Category Archives: heavy equipment

Tips for Choosing and Renting a Water Truck

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Water trucks (WTs) are an essential tool on any construction site. These trucks usually consist of a series of spray nozzles equipped with the mechanics to pump and spray water to remove dust from the air. The construction industry uses water trucks for compaction, dust control, fire-prevention and protection. Many construction industries, start ups and first time users prefer buying heavy equipment including WTs on rental basis (used) to decrease their expenses. However, one has to careful and observant while buying rented machines.

The following are some of the tips which may be useful for the buyer while choosing and renting water trucks:

  1. Purchase equipment which is in good working condition:

Although it is second hand vehicle, buyer must take care that water truck (WT) must be in good working condition. WT which is less old and is a solid sound vehicle in good mechanical shape is an ideal option to purchase.

2.  Perform a thorough physical and mechanical inspection of the equipment:

Buyer should perform physical inspection of the WT by investing sufficient time in it and taking it around in it.

  • WT’s body should be inspected during daylight.
  • The extent of wear and tear of the vehicle can be understood by inspecting its; tires, if any cracks are present on its body, from functioning of the engine and pump, and if any leakage problem exists.
  • Serial number should be checked to know the year of manufacturing.
  • The machine’s logs and maintenance records should be checked to know the service history.

3.  Know your needs of work:

Buyer should learn about application of WT. They should know the amount of water which is to be required for their type/s of work and if it can be supplied by the purchased WT. Further, it is essential that the buyer should know the required duration of its use since it is to be mentioned in the agreement.

4.  Product specifications:

Buyer should gain knowledge of different models of WT, since each model has its own specification which determine its strength and capability. Generally WT come in variety of configurations, from 1,000 gallons to 4000 gallons with different valve and spray nozzle numbers and spray bar configurations. By referring to product manuals and to company websites, the user can learn about different types of models and choose the right type of WT model. Further, it is important to learn if the chosen model of WT is supported by the manufacturer. Since old models are unsupported and it is difficult to get spare parts.

 

5.  Cost:

Buyer should know the expenses incurred due to rents (both of machine and its additional parts), maintenance, fuel used and greasing of the parts and expenses due to hired operator.

6.  Making of an agreement:

If the buyer is satisfied then will go ahead with buying of rental WT by making a legal agreement with the rental service provider.

 

Overall, renting a water truck is helpful since is cost-effective for construction companies. Following these tips can guide buyers in purchasing appropriate water truck on rental basis and increase job’s productivity.

Why heavy construction equipment is always vulnerable to theft!

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Heavy construction equipment is one of those inventions of the human beings that have made work easier and lesser. Regardless of how difficult or time consuming the work may be, the heavy construction equipment always makes it absolutely easy to complete the job –

  • Efficiently
  • Faster
  • Better.

Besides, the role of the heavy construction equipment is quite versatile. One single machine can perform a number of works. They can cut, excavate, load and carry. No type of heavy work, construction work or job specific work is difficult, if you have these.

However, the heavy construction equipment has a problem and that is the problem of theft. You will often hear the heavy construction equipment being stolen. There are many reasons, why this actually happens.

  • Expensive price:

 

The first reason, why the heavy construction equipment gets stolen so frequently is its price. The price of the equipment is extremely high. Not only the equipment, but also the parts of the equipment are very expensive. Therefore, the thieves are always in the trial of stealing the equipment and its parts.

  • Demand:

 

Despite the price of the heavy construction equipment being so high, the demand is never disturbed. Due to the high price and the constant demand, stealing is an activity that the dishonest businessmen indulge in. They steal the equipment and sell it for half the market price. However, it must be kept in mind that these stolen heavy construction equipment or machines do not come with valid papers and without this; you will neither get its license nor the permit to operate it.

  • Little chance of detection:

 

Why the stealers of the heavy construction equipment prefer stealing these machines, tools and equipment is because of the very little chance of these getting detected. The lesser is the chance of detection, the easier it is to steal.

  • Lack of surveillance:

 

In a jobsite, where there is the need or use of the heavy construction equipment, there is very little to no surveillance that makes it easier for the thieves to steal these. What is even easier is that the heavy construction equipment does not have a garage for parking them, once they have been stopped for the day of work. Lying open on the jobsite is an easy chance for the thieves to steal them.

