So what is your cost to operate your tractor?

[Farmwithjunk]

Ah, but picking a classic tractor in advance is tough.

As for operating VS owning.... I agree that the OP has bits and pieces of each. As a homeowner, I don't make income with my tractor. It is a tool that saves me time and it keeps me from spending as much money when I can do it myself VS hiring out or renting. And really, by not spending as much by doing it myself, I am saving some of my money, but I am not making any money. There is still a net loss at the end of the day.

That hasn't been too tough for me so far..... Just buy old Masseys!!!!


As far as the rest of the story, each and every one of us has a different situation. All those variables make it difficult at best to give a blanket answer to the original question.

 

[kasch_hunter]

Woodchuck,

There are (somewhere) publications that identify the cost of using certain agricultural equipment so that a farmer knows the rate charged for a certain tractor or size tractor to seed wheat. Such information may be available through your local ASCS office. I have seen such documents but do not know if they exist for smaller tractors such as those which are the topic of this forum.

 

[foggy1111]

As said....lots of ways to look at this stuff.

One way: I figure that my tractor and all my implements cost me $17,000. So the $17,000 I have "tied up" may be costing me an average of $1360. a year (8% return on the investment of $17,000 = $1360.). Then too, I have to have a storage barn which cost me $16,000.....and I use half for boats and stuff......and half for the tractor or $8000. @ 8% = $640 per year.....for tractor and implements.

So in terms of lost income by investing in my tractor and storage (instead of conservative financial investments) my cost to own "my stuff" is about $2000 per year. If I operate the equipment for 75 hours a year its costing me $26.66 per hour.......in " lost opportunity cost" to own my tractor.

I'm guessing after 10 years I will have about 1/2 the value of the tractor and implements remaining.....or a total depreciation of $8000. on my "investment" - which calculates out to another 10.66 per hour. To those costs...add the fuel, maintenance and repairs. (I don't figure any depreciation on the building....but, who knows?)

I really don't care......I want one For me its a hobby....and I also will have a significantly improved piece of land to show for the "opportunity and depreciation and other costs" listed above.....so (in my case as in many others) ......its very hard to pin a cost on ownership.....its more of a judgement call.

In the first year of owning my tractor, I figure I have added at least 20x the annual tractor ownership costs to the value of my land (as a result of my tractor investment).....and had alot of fun along the way.

And compared to renting.....its there when I need it....and I know the condition of what I have....and what work to expect from it.

 

[D7E]

Wow.... very hard to do with 15 machines varying in age from from 1950's to new and from 45hp to 400hp with anything up to 14000 hrs...Some owned from new..some come and go in a matter of months?
I personally don't see a problem with running old machinery as all our major breakdowns are with the new ones ..mostly computer or electrical but i think although under warranty more lost work days than the old girls....

 

[Richard]

You mean these things cost real money?

 

[shane]

You mean these things cost real money?

Time for me to get off this thread before my wife comes in here and starts reading over my shoulder.

 

[hr3]

Most of you have tractors used on your farms or joy day job,, so it's important to know what it cost you... Some of us use them for personal use .. I this case to me my tractor "Is priceless"

 

[Steve C]

I did a quick search and didn't see a posting on it. If I missed it maybe someone can point me to it.

I was thinking about this earlier and wondering what its going to cost to run and maintain a tractor. All things considered, what does it cost you per engine hour to run and maintain your vehicle?

If you have unusual expenses that drive up your cost, maybe you can mention those too. Like a bent cylinder rod, etc.

I've read a few comments here about having a site for tractor owners to have a maintenance log online. I create and maintain database driven web sites so I have a good idea on how to do this. Its just a factor of finding the time for creating one. If there's enough interest I could pick away and making one and then then modify it based on feedback from the users.

Jim

Just in case my wife reads this, this is my story and I am sticking to it.

When I bought my tractor it had a little less than a half tank of fuel in it. I purchased a 5 gallon can of off road diesel and have used it to the point that the fuel level is about where it was when I bought the tractor. At a cost of $2.45 a gallon for off road diesel

I have put 30+ hours on it and have used 5 gallons of diesel. I just purchased my second can of diesel today but haven't used any of it yet.

so my cost of running the tractor is around 40 cents per hour. Pretty cheap entertainment.

