Hourly cost to own/operate tractor?

[oosik]

Now there is a VERY dramatic difference between loaning your tractor and going with your tractor to help a friend. I have done the latter. I intentionally have insurance that only covers while on my property - excellent reason for not loaning or going off property.

Wait until your friend calls and says - "there is oil dripping out the bottom of the tractor" - its a cracked transmission housing - total repair cost - - $4850. How much is he willing/able to chip in. Loaning out your tractor is bad in so very many ways.

One way or the other this will most definitely have a negative impact on your friendship. There could be catastrophic damage - who pays what - OR he will become very resentful of the accumulating charges he is racking up - no matter what you decide is fair to charge. Its a no win situation.

 

[4570Man]

Now there is a VERY dramatic difference between loaning your tractor and going with your tractor to help a friend. I have done the latter. I intentionally have insurance that only covers while on my property - excellent reason for not loaning or going off property.

Wait until your friend calls and says - "there is oil dripping out the bottom of the tractor" - its a cracked transmission housing - total repair cost - - $4850. How much is he willing/able to chip in. Loaning out your tractor is bad in so very many ways.

One way or the other this will most definitely have a negative impact on your friendship. There could be catastrophic damage - who pays what - OR he will become very resentful of the accumulating charges he is racking up - no matter what you decide is fair to charge. Its a no win situation.

Another lesson I’ve learned the hard way is don’t help friends for a significantly reduced price. Help them for free or charge them going rate. If you’re doing a $500 job for $75 and you tear something up it’s hard to distinguish who pays the bill. If you’re either helping for free or going rate it’s pretty easy to see who should pay.

 

[shooterdon]

Another lesson I致e learned the hard way is don稚 help friends for a significantly reduced price. Help them for free or charge them going rate. If youæ±*e doing a $500 job for $75 and you tear something up itç—´ hard to distinguish who pays the bill. If youæ±*e either helping for free or going rate itç—´ pretty easy to see who should pay.

Even if you are doing the work for free....if YOU tear up YOUR tractor YOU will pay for repairs if YOU are operating it.

If I am operating your tractor and run it into a tree and damage the cab, I am paying for repairs.

 

[4570Man]

Even if you are doing the work for free....if YOU tear up YOUR tractor YOU will pay for repairs if YOU are operating it.

If I am operating your tractor and run it into a tree and damage the cab, I am paying for repairs.

If I’m working for free and something tears up I’m sending a bill for the parts. I’ll eat the labor. Collecting is another issue.

 

[Deere Dude]

A scenario I can envision; If I used your tractor for a low rate and something astronomical broke, why should I pay for it? It probably was bad before I got it and was almost ready to go anyway. Your friendship isn't worth $10,000 to me, so come and get your tractor.

I know only one guy I would load out something like that to because he is careful with everything he uses and is maintenance conscientious. But he hardly ever borrows anything. He would not let me borrow anything from him because he understands the dilemmas that can pop up.

 

[4570Man]

I was boarding up some windows for a friend at a considerable discount over what the job was worth. I got tired of using a ladder and decided to move my tractor to use the FEL as a man lift. Since I wasn’t really working the machine and the price was already agreed upon I wasn’t charging for the machine at all. After the job was done he asked me to push over a dead tree at the corner of the parking lot. That job in itself wasn’t a big deal so I did it. It was overgrown around the tree with heavy grass/light brush. In that mix there was an old gatepost I didn’t see. I was watching the top of the tree for limbs to break off so I wasn’t watching the ground. The gatepost ended up bending the loader lift cylinder and when the cylinder bent it crushed a hard line on the loader. The repair bill was about $700 and remember my pay for using my machine was zero and my agreed payment for this extra work was zero. This place was 10 miles out of town with required several trips back and forth to get straightened out. I ate the gas, time and several days loss of my machine but I handed him the bill for the $700. He paid it but said he didn’t feel like he was responsible for it. I didn’t really care how he felt because we weren’t going to be friends any more if he didn’t pay.

 

[Diggin It]

I would like to loan this tractor to a good friend of mine from time to time and I want to find out what the tractor costs to run so he can borrow the tractor, keep track of hours, and reimburse me a fair rate for fuel, maintenance, depreciation, etc. Anybody have any good ideas what a fair rate would be? I am looking for a fair rate so I can feel totally fine loaning him tractor

$0.00

If you loan something to a friend, you don't charge. Maybe they pay for the fuel they used, or make sure the tank is full when they get it back to you. If you want money, you rent with a signed contract, friend or not.

 

[Fallon]

At one point I calculated operating costs on my L4060HSTC at $35/hr. Others have noted maintnance & insurance already.

I wont loan out my tractor. I'll gladly help out friends, sometimes for $35/hr, sometimes for free. But it's not worth the wory to loan out the machine to friends.

Who gets stuck with the bill for for a busted whatever? Was the busted whatever just worn out, or did improper operation cause it to fail? In most cases 1 or both parties are going to have some heartache over the deal. I'd rather operate my machine for them & know where the blame lies than risk a friendship.

 

[John Fitzgerald]

I help a few neighbors out a little from time to time. I never charge them, but if they offer me a little money for fuel, I will sometimes take that.

 

[diesel85]

I have done stuff for folks. I'd rather do it myself.

The only thing I like is for them to pay for the fuel if I used it all up.

Most of the time, I'm happy with bartering for food... a steak fresh off a grill, or a homemade pie goes a long way...