Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price • Hacker News Board

Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#411

Post by OkayPhysicist » Wed, Apr 22, 2026, 11:24 PM UTC

throwaway85825 wrote: post #291

flyinghamster wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seeing all the gigantic and very-high-priced Pavement Princess Pickups clogging dealer lots, it's plain that the auto industry in general didn't learn a damn thing. It's easy to point fingers in all directions, but it always ends up that we get the worst outcomes.

The auto industry is just responding to incentives, the EPA makes it way easier to hit emissions targets the larger the vehicle.

Those incentives went the way of the dodo last year. The fine for violating it is $0

Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#412

Post by noncoml » Wed, Apr 22, 2026, 11:27 PM UTC

Hasz wrote: post #20

I think this is a reaction to the incredibly locked down ecosystem that most of these mfgs are pushing. However, the tech exists for a reason and is not inherently bad, the issue is the lock-in, the lack of choice and interoperability. IMO, there is plenty of space for an OEM who can play nice with others, offer an open (and vibrant ecosystem), and keep users coming back by choice, not by lock-in.

It's not only the lock-in, as the document says, its about limiting the downtime.

Sailboats have the similar issue:

When are are in the middle of the pacific and get an egine problem, you want the engine to be low tech enough to be able to fix, or at least patch, yourself with minimum parts.

Yanmar switched its whole lineup of engines to ECU around 2014, but the one without ECU are very much sought after for the above reason.

Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#413

Post by dghlsakjg » Wed, Apr 22, 2026, 11:27 PM UTC

PunchyHamster wrote: post #355

MisterTea wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> However, the tech exists for a reason and is not inherently bad, the issue is the lock-in, the lack of choice and interoperability. These low-tech tractors could become a hot bed for open source experimentation. Nothing stopping someone from sticking a tablet on the dash. You could run GPS harvesting optimization software or some webthing locally. Could be cloud or clever DiY farmers could run their farm off a loca…

They have no driving electronics, electronic throttle, ECU controlled injection etc, so you are limited, you can't for example easily make it go constant set speed, because the throttle isn't electronic. It went a bit too far, optimum would be modern enough to have drive by wire but with open ECU and documentation

You can still control a completely mechanical engine to work with set speeds. There are mechanical governors that can do this, or you can get an electronic component that moves the throttle for you. Fixed speed engines with variable load are much older than the transistor.

It is no harder than doing it with an ECU, except that you need to install a servo or speed governor with hand tools, instead of fiddling with ECU code.

Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#414

Post by GenerWork » Wed, Apr 22, 2026, 11:28 PM UTC

tadfisher wrote: post #223

palmotea wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> However, the tech exists for a reason and is not inherently bad, the issue is the lock-in, the lack of choice and interoperability. The problem is computers and software enable lock-in, because of their flexibility and communications capability. Get rid of them, and you make lock-in much more difficult (or even impossible if you use "standard" parts). Also, computers and software are complex, and that complexity is…

There's some nuance here. If you care about fuel consumption or emissions, then EFI is the current best way to reduce both, and that requires "computers and software" to operate on the timescales required. I put scare quotes around those terms because you can do EFI on an Arduino, which is at least an order of magnitude more powerful than what automakers shipped in the 80s. In any case, EFI gives you more control ove…

>An open-source ECU project, on the other hand, enabled a hacker to implement Koenigsegg's Freevalve tech on a Miata [1].

This is so cool, shame that Freevalve never seemed to go anywhere.

Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#415

Post by caymanjim » Wed, Apr 22, 2026, 11:29 PM UTC

mohamedkoubaa wrote: post #406

jmward01 wrote: post #59

I want this for cars but to keep the modern powertrain. So an EV without the tracking/touch screens, etc etc. Or an internal combustion engine car that is just simple and efficient (and again, no tracking). I'll take the low-tech but nice features like heated seats and power windows still thank you.

It can be built but it wouldn't be legal to sell commercially. Closest thing would be a kit car (which I've always felt haven't scaled as much as they theoretically could)

Citation needed. What law requires tracking software, touch screens, and vendor-lock-in for automobiles? I disbelieve there is anything preventing the commercial sale so long as it has the minimum safety standards and roadworthiness. Costs money to get everything certified, but it doesn't have to also be enshittified.

Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#416

Post by missedthecue » Wed, Apr 22, 2026, 11:31 PM UTC

I wonder how sustainable the business model is. Eventually, you saturate the market with your tractors, and if they work as advertised, they are owned and maintained for decades. A lot of people are out there farming with 60-80 year old tractors. I would suspect most of the OEM parts that need replacing are where most wear and tear is happening (the engine). Those parts come from Cummins, not this startup.

In the meantime, they have to maintain a very high fixed cost base in their factory, distribution network, and skilled unionized workforce. I'm really not even asking about how will they maximize shareholder dividends, I just mean how do you not go bankrupt after you sell your first 10,000 tractors.

Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#417

Post by throwaway85825 » Wed, Apr 22, 2026, 11:33 PM UTC

OkayPhysicist wrote: post #411

throwaway85825 wrote: post #291

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The auto industry is just responding to incentives, the EPA makes it way easier to hit emissions targets the larger the vehicle.

Those incentives went the way of the dodo last year. The fine for violating it is $0

It takes 6 years to develop a vehicle. You cant rely on it being 0$ forever, the laws/regulations didn't change.

Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#418

Post by jaza » Wed, Apr 22, 2026, 11:34 PM UTC

ericpauley wrote: post #321

quickthrowman wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A tractor does actual work like pulling an implement like a plow or spinning the PTO to power a machine like a wood splitter or well drill. Airplane engines are rebuilt every 5,000ish miles because they’re constantly running at like 50% load, it’s much harder on the engine than moving a car, a tractor is very similar. Car engines do very little work once you’re up to speed, it only takes a fraction of the max power a…

Off by an order of magnitude. Average TBO (which airplane engines routinely exceed if they don’t rust out) is 2,000 hours assuming piston, or about 300,000 miles for a Piper Arrow at cruise speed.

Thanks for clarifying, I thought that sounded wrong - otherwise aeroplane engines would have to be "rebuilt", each and every time, after more than half of all international flights in and out of Australia (5000 miles, aka 8000km, is just down the road to grab a sausage roll for us!).

Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#419

Post by GenerWork » Wed, Apr 22, 2026, 11:34 PM UTC

crazygringo wrote: post #369

I'm not totally sure I understand. I expected these to be selling for twice the price, not half price. I thought the whole idea of so much of the tech is to be able to lock you in and make profit that way, through servicing and features and subscriptions and whatever else. If they're giving up that entire profit stream, they have to make money somewhere else. So how are they selling these for so much less and still m…

They're using an absolutely ancient engine from Cummins that has probably paid off its r&d and assembly line costs at least 10x over. It has virtually no pollution controls on it like DEF or DPF. That alone is saving a fair amount of money.

Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#420

Post by mohamedkoubaa » Wed, Apr 22, 2026, 11:35 PM UTC

caymanjim wrote: post #415

mohamedkoubaa wrote: post #406

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It can be built but it wouldn't be legal to sell commercially. Closest thing would be a kit car (which I've always felt haven't scaled as much as they theoretically could)

Citation needed. What law requires tracking software, touch screens, and vendor-lock-in for automobiles? I disbelieve there is anything preventing the commercial sale so long as it has the minimum safety standards and roadworthiness. Costs money to get everything certified, but it doesn't have to also be enshittified.

Backup cameras are required by law, among other things