MOTOR TRUCKS ON EASTERN FARMS. 
23 
LIFE AND DEPRECIATION OF TRUCKS. 
The average first cost, average life, and average depreciation per 
year and per mile traveled for trucks of J to 2 tons in size are shown 
in Table XIV. There were so few reports on trucks over 2 tons in 
size that no figures for them have been included. 
Table XIV. — First cost, life, and depreciation charges for trucks of different sizes. 
[Italic figures in parentheses indicate number of reports for respective items.] 
Size of truck. 
£-ton. 
-2-ton. 
1-ton. 
1]- and 1-i- 
ton. 
2-ton. 
First cost 
$574 (149) 
26(116) 
$1, 269 (94) 
37 (66) 
$900 (342) 
59 (289) 
11, 731 (67) 
111 (50) 
$2, 366 (9) 
Extra equipment 
99 (58) 
Total cost 
600 
1,306 
959 
1,842 
2,465 
Present age (years) 
2.7(150) 
3.9 (94) 
2. 3 (95) 
4. 8 (56) 
1. 6 (344) 
4.7(196) 
2. 1 (67) 
5.1(40) 
2. 5 (79) 
5. 4 (48) 
6.6 
7.1 
6.3 
7.2 
7.9 
$91 
3.790(113) 
$0. 024 
$184 
4,370(50) 
$0. 042 
$152 
3, 660 (232) 
$0. 041 
$256 
3, 100 (52) 
$0. 083 
$312 
4, 070 (60) 
$0. 077 
The quoted price of the truck often does not include some equip- 
ment which it is necessary or desirable to have, and each man was 
asked to report not only the first cost of his truck, but also the cost 
of any extra equipment he had purchased for it. It was found that 
nearly 75 per cent of the men had bought some equipment which was 
not included in the quoted price. This extra equipment varied from 
minor attachments costing only $2 or $3 to bodies and cabs costing 
as much as $200 or $300. As shown in the table, the amount spent 
for this extra equipment has been added to the reported first cost to 
obtain the total cost. 
In all, 7 men reported that they owned trailers for use with their 
motor trucks. However, the cost of these trailers was not included 
in the total cost of the trucks. 
The total life of the trucks was figured by adding the present age 
(that is, the average number of years which the trucks had been 
owned) to the average of the estimates of the remaining number of 
years for which the trucks will give satisfactory service. The remain- 
ing life of the truck depends not only upon its present condition, but 
also upon the probable work it will do in the future, and the owner's 
idea as to when it will be cheaper to discard it and purchase a new 
one than to spend more time and money on it for repairs. There is 
quite a wide variation in the individual estimates on this item, but 
the average life as obtained in this manner gives the best available 
basis for figuring depreciation costs. The average life of all trucks 
as figured by this method was 6.7 years. 
