Repair Costs of 2 and 4 WD Tractors

ABSTRACT FIELD data on the repair costs of both two and four wheel drive tractors is presented. The tractors were used for general purpose forestry work (viz. trailer transportation, hedge trimming, grass mowing and some miscellaneous tasks); and the repair costs obtained were higher than previous literature estimates. For example, after 6 000 h of work, a two wheel drive tractor has an accumulated repair cost equivalent to 70% of the original purchase price, while the nearest estimate from other sources is 46%. In addition, four wheel drive tractors were found to have marginally higher repair costs than two wheel drive tractors - this is in direct contrast to other sources. It was concluded that the inclusion of this data in system cost models would result in a reduction in the recommended tractor replacement age and an increase in overall system costs.