Average hours per year on your tractor

Ryansweatt2004

Member

Equipment
2017 kubota L3901HST
Jul 2, 2015
205
3
18
West gardiner maine, USA
Hey everyone, just curious how many hours you guys put on your machines each year and what your mainly doing with your tractors. I bought my 2015 L3901DT in September of 2015 and so far I've got just shy of 300 hours on it. Primary use is snow removal and gravel road maintenance but I also do a lot of log skidding and lifting/moving things are usually my house.
 

pendoreille

Member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
B2620, fel, RB1560, Piranha Tooth Bar
Jan 2, 2015
476
13
18
Newport, WA
November 2014 and I have 280 appr. Use it for snow removal and wood lot management, mowing and chipping. I could use it more but shish I am getting old and it is the off tractor stuff that gets me.

At times I just drive it around and around and around......:D:D:D
 

whirly

Member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
MX5100HST
Dec 16, 2016
42
0
6
Pepeekeo, HI
Just bought my MX5100 but I put about 75hrs on the Fordson PM last year. Mostly mowing and chipping.
 

BravoXray

New member

Equipment
BX-25D, Ford 9N, Bobcat 825. Too many implements to list
Feb 6, 2014
190
4
0
Lake Winola,PA.
So far I'm only about sixty hours per year, however, I have another tractor that does the plowing and snow removal chores. I'm retiring soon, so I expect to work it a lot more this year getting some projects finally finished, so that I can start some new ones!

Jerry:rolleyes:
 

bcbull378

Member

Equipment
GL3830,fel,brush hog,pallet forks,disc,gannon,auger,springtooth,plow,drag,ripper
Sep 6, 2011
579
27
18
Ventura Ca
My Grand L3830 is a 2006 model she has 1240 hours on her. I think that's low hours for the age but I do have two other tractors to use for the heavy work.
 

skeets

Well-known member

Equipment
BX 2360 /B2601
Oct 2, 2009
14,094
2,755
113
SW Pa
Dont worry about the hours unless you plan on selling it right quick. Like a car you dont worry about miles unless your planing to turn it over for a new one. Just take care of it and enjoy it, and the payback will come down the road. Play with your toys and enjoy them take care of them and she will last you a life time
 

Creature Meadow

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
2012 L4600, Disk, Brush Hog, GB60 Garden Bedder, GSS72 Grading Scraper
Sep 19, 2016
1,063
134
63
53
Central North Carolina
Purchased a used 2012 L4600 last summer with 178 hours on it, as of yesterday it now has 211.

Most of my use is in the 1500 rpm range so the hours are not a true indication of run time. I use it nearly every day.

For example I used it Saturday for 6 or 7 hours and the hour meter only showed 2 hour increase.

When I ride my daughter on it nearly every night, we run at 1200 rpms and the hour meter never moves.
 

LDowney

Member

Equipment
Kubota MX6000
Purchased a used 2012 L4600 last summer with 178 hours on it, as of yesterday it now has 211.

Most of my use is in the 1500 rpm range so the hours are not a true indication of run time. I use it nearly every day.

For example I used it Saturday for 6 or 7 hours and the hour meter only showed 2 hour increase.

When I ride my daughter on it nearly every night, we run at 1200 rpms and the hour meter never moves.
Your hour meter must be defective. It doesn't matter if you run the engine at 1000 RPMs or 2500 RPMs, the hour meter should measure the amount of time the engine is running. Previous owner must have known that. If your ratio is correct, you may actually have nearly 800 hours on your tractor.
 

mendonsy

Member

Equipment
B7500HST/LA302
May 28, 2012
339
19
18
Mendon, NY
My '04 B7500 has 268 hours on it so that's about 21 hr/yr. About 4 hours with the bush hog each summer and the rest mostly depends on how much snow we get.
 

Creature Meadow

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
2012 L4600, Disk, Brush Hog, GB60 Garden Bedder, GSS72 Grading Scraper
Sep 19, 2016
1,063
134
63
53
Central North Carolina
Your hour meter must be defective. It doesn't matter if you run the engine at 1000 RPMs or 2500 RPMs, the hour meter should measure the amount of time the engine is running. Previous owner must have known that. If your ratio is correct, you may actually have nearly 800 hours on your tractor.

Far from an expert here but I do recall a post some months ago where posters were stating that the hours are based on PTO rpms. So engines running at less than PTO added up slower.

Anybody recall those posts or can speak to the above?
 

