Hour Meter

[jonnyc1999]

My 2008 bobcat is just reaching its 50hr. servicing this week. The math would indicate that it has been used an average of 12.5 hrs. over the course of its life. Of course, I bought it "new" from the dealer with 24 hours on it in 2011. I would think that the majority of homowner used tractors would have fairly low hours.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Knowing what to look for is very helpful. I never thought to look at the pedals, which is a great idea because they aren't likely to be replaced like other components such as leaking seals. Even if the pedals were painted, excessive wear would probably still be evident. Are there other tell-tale signs to look for?

Look for unusual wear @ the hitch pin hole in the drawbar, lower link balls on 3-point, knobs on levers, steering wheel. Also, seat cushion. It's hard to wear out a drawbar in just a few hours.....I've seen some with elongated holes, indicating a LOT of use.

 

[DK35vince]

My 33 year old JD 850 only has 1830 hours.
An average of around 55 hours/year.

 

[bigbull338]

im going to say this an i dont mean it to offend any1 here at tractorbynet.most of the people here has the lil tractors to maintain 2 or 3acs.an they dont put meny if any hours on their tractors.we put about 100hrs a year on my tractor.alot of farmers put 300 to 500hrs on their tractors.

 

[TigerfaninAR]

Wow, can't believe the few hours others use their tractors. Guess mine would be what others are saying if didn't use to mow with. Had mine for 10 months and sitting at 130 hours. Thought about a dedicated mower but really didn't want to maintain two.

 

[LastSTRAW]

I was also amazed at how low the hours were on the tractors I bought from my uncle. He had a 1986 with 985 hours and a 1985 with 1200 hours. These were used a lot on the dairy farm but it still takes a while to rack up the hours. I am told that Ford only counts hours at the equivalent of 2,000 RPM so the amount of hours may be considerably more than the gage shows without any dishonesty intendended.

 

[Soundguy]

Do sellers/dealers actually expect people to believe that a 10+ year old tractor only has 300-600 hours, or that a 40+ year old tractor only has 800-1000 hours? I'm sure it's within the realm of possibility, although I believe it would very unlikely, depending on the circumstances.

that's when you look at the rest of the machine.

I have bought 50-60 yer old machines showing 5xx hours on a functioning oem proofmeter.. clutch and brake pedals still had crisp 'new' tread on them.. same with deck paltes, andall wear parts that you normally touch.

that one I 'believe' was low hour.

if you see one with 3xx hours on it.. meter is clean, and brake and clutch pedals are worn smooth like knife blades.. well..

 

[Eagle09]

My Kubota is a 1999 model and as of today it has 331 hours on it. It has never sat out in the weather either so it looks very "new like."

Good quality tractors with low hours are out there, but as others have said look at all of the signs and not just the hour meter.

 

[The kid]

Do sellers/dealers actually expect people to believe that a 10+ year old tractor only has 300-600 hours, or that a 40+ year old tractor only has 800-1000 hours? I'm sure it's within the realm of possibility, although I believe it would very unlikely, depending on the circumstances.

Many older tractors I've found the clock, counter or "proof meter" had failed and was disconnected like mine. The "proof meter" acted as a guestimate amount of time on the tractor be it motor or actual use.

I'm trying to roundup parts to get my tach/proof meter working again not to monitor but because it's there and it should work. Modern equipment use hall effect input or magetic pulse into a tiny counter. Then some are mearly digital clocks that run when the engine does. They are normally accurate and maintenance free.

In the case of a fourty year old tractor, I don't put much stock in a counter, but more emphasis on it's condition. Your 66 Massey had/has a tach/proof meter that ran off the delco generator rear end. They where common to fail, because the owner didn't grease the cable as often as they should, so it was easy to disconnect. So a dealer making something of a big deal about low hours to me is something that can't be proven. At any rate, the eye doesn't lie on the condition.

 

[whodat526]

Do sellers/dealers actually expect people to believe that a 10+ year old tractor only has 300-600 hours, or that a 40+ year old tractor only has 800-1000 hours? I'm sure it's within the realm of possibility, although I believe it would very unlikely, depending on the circumstances.

i bought and sold a 2155 jd last year that had 671 hours on the orginal working tack i is more common than you would believe i just bought a 3000 ford from the orginal owner that only had 1500 hours on it