  • Soft sentences for the thieves:

 

Even if the thieves are caught for stealing the heavy construction equipment, they get a very soft sentence for their deed.

These are the common reasons, why the chances of heavy construction equipment stealing are so high. Hence, if you own any of these heavy construction equipment, it is a must that you follow the anti-theft rules and regulations and make sure that your equipment does not stay vulnerable to stealing. It does not take a huge lot of money to prevent the equipment from stealing. But, if it is stolen, it can cost you huge and you might not be able to recover from the loss.

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Do not pay more to the lender for buying heavy equipment

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We always have to be cautious when we are looking for a loan from a lender. The lenders usually have some hidden charges attached on the loan which eventually has to be paid by the borrower. This means the borrower ends up paying much more for the item than he should have. It is therefore crucial that the borrower reads the terms and conditions minutely and understand what they mean and how it will impact him. If he does not understand something, he can always get back to the lender for it.

Never take important decisions in haste as there are higher chances that you may end up in a mess. For business owners who borrow money for business purpose needs to be more aware of what they need to pay back to the lender. Just because you are in dire need for the money, t certainly does not mean that the lender gets the right to fool you and extract more money out of you.

For construction business owners, they depend heavily on heavy equipment and in order to buy them they fall prey to lenders who are in hunt of people who will borrow money from them without reading all the clauses in detail. Heavy equipment is a much needed requirement of the construction industry but you got to be wiser when you approach a lender to borrower money to buy those machines. If the lender charges you exorbitantly and in an inappropriate manner then you may end up losing your machine and the money that you have already paid to the lender.

So the most important thing is to verify the credentials of the lender before you approach them for money. Check their reviews on internet by which you should be able to hunch what kind of lender are they. If you see anything dicey, you better not step into it. At times you do not get much information about a particular lender from internet. This is when you got to be smart enough to judge the lender after a couple of meetings with their representative.

They trick you because you allow them to do so:-

One of the most important things that you need to know is that the lenders can trick you only if you allow them to do so. However, not all lenders follow such malpractice. There are many banks and financial institutions that do business legitimately and do not think of conning the customers. This is where you got to take a call and you can do that only after you have done fair degree of research on your part. Talk to people who have borrowed money from banks at lesser interest rate and without much cost. You can also approach the bank where you keep your money. They will not take the risk of tricking you.

 Maintain a good credit score:-

You are forced to knock the door of untrustworthy lenders only if you do not have a good credit rating. Remember, good lenders do not offer loans to people with poor scores and these guys eventually fall in the trap of non-traditional financial institution for money. Hence, you need to ensure that you do not mess up your credit rating

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Sharing ideas on heavy equipment on blogs have proved to be helpful

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When you are dealing with a new thing in life you obviously need someone to guide you. A move in the right direction is all that you need to get going. However, you may not be able to find the person who can help you with the right sort of advice that you need. Moreover, it is difficult to identify such person who has expert knowledge on the subject that you are looking for an advice. Other than that, you do not know if the person will be ready to help you as no one likes to give helpful advices for free. Therefore, the most viable option you have is to follow a blog of a person who consistently writes on it and then probably ask questions on the blog. You might find some real good answers. Not only from the guy who owns the blog but also from other people who have interest in the same subject and are also following the blog like you do. They might also give you a couple of advices that might work wonders for you.

Heavy equipment is considered to be a complex subject and people often need expert advice on it. Be it the kind of machine they need to complete a particular type of work or if the machine is not functioning for some reason and have tried all that they can, one can expect some brilliant answers on the blog. People there come out with different kinds of options which you must have never heard about or have even thought about in the wildest of your dream. It is a place where people attached to the same line of business come together and tries to upgrade their knowledge by reading to what others have to say on a particular issue posed by a random member.

It has been seen that someone who has some issue with his heavy equipment just throws a question to check the kind of reply he can get from there and how useful it would be for him to get the machine fixed. Once the issue is posted, he gets multiple replies from people who are a constant follower of the blog. At times the administrator of the blog also gives his view point on the topic. This suggests that you need not have to be the administrator of a blog to pose a question. A person who is frequent to the blog can also put his question and wait for the reply.

