Running costs of a CUT

[TomIre]

What do you all figure are the hourly running costs for a CUT? Not for commercial use, just average CUT user.
I'm probably missing something but I know a service costs roughly $500 every 100 hours for $5 an hour. Fuel maybe about 2 gallons an hour for another $5. Depreciation? My tractor costs roughly $20k and I figure it's more or less good for 5000 hours before the value drops to near nothing. That's $4 an hour. Maybe another $1 an hour for tires, battery, etc?
So $15 an hour to operate?
What do you think? Close?

 

[Industrial Toys]

We always got more for our tractors than we paid, not considering inflation.

But, your calculation are for a problem free ownership. I spent around 12 K for a new rebuilt tranny on our JD 6200 to replace a low hour (1200 or so) junk one!

 

[Gordon Gould]

A big part of my "operating costs" are all the new to me implements and do-dads I keep buying or building. A tractor is like a Christmas tree that you hang money on instead of ornaments.

gg

 

[Beltzington]

I have owned my 40HP CUT for 10-years almost to the day, I have primarily used it to mow (RC) 8-acres and have put just over 400 hours on the meter. Averaging out to about 40-hours per year. the biggest annual expense is $350/year insurance, fuel comes in second at $200, I would use $5/gal as you have to haul it, treat it and store it. Filters, batteries, oil, grease, misc. parts less than $100/year. I have done all my own maintenance per service manual recommendations.

To Gordon's point I have spent close to $10k on attachments, a trailer to haul it.

Unless you are planning on replacing parts on a planned schedule which is unlikely for non-commercial use. The rest is a crap shoot, new engine $12K, transmission $8000, factor service $150/hour....

I am not sure where you came up with 5000 hours but the factory rated life expectancy for my tractor based on the weakest is about 2500-hours. Even with the lower number and a little luck my tractor will outlive me. Good Luck

PS. With some digging on the net you would likely find a tax depreciation scale which may give you more empirical numbers.

 

[4570Man]

I think your fuel estimate is at least double probably 4 times for a compact tractor. What are you servicing that cost $500 every hundred hours? I was thinking HST service is every 500 maybe 1000 hours. Engine oil change is probably less than $75 even using OEM filter and synthetic oil. Assuming you’re in the average age and use bracket you’ll never live long enough to wear a tractor out so that makes the depreciation not very much. Implement and insurance cost isn’t a fixed hourly cost. It’s roughly the same if you’re working 1 or 500 hours a year.

 

[jjp8182]

Overall that's a good approach, but you may want to look at some of the numbers since they seem a little bit high to me.

Depending on the age/size the fuel usage rate might be double the actual fuel consumption. For comparison my L3560 uses roughly 0.9 gallons of diesel per hour -- and that's operating at full throttle >85% of the time.

Depreciation probably won't be a huge factor until the tractor hits a few/several hundred hours of use, and then after that first drop it seems to level off and have a relatively low depreciation rate (assuming it's maintained mechanically and doesn't acquire any significant cosmetic damage) from what I've seen looking at used tractors.

Depending on the nature of the 100hr maintenance requirements (and if you can perform the activities yourself) that cost may be high as well. Having just crossed 110 hrs with mine, I think I've actually put more money into buying tools to deal with the metric fasteners than I have in tractor parts/lubricants. The most I've spent on actual maintenance parts was changing the oil and swapping out hydraulic filters at the recommended 50hr break-in interval as the 100hr maintenance was mostly just checks. Other than that the biggest cost has probably been the greases I've chosen to use.

So having talked myself through that I'd say $15/hr is probably a good planning number (pending actual fuel usage).

 

[Henro]

的'm probably missing something but I know a service costs roughly $500 every 100 hours

Frankly I would say you are probably missing the fact that you are being ripped off at that price.

If you do your own basic maintenance it is no where near that amount.

I think it is a difficult calculation.

I prefer to estimate how much money my tractor is saving me over paying someone to do the same work. I think that is where the financial benefit is. Especially if you do not put a high value on your time, and consider the work enjoyment. I am retired so I consider my time free. My payback for the pleasure I have using the tractor is all gravy (money I did not have to lay out).

Working my 30 HP Kubota hard uses about 5 gallons of fuel in 8 hours.

Bill

 

[jeff9366]

Here is a developed thread from the T-B-N archive on Tractor Operating Costs:

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums...isons/377826-what-does-your-tractor-cost.html


My local Kubota dealer does my tractor service, less fueling and greasing.

I have regular implement repair work at the welding shop.

I figure my operating cost at $35.00 per hour including depreciation/repairs on implements.

As a hobby, still cheaper than boat ownership.

 

[jeff9366]

What do you all figure are the hourly running costs for a CUT? Not for commercial use, just average CUT user.
I'm probably missing something but I know a service costs roughly $500 every 100 hours for $5 an hour. Fuel maybe about 2 gallons an hour for another $5. Depreciation? My tractor costs roughly $20k and I figure it's more or less good for 5000 hours before the value drops to near nothing. That's $4 an hour. Maybe another $1 an hour for tires, battery, etc?
So $15 an hour to operate?
What do you think? Close?

1. No tractor repairs figured in. Tractors break. Mechanic's time at my Kubota dealer is $75/hour in rural Florida and that is cheap by national standards. Transportation to/from dealer adds up.

2. Many have as much money invested in implements as the tractor.

3. Fetching diesel fuel ten gallons at a time is another transportation cost that adds up.

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.

 

[atsah]

I don’t even consider owning and operating costs, I do my own maintenance and repairs, all I know is my tractor is ready when I need it, I don’t pay anyone to do anything I can do myself, I can get things done when I want them done.

The only operating costs that even crosses my mind is when I purchase fuel for it and it’s a small price to pay for the convenience of having a tractors capability outside in the barn.