Equipment Care Guides

Mid-winter is when salt and brine pile up on frames, undercarriages and tracks, so wash regularly, especially after storms and before a machine sits for a long stretch. Let equipment drain and dry afterward so water isn’t left freezing in the seams. If your equipment missed its fall oil spray, it isn’t too late: a wash followed by an oil spray still protects it for the rest of the season.

Salt, slush and grit carried in on boots end up in floor mats, around pedals and in seat fabric, where they keep working long after the storm. Pull and clean the mats, vacuum out the grit, and wipe salt residue off floors, controls and joysticks. Check seats for small tears or split seams now, before daily use and cold, stiff vinyl make them worse.

Late winter brings plenty of freeze-thaw swings, and every thaw floods seams and welds with salty meltwater. Keep washing, and park on gravel or pavement instead of in standing slush wherever you can. It’s also a good time to line up your spring wash-down for when the salt trucks are finished.

Once salt season winds down, give every machine, truck and trailer a full wash-down: frames, crossmembers, undercarriages, tracks, bodies and decks. Then walk around each unit and note bare patches, chipped paint, fresh rust and worn spots in the oil film. That list becomes your plan for repairs and touch-ups before next winter.

As the construction season ramps up, grease pins, bushings, pivot points, booms, buckets, linkages, hitches and fifth wheels to the manufacturer’s grease points and intervals. Fresh grease helps push out old grease along with grit and moisture that worked in over the winter. Trailers coming out of storage need their hitches and moving parts checked before the first haul.

Give cabs a proper clean inside and out: floors, mats, seats, controls, joysticks, dash and glass on both sides. Repair torn or split seats while they’re still small, since tears in fabric or vinyl tend to spread quickly with an operator climbing in and out all day. A clean cab is more comfortable to work in and easier to see out of.

Summer work packs mud and dust into tracks, rollers and linkages, which adds wear and hides leaks. Regular washes keep undercarriages clear and make cracked welds, worn hoses and loose hardware much easier to spot. Keep greasing on schedule, because busy machines add hours quickly at this time of year.

Late summer is the time to get frame, body and weld repairs done, so they’re finished before the oil spray goes on. Oil works best over clean, sound, finished work. It’s also a good month to decide which units need oil spraying this fall and where they’ll be parked when we arrive.

Wash equipment thoroughly before oil spraying so the oil reaches the steel instead of mud and old salt. While everything is clean, check frames, crossmembers, brake and air lines and wiring connectors for damage. Equipment that sat on a yard all summer often hides packed dirt in the undercarriage that needs to come out first.

Fall is the best time to oil spray, so the protective film is fresh and in place before salt and brine hit the roads. Make sure coverage reaches frames, welds, seams, pins, brake and air lines, wiring runs, bodies, decks and wheel wells. A dripless product stays on your equipment instead of running onto your yard or driveway.

The first salt and brine of the year arrive on roads, lots and job sites. If the fall got away from you, it’s never too late to oil spray, because any time is a good time to protect your equipment. Plow and salter trucks should be washed, greased and protected before they go into service.

Settle into a regular washing routine for anything that runs on salted roads or sites. Before equipment sits through the holiday shutdown, wash off salt and slush so it isn’t left working on the steel for weeks. Use loose, breathable covers rather than tight wraps that can trap condensation underneath.