People have managed their construction business well by asking for tips on the blogs. They were initially not doing well and a couple of advices from some expert have changed their fortune. There is multiple such success stories that one can find that are related to sharing ideas on the blog. A word of caution will be to not take everybody’s advice at face value. You got to learn to judge people’s advices out there. It must have worked for them but not necessarily will work for you.

Why it is important to keep a regular check on engine oil?

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Do you own a car or even a motorbike? Have you ever gone through its manual? If you have, then you must have seen the frequency in which you need to change the oil of your vehicle. But, do you follow this instruction? Probably no!

The problem with engine oil:

Many people, just like you, do not consider the importance of changing the engine oil in their vehicles. Just as the commercial vehicles, private vehicles and transport vehicles, the heavy construction equipment too needs a regular engine oil change. Having a check on the engine oil is the least expensive maintenance service that you can have. Still, owners want to skip this service thinking that it would save them a huge lot of money.

However, in reality, it actually costs them way more than usual, once the vehicle or the engine completely stops working. The engine oil is the lifeblood of the engine and the engine is the heart of the vehicle. If the engine stops working, there is no way that the machine will move an inch.

Importance of engine oil:

Before you understand why you should be changing the engine oil frequently or as per instruction, you need to understand its importance.

  • The carbon and varnish that accumulates on the engine, is reduced by the engine oil
  • The extensive amount of heat that is generated every minute in the engine, due to the small explosions constantly taking place in the engine, is reduced to a great extent by the engine oil
  • It pulls away the heat and thus, prevents the engine from blowing up.

Because of the accumulation of the varnish and carbon from the engine in order to keep it running smoothly, the engine oil gradually becomes sludgy and reduces it liquidity. Regardless of how expensive the engine oil is or which brand of engine oil you are using, the additives of the engine oil gets used up and in that case, it requires a change. Otherwise, the engine will get permanent and severe damage.

Change the engine oil timely to keep expenses low:

Many people mistake that changing the engine oil is an added expenditure. It is actually a way to save you loads of money. Opening the engine, changing it or cleaning it is way more expensive than changing your engine oil. If you delay your engine oil change, it will affect your engine and this will actually cost you very high.

Checking the engine oil regularly and changing it as per the instruction manual of the heavy equipment or any other vehicle is as important as any other maintenance services. It is very affordable and you do not have to do anything extra or expensive to do this. Just as you take your heavy equipment to the professionals for servicing it, you can check and change the engine oil. But of course, using the right type of engine oil is important. There are different types of engine oils available in the market for different types of engines. Choose the one that is best suited for your machine.

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Selling used heavy equipment is a thriving business in US

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In the construction sector, you are always in need of heavy equipment. When the construction is at full swing you just can’t afford to go short of machines. You have to be prepared with heavy equipment that are needed for the project and can’t go to buy one at the eleventh hour. It is not that you will not get the machine you want at the eleventh hour but it is just that it will be too expensive for you to afford and you have no option left other than to buy it. It is crucial that you keep on analyzing the ground situation and ask your men to prepare report on regular basis. On the basis of the report and the analysis that you have made yourself, you should come up with a decision to buy machines. This fact particularly shows that there are enormous buyers for heavy equipment. It is just that they are all waiting for a good deal to come their way and once they get a deal that they consider being worthy they simply go for it.

It gives ample of opportunity for sellers who want to get rid of their used heavy equipment. They may want to sell their machines for various reasons. One could be that they have bought a new one and do not see any need to keep the second one sitting idle. The second reason is that they do not want to continue to be a part of this industry which is why they want to do away with their machines. So for sellers of heavy equipment, they can hear a very clear message going to them and that is there is a big customer base who wants to buy second hand heavy equipment. It is just that they should know how to reach them.

Leave an ad on your blog:-

If you are a person who has his blog and is quite active on it, you will certainly have a lot of fan following. You will have readers who read your blog and know you by that. So if you want to sell your used machine, you can write about that on your blog and ask those who are interested to buy it to call you on your number. This is perhaps one of the most efficient and affordable methods to sell your second hand heavy equipment. People who read your blogs and articles will also try to spread the word to other people who are connected to the construction industry. In this way you will never be short of prospective buyers.

