Why is cost per HP so high?

[Turbys_1700]

There is a much higher demand right now for 30-50 horse tractors then there is for 50-100 horse tractors. As this site shows, almost everyone that owns a few acres or a lot of acres of land dreams of owning a tractor. They look at the new ones and figure that is more then they want to pay for something to play with and the 80 horse farm tractor is too big and heavy for their property so they buy the smaller utility tractors. The farm economy is not as great as it use to be and is keeping the price down on used farm tractors.

I paid $13,900 for a 110hp Ford 7710-II with cab last year. Two years ago I paid $16k for a 30 horse Ford 1920 with loader and a couple attachments. The 7710 is older and has more hours but it will do more in a day then the 1920 can do in a week and for basically the same dollar. But if I set both tractors out front of my house the 1920 will sell by weeks end and the 7710 will sit here for a while until some farmer decides he likes it or some large landowner wants it for working up food plots.

The demand for large tractors will never be as great as the demand for smaller ones. More folk own small acreages than large ones. They want smaller tractors. My dad bought an AC 8050 he sold new in the 80's for pennys on the $. Not many people want an 180 HP tractor to load mulch and mow grass with. But it is nice to turn on the air conditioning and bale hay.

 

[RickO]

The demand for large tractors will never be as great as the demand for smaller ones. More folk own small acreages than large ones. They want smaller tractors. My dad bought an AC 8050 he sold new in the 80's for pennys on the $. Not many people want an 180 HP tractor to load mulch and mow grass with. But it is nice to turn on the air conditioning and bale hay.

I see you beat me there but I already had it typed... so here goes my comment...

I think it has little or nothing to do with HP or cost of production and a lot more to do with economics. Remember economics?

Why can Harley Davidson charge so much for a Motorcycle. Their cost to produce and HP is probably about the same as a goldwing but they can charge a lot more. Why?

Because they can, the market will bear it. In other words the demand (desire) + availability + cost to produce + size of consumer population (i.e. how many want/need a tractor) all factor into the equation. There is also the factor profit margin required for a JD to stay in business and make a profit. As was mentioned alread, JD may not sell as many tractors as GM does cars but they still have a lot of the same overhead of IT, engineering, etc. So they have to charge more per tractor. So many factors so little time.

 

[neverenough]

I'm sure this is a naive questions but I'll ask it anyway.

Can someone explain to me why I pay the so much more per horsepower for a tractor than I do for a truck?

Chevy Avalanche 2500 4WD costs $35,846 and can produce 325 hp @ 4200 rpm. That's about $110 / hp.

Chevy Silverado 1500 Regular Cab 2WD costs $15,628 and can produce 295 hp @ 5200 rpm. That's about $53 / hp.

By comparison, a Kubota L3400 costs, what, about $16000 (before attachments) and can produce 35 hp @ 2700rpm. That's $457 / hp!

So why does does engine HP costs 4 times as much on a tractor as it does on a truck?

And why don't we have inexpensive tractors that generate 200 hp?

When's the last time you went 75 mph from New York to Disneyland, pulling a travel trailer, with your CUT???? If trucks only went 18mph, at WOT, then they would only need 40 hp.

Ask your self this... Why are trucks so expensive if they can only pull a trailer, or haul stuff in the back. A tractor can dig, smooth ground, rototill, plow, disc, mow, lift bales of hay, run augers and elevators, cultivate, bale, and pull a trailer plus much more. Sounds to me like the truck buyer is getting shafted by spending all that money on something that does so little.

 

[Woodbeef]

A few points: Main one is the truck is figured disposable with a short life span in today's market,whereas the tractor is built for the long term. Basically longevity costs more. Next the HP figure on the truck is pretty much mythical. It is torque that moves it not HP. HP only come into play above 100+MPH. Which is an area I'd say 99.9999% of owners will never see. Yes they both have HP,but the tractor uses it's HP in a different manner that is more available for use. If the truck had a PTO,I wonder how much HP it would put out? Maybe 10% or so of the rated engine I'd imagine if that much.

 

[Woodbeef]

There is a much higher demand right now for 30-50 horse tractors then there is for 50-100 horse tractors. As this site shows, almost everyone that owns a few acres or a lot of acres of land dreams of owning a tractor. They look at the new ones and figure that is more then they want to pay for something to play with and the 80 horse farm tractor is too big and heavy for their property so they buy the smaller utility tractors. The farm economy is not as great as it use to be and is keeping the price down on used farm tractors.

I paid $13,900 for a 110hp Ford 7710-II with cab last year. Two years ago I paid $16k for a 30 horse Ford 1920 with loader and a couple attachments. The 7710 is older and has more hours but it will do more in a day then the 1920 can do in a week and for basically the same dollar. But if I set both tractors out front of my house the 1920 will sell by weeks end and the 7710 will sit here for a while until some farmer decides he likes it or some large landowner wants it for working up food plots.

Same with trucks. Check prices on used pick-ups vs used 2tons.

 

[Egon]

The cost per horse for power has always varied. An old pair of plugs goes for next to nothing but a matched set of Belgians will bring a very top dollar!

 

[JHTFarmer]

How much do you pay for horsepower per horse when purchasing a utility horse? And how does that compare to a chevy truck?

What is the point of the original posting? Should tractors priced at $53/hp like the Chevy pickup? That would be about $1850 for that top of the line 35hp machine $1060 for the smaller 20hp unit and no more than $21000 for a massive eight wheeled 400hp machine. Or is it that tractors should have horsepower ratings like automobiles? I certainly would not have opted for the 315hp engine for my 40hp Case DX40 (heck, I didn't even want the 45 hp engine for that matter)

 

[Dargo]

It is torque that moves it not HP. HP only come into play above 100+MPH.

What????!! I don't mean to be rude, but somebody was pulling your chain big time when they told you that one!

 

[Soundguy]

If the truck had a PTO,I wonder how much HP it would put out? Maybe 10% or so of the rated engine I'd imagine if that much.

Ask an owner of an old dodge power wagon what their pto rating is. I'm guessing it is higher than 10% of engine rating.. possibly almost 3x that...

Soundguy

 

[NoMo]

The problem is those darn Chevys in the equation. Buy a Ford SuperDuty truck and you can use it to plow, run a roto-tiller, heck it might even run a small rotary cutter. It'll definitely run a pump for spraying.

But Woodbeef is right; the Fords only have ~30HP at the PTO.