UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
jru^-'^Lru 
BULLETIN No. 910 
Contribution from the Office of Farm Management 
and Farm Economics. 
H. C. TAYLOR, Chief 
Washington, D. C. 
December 10, 1920 
EXPERIENCE OF EASTERN FARMERS WITH MOTOR 
TRUCKS. 
An Analysis of 753 Reports from Farmer Truck-Owners. 
By H. R. Tolley, Scientific Assistant, and L. M. Church, Assistant in 
Farm Accounting. 
CONTENTS. 
Page. 
Summary 1 
Method of study 3 
Location of farms and types of farming 3 
Distance to market 4 
Size of truck 6 
Age of trucks 7 
Are these trucks profitable investments? 7 
The best size 7 
Advantages and disadvantages 9 
Road hauling with trucks 10 
Road hauling for which trucks are not used . . 13 
Hauling on the farm with trucks 15 
Custom hauling 17 
Effect of different kinds of roads on use of 
trucks 17 
Change of market 19 
Annual use of trucks 21 
Life and depreciation of trucks 23 
Repairs 24 
Gasoline and oil 26 
Tires 27 
Reliability 29 
Cost of operation 32 
Cost of hauling with trucks 33 
Saving of hired help 34 
Displacement of horses 35 
Farms on which tractors are owned 36 
SUMMARY. 
This bulletin is based on the experience with motor trucks of 753 
farmers in the States of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massa- 
chusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Penn- 
sylvania, Delaware, and Maryland who have motor trucks for use 
on their own farms. 
These farms are of all sizes and types, and the motor trucks used 
on them are of all sizes from | ton to 5 tons. The rated capacity of 
very few of the trucks is over 2 tons, however, and nearly half are of 
the 1-ton size. 
Only 18 per cent of these farms are less than 5 miles from market, 
and nearly one-fourth are 20 miles or more from market. 
Ninety-five per cent of these men believe that their trucks will 
prove to be profitable investments. 
8335°— 20 1 
