who is aging better?

Like another poster mentioned, this a lot like the BH discussions. Do you have enough work to justify ownership over either the life of the equipment or your life?.

I hire jobs out that make sense for my circumstances.

Spending over $6000/yr for a few jobs does not make a lot of sense if you can hire them out for $3000. I dealt with two downed trees across my driveway in the last 9 years, before I had a tractor. I cannot think of anything else that would have been so "urgent" that having a tractor on site would be worthwhile. But I need a tractor for routine needs...keeping it to handle downed trees would be stupid.

A suggestion....Hire one of your jobs out and see how it goes. I did that with some BH work I needed done and it convinced me not to purchase a BH. I have a good guy I can depend on not far from me. If the guy you hire does a good job for $100/hr you may not need your own tractor.

 

[sea2summit]

Now the salesmen will chime in and say old are worn out and you will be repairing it all the time.

Shoot, isn't that part of the draw to old equipment? I've got three pieces behind the pole barn right now waiting for their turn under the healing shade tree.

 

[TractorGuy]

Only you can do the math and justify the expense and work involved with ownership.

111 hours times $75 = $8325. You would have to wait for the work to be done on their schedule and that money would be gone forever.

 

[hube2]

Every time I talk to someone who hires work out, they always seem to have complaints. Guy does not show up, guy does not come back when he said, guy does not return phone calls, guy does shoddy work, guy seems to be a professional excuse maker...and so on.

This is why I do almost everything myself. There are some things I will not do because I do not have the skill or time. For example, I did not put the new roof on my house because I never get them to come out straight, the roof on my new shed went on crooked I am having all the windows and the sliding glass door in the house replaced this year, I could do it, but not in the 2 days that it's going to take the people I hired to do the work. When I do it myself I know it's done the way I want it done and there was nothing skimped on to increase a profit. When I do hire someone I do a lot of research and vetting before making the decision. My experience is that it's hard to find someone else that will take the time and put in the extra effort to make sure it's done right, or in my case, over done so that nothing has to be redone when you figure out what it's really lacking.