Tractor rental

I am looking to rent the neighbor's tractor, older
70hp, for a period of time. I don't have any major
field work or anything like that but I would imagine
10-20 hours would be an estimate. What would be a
fair rate for renting his tractor? I am not sure
what the hourly rates are these days. I would except
full responsibility while I have the tractor. What
are your thoughts and ideas about renting a tractor?
Thank you in advance!!

Here is a link for the Iowa Custom Farm Rates for 2012. They do list tractor rental rates. I still have the sub-frame if you are interested.
Iowa Farm Rates

Unless this neighbor is in the business of renting tractors and has the proper insurance, I would not do it if you have any respect for him at all.

*YOU* would accept all responsibility, but what happens if you kill yourself using the tractor? Your grieving family will almost certainly succumb to the charms of a personal-injury lawyer and sue your neighbor into oblivion.

Your family accepted no such responsibility, and all your neighbor has is the word of a dead man to defend himself. There is no paper you can sign to absolve the neighbor of liability that will hold up in court.

What if the tractor has a costly major breakdown while you're using it? Will the neighbor eat the repair cost himself, or accuse you of abusing the tractor and expect you to pay for the repairs? Will you willingly pay for the repairs, or argue that the problem was there before you started using the tractor?

It can get VERY messy in a whole lot of ways... I would only rent a tractor from a business that does that sort of thing.

Yes, I am still coming down to get the sub frame and belly bracket. I just have not had time with the end of school and going fishing with my wife's family. I am looking to come down in a couple of weeks. Thanks for the information on rental rates.

No problem. I am still teaching through the month of June. Lucky me with the extended contract. No hurry, just wanted to check. Enjoy the summer.

"What if the tractor has a costly major breakdown while you're using it? "

That's probably your most likely concern in a situation like this. I've seen it happen so often with borrowed equipment. And it often leads to some hard feelings.

It's one of those murphy's law kind of things.
Seems they always break down when they're borrowed.

Probably due to the fact that it's being used "differently" - putting new/different stresses on it. It can make hidden problems show themselves.

Always seems awful coincidental that a machine runs like a top for three years then suddenly craps out when a new guy hops on it...

Definitely worth at least addressing in detail with the owner - if not a reason to avoid the situation altogether.

It really can get very ugly when it's an expensive repair, and it's not clear whose problem it is. Even splitting it 50/50 is going leave you both feeling like you're getting the bad end of the deal.

As for cost of rental - all depends on the cost of the machine really.

Or more accurately the cost of ownership. Initial cost - minus resale value at end of life. Plus all typical maintenance costs over its lifespan.

Total cost of ownership divided by useful lifespan years, then divided the yearly number by typical number of hours or days used annually. That'll give you an hourly or daily rate.

Or at least a ballpark figure to start with.

$400 an hour for tub grinding hay?

They must have lawyers inside the machine doing all the grinding.

Last year the guy that did my grinding charged $10 per ton with a min. of 20 tons. It doesn't take long for him to roll through 30 stalk bales. He can grind them faster than I can haul them out of the shed 100ft away. I usually have 10 bales or so out by the shed for him to start on and I've never stayed ahead of him very long. He has a large CAT motor powering the grinder and its got to be running wide open the whole time, hearing that turbo scream gives me goosebumps, I LOVE that sound.
Nate

I have to agree with the comments about the merits of not renting a neighbour's tractor. It can work very well, but it can come back to bite later and bite very hard. Personally, farm machinery and chainsaws are items I never rent out. If someone needs my tractor to do some work, then I go with the tractor and drive it. I occasionally drive neighbours' tractors for them to help them out with jobs, but I don't rent the machine. Two years ago I was mowing with an IH 844S tractor and Lely disc mower. The tractor clutch abruptly came to the end of its life in the field. My tractor and I was driving so my problem. The chap whose field I was cutting had suggested he could drive the tractor. Now that clutch was going to fail no matter who drove, but had he been operating the machine it might have caused strife. He would have felt guilty and I might have wondered whether he had maltreated the clutch. As it was there were no hard feelings and no cause for them.
SadFarmall

(quoted from post at 02:03:20 06/13/12) I have to agree with the comments about the merits of not renting a neighbour's tractor. It can work very well, but it can come back to bite later and bite very hard. Personally, farm machinery and chainsaws are items I never rent out. If someone needs my tractor to do some work, then I go with the tractor and drive it. I occasionally drive neighbours' tractors for them to help them out with jobs, but I don't rent the machine. Two years ago I was mowing with an IH 844S tractor and Lely disc mower. The tractor clutch abruptly came to the end of its life in the field. My tractor and I was driving so my problem. The chap whose field I was cutting had suggested he could drive the tractor. Now that clutch was going to fail no matter who drove, but had he been operating the machine it might have caused strife. He would have felt guilty and I might have wondered whether he had maltreated the clutch. As it was there were no hard feelings and no cause for them.
SadFarmall

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Good call. I think the smarter option would be paying the neighbor to do the work rather than your renting his tractor.