William1

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
BX25D
Jul 28, 2015
1,080
263
83
Richmond, Virginia
My little BX25D ('Walley') has just under 130 hours and it is about 18 months old. Though I only use it for digging and hauling/moving stuff. Not much snow this year, it took all of an hour to clear the little bit we got. I did spend a day blading the drive, a few days excavating and digging tree stumps last year, I expect about the same this year, so it is about 50 hours a year. It will last me forever. I do get to cheat as when big jobs arise, I have neighbors with larger machines. I just do the dinky jobs and ones where the space is limited. Mowing is handled by a 17YO Sears garden tractor.
I just wish I had gotten it 20 years earlier......
 

LDowney

Member

Equipment
Kubota MX6000
Far from an expert here but I do recall a post some months ago where posters were stating that the hours are based on PTO rpms. So engines running at less than PTO added up slower.

Anybody recall those posts or can speak to the above?
Hmm. That would be news to me. My hour meter adds up no matter the rpm reads.

I just called my Kubota dealer to ask them if they had ever heard of this. He said he's been working on Kubotas for nearly 15 years and no machine ever made by Kubota tracks time on the machine based on RPMs. He said that tractor has a defective hour meter.

No offense to the other forum member but I would not be interested in buying a used tractor from him. He very well may have 4 or 5 times the hours on the tractor than what's showing.
 

Creature Meadow

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
2012 L4600, Disk, Brush Hog, GB60 Garden Bedder, GSS72 Grading Scraper
Sep 19, 2016
1,063
134
63
53
Central North Carolina
Hmm. That would be news to me. My hour meter adds up no matter the rpm reads.

I just called my Kubota dealer to ask them if they had ever heard of this. He said he's been working on Kubotas for nearly 15 years and no machine ever made by Kubota tracks time on the machine based on RPMs. He said that tractor has a defective hour meter.

No offense to the other forum member but I would not be interested in buying a used tractor from him. He very well may have 4 or 5 times the hours on the tractor than what's showing.
Thanks for the input as I said I have no idea was just repeatign what I recall from several months ago.

Tried searching for the post but come up short so far, if I find it I will post link.

I think one rule of thumb is just to look at the tractor, mine looks like it has 200 hours on it and not 2000. I will do some testing though. I perform calibrations where I work so I have plenty of stop watches at my disposal, will be using some to verify my hour meter in next few days week.
 

North Idaho Wolfman

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L3450DT-GST, Woods FEL, B7100 HSD, FEL, 60" SB, 743 Bobcat with V2203, and more
Jun 9, 2013
28,286
4,853
113
Sandpoint, ID
Far from an expert here but I do recall a post some months ago where posters were stating that the hours are based on PTO rpms. So engines running at less than PTO added up slower.

Anybody recall those posts or can speak to the above?
Negative,
Hour meter counts are based on how long the key is on, be it at an idle, or full RPM, in fact if turning the key on and not even starting it will rack up hours.

Like others have said, sounds like you have a bad hour meter, hours are hours!

Note: This is not the same for a model of Tractor that gets it's count from the RPM gauge, they still do hours regardless of the speed, but they do require the motor to be running and there to be any RPM showing.

Yeah I know I'm slow to post!!!! :p
 

mendonsy

Member

Equipment
B7500HST/LA302
May 28, 2012
339
19
18
Mendon, NY
Negative,
Hour meter counts are based on how long the key is on, be it at an idle, or full RPM, in fact if turning the key on and not even starting it will rack up hours.

Like others have said, sounds like you have a bad hour meter, hours are hours!

Note: This is not the same for a model of Tractor that gets it's count from the RPM gauge, they still do hours regardless of the speed, but they do require the motor to be running and there to be any RPM showing.

Yeah I know I'm slow to post!!!! :p
That is probably true for models with the electronic dashboard, but for those of us fortunate enough to have an older mechanical tach it is specifically labeled "hours x 1000 rpm".
 

L.C. Gray

New member

Equipment
L3400, RTV500
May 14, 2016
105
0
0
Stephenville, Texas
My 2010 L3400 had only 57 garage kept hours when I bought it 10 months ago.

I think I had run it all the way up to 63 hours by January.

Then one of the cows nudged the key to "on" while taking a break from chewing off all the dust caps for the loader disconnects and that put another 12 hours on it parked in the barn before the battery went dead.

The silly cows have put twice as many hours on it as I have... so I don't leave the key in it anymore...
 
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