What is the mileage on an older machine equal to if it has say 4000 hours on it? I look at it this way. The maximum ground speed for this machine is 7 mph. So assuming the machine ran at it's top rpm for all 4000 hours that would equate to 28,000 miles, assuming the worst case. What it your opinion ? does this make sense ?
Ummmmm.... No, not in my opinion. Hours are not hours like miles are not miles. Long haul trucks can easily go a million miles, basically the same albeit less powerful truck chassis set up as a dump truck or even a garbage truck will fall apart due to the start-stop cycles and daily abuse. Same with machines, it depends on what kind of work they do and who's sitting in the seat. The old CATs had a "Service Meter" coupled to the injection pump, and maintenance was done by "SMU"'s or service meter units. While they could not tell you how hard the machne had worked, or how much abuse it had suffered, it was geared to the crankshaft and reflected actual revolutions of the engine over time. Hourmeters only tell you the switch was on in some cases, or that the engine was running in most cases, not how fast it was turning or if it was doing actual work or just keeping the operator warm and his Ipod and cell phone charged.
Since this is in the skidsteers forum, I don't think anybody guarantees skid steer tires for any mileage. That would be the only relevant comparison of miles to hours on a skidsteer. Unless somebody stole it and you want to find out how far they got:beatsme Some cars have an oil change indicator that is calculated by the computer, probably using operating temperature, starts and stops, mileage and time. Maybe more? 4,000 hours on equipment is sorta like 100,000 miles on a car or small truck, for some old cars that's all wore out, for some newer ones or bigger ones, there's still a lot of life left.
I agree totally with Lantraxco and Delmer, but your theory might have merit if those 28,000 miles were accumulated in low gear on a rough, dusty dirt road.