 

[D7E]

I don't even want to think about diesel.... were using probably over 400 gal a day at the moment with combining and cultivating...!

 

[pitt_md]

Business operators (farmers, etc) have to know this stuff.
I use my tractor to facilitate my hobby, horses and living in the country.
So for me i wouldn't spend the time trying to break it down to dollars/hour. It's just the way I choose to live.

 

[MossRoad]

I don't even want to think about diesel.... were using probably over 400 gal a day at the moment with combining and cultivating...!

Just out of curiosity, how many acres are you involved in? I've got two parcels. One is one acre+ and the other is 20.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Just out of curiosity, how many acres are you involved in? I've got two parcels. One is one acre+ and the other is 20.

I faintly remember that he has 3500 acres. But I very well could be wrong.

 

[brin]

You make a great point everyone should factor in to the cost of owning and operating thier tractor. Don't forget to do that cost vs. befefit analyisis. Years ago after I bought my farm I bought a used JD 450 trac loader and we used it for about 2 yrs. clearing the stumps after logging had finished on the portion I wanted for pastures, after we were finished and the final grading was complete I sold the loader for the same thing I paid for it. I had spent about $1,500.00 in maintenance and fuel costs but had I paid a grading contractor for the same work it would have cost well over $10,000.00 - so that is what needs to be considered I think. Oh and don't forget how handy a tractor is especially if you have a FEL...I can't imagine what it would have cost in time and hiring contractors to do the jobs around the house and farm that I have done over the years with my front end loader alone...

 

[SPYDERLK]

Lets see ... $36K incl B/Hoe - - ~$2K fuel and maintenance in 500hrs. About $79/hr so far. Going down every day.
larry

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Lets see ... $36K incl B/Hoe - - ~$2K fuel and maintenance in 500hrs. About $79/hr so far. Going down every day.
larry

Larry, if you had rented or hired the jobs out that you have done, then how much $$$$$ would you be out?

 

[SPYDERLK]

Larry, if you had rented or hired the jobs out that you have done, then how much $$$$$ would you be out?

...Less.
larry

 

[MtnViewRanch]

...Less.
larry

We are waaaaay ahead of the game for the work that has been accomplished with our tractors.

 

[D7E]

Just out of curiosity, how many acres are you involved in? I've got two parcels. One is one acre+ and the other is 20.

...HMMM....1260 acres of crops and 200 acres of hay of our own ,around 300 acres of custom work.."combining /baling/seeding" and the bush clearing with the dozer..

 

[MossRoad]

...HMMM....1260 acres of crops and 200 acres of hay of our own ,around 300 acres of custom work.."combining /baling/seeding" and the bush clearing with the dozer..

Hmmm.... 1700 VS 21... I'll bow to your experience!

 

[Lyrch75]

We always figured the cost of operation thus:

Total Purchase cost (this would include finance charges)/low average hour lifespan of the machine. This would give us our static rate for the machine and we would use it for every job.

Then maint cost:
X cost per 200 hours/200 (oil, filters, fluids)
Y cost per 2,000 hours/2000 (tires, tracks, etc)

We would then add in fuel cost
fuel burn rate * fuel cost

Then operator wage and benefits.
We estimated the insurance and transport into the bottom of the bid, we did not assign them in the hourly rate, so you may want to add them into the cost.

See if I can make this look right.

Dozer A static cost.
$100,000 sticker + $10,000 interest = $110,000
Dozer A's Low average commercial lifespan is 9,000 hours.
$110,000/9,000=$12.25 Static Cost. This number never changes.

Dozer A: Maint
$750 per 200 hr (or what ever interval is used) GOF
$750/200hr = $3.75/hr
$5,000 per 2k hours for new tires or under carriage work.
$5,000/2k hr= $2.50/hr

Dozer A: Fuel Cost. This is the one that requires a very close eye, screw up on this and it will hurt you.
4 gallons per hour @ $3 a gallon = $12

Static cost: $12.25
Basic Mtnc :$ 3.75
Wear Mtnc :$ 2.50
Fuel Cost :$12.00
Machine :$30.50/hr

This is what it costs to turn the (hypothetical) machine on and use it in a manner that doesn't cause breakage. Now you haven't paid for your time, the insurance, or gotten any ROI using this.