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Tractor & Equipment Guide

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Tractor calculators

Four worksheets for the shop bench: what a tractor costs per hour, how fast a job goes, whether to own or rent, and a simple loader load check.

Four worksheets for the shop bench. Nothing is pre-filled on purpose: use your own receipts, your own fuel use and your own manual. Everything runs in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere.

Tractor operating cost per hour

Enter your real yearly costs and the hours you run the tractor. Use your own estimate of ownership cost (depreciation, interest, insurance, storage).

Formula: (fuel + repairs + ownership + other) ÷ hours.

Acres per hour, time and fuel per acre

Working width, ground speed and field efficiency (turns, overlap, stops) decide how fast a job really goes. Use your own measured speed and efficiency.

Formula: acres per hour = width (ft) × speed (mph) × efficiency % ÷ 8.25. Fuel per acre = gallons per hour × price ÷ acres per hour.

Own, rent or hire out: break-even hours

Compare owning a machine with renting it or hiring custom work, using your own quotes.

Formula: break-even hours = fixed cost ÷ (rental rate − operating cost per hour). Include delivery, your travel time and the value of timing when you compare.

Loader load check

Enter the lift limit from your own loader manual and your load. This is a simple addition check, not an engineering rating. Limits depend on lift height, tire and ballast setup and the ground.

Never lift people. Keep loads low while moving, stay off steep slopes and follow the manual for ballast and ROPS use.

Reality check. Repair costs, fuel use and hours swing from year to year. Track your own numbers for a season, then rerun the worksheets. Talk to your accountant about depreciation and tax treatment.

Why per-hour numbers?

They make decisions comparable: a bigger tractor, a used one, a rental or a hired crew. See the ownership and business guides for more.

Sources and further reading