real world tractor costs

Libertine · Jan 2, 2004

OkeeDon:

Thanks. Looks like your figures more or less mirror mine. The BH & FEL raised the cost (if I hadn't needed them, I would have kept my old Farmall). You have a lower cost basis, and use yours more hours so per hour rate much less. Wish I could have bought something with FEL & BH for $15k!!! Ah well. Anyway, the longer it is kept, the more hours used per year, the per hour cost keeps going lower & lower. And it's not strictly dollars & sense - it's fun enough to have it around for stuff.

JEH

Libertine · Jan 2, 2004

Henro:

Haven't seen you here in a while 

Havn't been for several months.

In my case I'm afraid to calculate costs related to my tractors 

No reason why you should if you don't have to. I'm just not well enough off to spend that kind of money without knowing what value I am receiving. Wish I was. Would probably buy a few more just for fun - maybe another blue one, a green one and even an orange one. Nothing wrong with that. But I know my financial limits.

JEH

frank_f15 · Jan 2, 2004

nice job on the breakdown of cost! not sure all of the folks here would look at it in quite the same way, i for instance look at all the tihings i do with my tractor as making my life easier, moving snow, cutting grass, moving dirt, etc. all done when i want to do it., or when it needs to be done.

Libertine · Jan 4, 2004

frank_f15:

i for instance look at all the tihings i do with my tractor as making my life easier, moving snow, cutting grass, moving dirt, etc. all done when i want to do it., or when it needs to be done. 

Indeed. The "work" performed with your tractor certainly has value. To accomplish that work without your tractor would involve financial costs (M/L quantifiable). Thus owning your tractor does give you a finanical gain (aside from the pleasure of running it), not the least of which is the ability to do it when you want, a few hours in the evening, for example, which you would not be able to do when renting. Hiring the work out would, problably, be even more expensive.

Actually, I was hoping for some feedback on what others are getting in gallons per hour fuel useage. I was surprised it was as low as it was for a 2 liter (120 cubic inches M/L) engine. Has anyone else kept fuel useage per hour for their engine size?

RonR:

I think you are referring to "accelerated cost recovery" which allows 100% depreciation in the first year up to a certain figure. I believe Bush increased this figure in his tax act a couple years ago-thus encouraging businesses to buy more stuff. However, this was a personal purchase so accounting as you would for business, taxes, etc. wasn't relevant (for me anyway).

JEH

MikePA · Jan 4, 2004

Actually, I was hoping for some feedback on what others are getting in gallons per hour fuel useage. I was surprised it was as low as it was for a 2 liter (120 cubic inches M/L) engine. Has anyone else kept fuel useage per hour for their engine size? 
I have a TC25D, 1.33 liter engine, with 187.3 hours on it. I've averaged 0.55 gallons/hour.

s1120 · Jan 4, 2004

( Wow, the cost of doing business is great. I guess I dont live in the real world. I've always purchased to keep for life, so depreciation of the investment---if you will, was never a real concern. In my opinion, mine has always appreciated /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif. Ive always figuured that when your done with the payments, if you had them, then the item pays you back that same amount every month, if it was a quality item that isnt always broken. Like a truck or car I make payments with the intent of driving it into the ground, good maintenance and propper care, no resail, that way I can bank those payments in the end. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif My thoughts. Franz )

That is the way I think also. Buy a car for me, Run it till I can't keep it running a junk it. Sell??? Whats that?

Funny but pretty much the only thing I bought thinking of resale, is my 8N. I needed a tractor, and did not have a big budjet to get one. Fell into the N, and got it. I KNOW it will not be my last tractor, and wile it does need a bit of work, I know when it comes to resale, I will get my money out of it. ALWAYS someone waiting in the wings to buy an old N.

Libertine · Jan 4, 2004

MidePA:

Thanks. Looks like your GPH is excellent also. Slightly smaller engine, about the same GPH - easily accounted for by the HST trans that probably adds about .2-.3 GPH M/L. Man, these things cost nothing for fuel. I thought I had forgotten to write down fuel purchases when I ran the numbers. But you're getting about the same. Thanks again.

JEH

OkeeDon · Jan 5, 2004

I actually used more fuel in my little TC18 -- I didn't keep track of each tank accurately, but I can guesstimate it the same way I did my costs, and come pretty close. I bought 4 drums (220 gallons) in 300 hours, but have some (unknown quantity) left in the last drum. That comes to about 2/3 gallon per hour. That's confirmed by the fact that I sometimes have to fill my 5 gallon tank twice in the same day. I suspect that my increased fuel usage is caused by the fact that I have less power, thus make more demands on it with the things I ask it to do. For example, just the other day I was using the FEL to lift an entire Volkswagen Rabbit chassis (which had most of the parts stripped, but had a roll cage). I could lift it from the top, with a strap through the body, without much trouble. But, when I tried to lift it from the side, with a chain around the door bar of the cage, and the entire car suspended and cantilevered in front of the bucket, I had to goose the RPMS up to about 2500 to get enough oomph on the loader and place it on a trailer from the side.

It was pretty funny to see that little tractor with a car wedged against the bucket and suspended out in front -- made me feel like one of those articulated wheel loaders with forks that the junk yard guys use. I knew I should have gotten a picture of it. The stripped chassis weighs about 700 pounds at a guess.

Libertine · Jan 7, 2004

OkeeDon:

Hmmm. Interesting report. The TC18 shows about 1/2 the weight & engine size of the TC40. Given a 1 liter (about 60 cubic inches M/L) engine size you would think the GPH would be a bit less. I generally run mine at max torque (around 1500-1600) unless I need PTO rpms or hydraulic flow on the BH/FEL. Even so you'd think the 18 would be a bit better. Maybe there's a minimum consumption or maybe its in the design of the engine. In any event, these things do a lot of work for the fuel used.

Hope you had a bunch of weght on the back when lifting the VW chasis! Going nose over not too spiffy.

Thanks.

JEH

OkeeDon · Jan 7, 2004

Hope you had a bunch of weight on the back when lifting the VW chassis! Going nose over not too spiffy.


We watched that carefully. My 4' Rhino brush hog was on at the time. The rear tires are loaded. Probably 3/4 of my 325 hours involved using the FEL in one fashion or another, so I know what it feels like.

The chassis was on jack stands where it had been stripped (parts going on to a new race car). We first rigged a strap through the open windows and under the upper tubes of the roll cage, positioned the bucket flat on the roof and strapped it tight (no sway) and lifted straight up from the center of the roof. We only lifted it about 1" and backed up v e r y slowly and lowered the car to just a couple of inches off the ground as soon as we were clear. There was no bobble, and the tractor handled it easily. However, at my guess of 700#, we were well under the rated capacity.

Next, we moved it with this hook up to the flat bed trailer. I knew that I couldn't get close enough to position the chassis in the center of the trailer because the fenders got in the way. Since the chassis was on the way to the salvage yard, I didn't care if it got dented or scratched. I positioned the top of the bucket flush with the lower edge of the window line, tight and flush to the door. We fastened a chain under the side tubes of the roll cage, out the window and to the hooks on the bucket. Then, I curled up slightly, taking up the slack in the chain and essentially making the chassis and the bucket into one unit.

I had to lift it approximately 30" to clear the fender and trailer side rail and move straight forward, then lower it onto the trailer. As stated above, we were right at the capacity of the loader, so it lifted slowly, whether we like it or not /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif. I was not moving as I lifted it, concentrating on the loader, and ready to lower it quickly if I felt it bobble.

As soon as I started to move forward, the far edge of the chassis was over the fender, and if it had started to tip, it would have only been about 4" until it came to rest on the fender or side rail. The worst part was once the near side of the chassis had cleared the side rail, as it it had tipped then, it would have been about a foot to the trailer. I stopped and lowered it gingerly until it was just a couple of inches above the trailer bed, then moved forward a little more to center it.

I had two other people with me, one at the front of the car watching underneath to make sure I was clear and didn't snag anything, and another near me, to observe what I couldn't see close to my side of the bucket. The whole loading operation took about 15 minutes to move 6' straight forward. Did I say that we moved v e r y slowly? /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

In the end, because of good rigging (thanks, Bruce) and a lot of care, it was a piece of cake. That's all it takes for safety. I have four more Rabbits to strip (I save what I need for spare parts for the race car, and sell the rest on EBay), and when I load each empty chassis, it will be done just as slowly. The only difference will be that now, I know it can handle it -- the first one was a bit of a pucker.