Reach out to people on your own:-

You may know a lot of people belonging to the construction industry. Your friends, business partners etc can become potential buyers. Your part of job is to reach out to them and spell out your intention to sell your old machine. If they see a need to buy it, it will revert to you. You generally get someone from your business circle who becomes ready to buy the machine.

Renting a motor grader has now become simpler

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Construction of roads has now become a healthy business and many small contractors are lining up to get a piece of the cake. They want the road construction projects to be given to them so that they can make good money once the work is done. The overall cost of the project is understandably much lower than the actual contract price which is why contractors find it to be a comfortable one to get into. Now in the road construction project, motor grader plays quite an instrumental role. The primary function of the motor grader is to grade a piece of land and level it so that while you go to construct the road, there is no unevenness found on the surface. This process is normally done before placing asphalt on the surface of the road. In a nutshell, without the application of a motor grader, you will not be able to construct good wide roads.

Though these graders are not so expensive to buy but still contractors prefer to take them on rent. The reason is these machines are not used through the road construction process. It is only used wherever some sort of grading work is required. Alternatively, if someone owns a motor grader, he may not use it always. The need of a grader is quite specific and once the need is fulfilled the machine is left idle for most of the time. Therefore it makes absolutely no sense to buy a machine that has a lot of importance while building roads but has a very specific purpose attached to it and can’t be used for multipurpose work. The best option is to take it on rent for few months and once the work is done and you no longer need the machine, you can give it back to its owner.

This limited need of the machine gives rise to another form of business and that is renting of motor grader. There are some companies who buy graders in bulk and then they let it out to the ones who need them for road building. These companies work in close nexus with contractors who are primarily engaged in road construction work so that if ever anybody requires a grader, they can make it available for them. The rental amounts they charge from these contractors are a bit lesser than the rentals charged normally.

Now for individuals who have bought a grader and do not need it for some time can rent it on websites or can simply approach these companies who in turn will route the machine to someone who needs it. They may charge a certain amount of fee for their services. An individual can first try it out on a website and check if he gets some response and in case if things do not work out for him there, then he has these guys who can get it done for him. Overall, a grader is such a machine that has pretty decent demand in the construction arena and will never find it idle if someone wants to rent it out.

What are hybrid excavators?

These days we are getting more accustomed to things that are produced in a hybrid manner. Well, hybrid means culmination or union of two things into one. When you adopt two or more different technologies and make a product out of it, we can call it as a hybrid product. Technology has taken the center stage in today’s times and therefore the products that we use or consume should be tech oriented. A lot of people have shown immense interest in hybrid cars because they look jazzy, they are fast and also safe. Hybrid cars will soon become the need of the day as more and more people will prefer them instead of the cars that are made conventionally. This means that the ones that we are using will soon phase out. Similar in the case with heavy equipment. The construction industry is one such industry which is always in the hunt of heavy equipment that has better features and one can only bring new features by amalgamating different technologies into one.

When we talk about heavy equipment, excavators deserve a special place. They are known for performing multiple tasks which reduce the need of deploying other heavy equipment that are known for doing a certain type of work. These heavy equipment are bit expensive than the conventional ones but people prefer to use them instead of the former. The reason is pretty simple. They save a lot of fuel and deliver the work with utter accuracy and precision. The operators have also these excavators to be far worthier and claim that they can complete the work in less time. Thus, the hybrid excavator serves the purpose of both the construction company by saving good sum of money through limited fuel consumption and of the operator who finds it to be far convenient and user friendly.

Reduces CO2 emission:-

Almost every country is concerned about the environment and where it will reach if we continue to mistreat it in the same manner. Countries like US have vowed to reduce carbon footprint and is also working stringently in this direction. The construction sector which is considered as a major contributor of carbon emission should take this issue and work towards reducing the emission level. This is one of the many reasons why many construction companies have switched over to hydraulic excavators which is again one form of hybrid heavy equipment. Most of the countries are building their infrastructure like ports, railways and water sewage that needs hybrid excavators to work on it. It is believed by industry experts that soon these hybrid excavators will take over the ones that are being used.

Hybrid excavators can work for longer duration:-

Construction companies that are already working with hybrid excavators are of the view that these metals can work for longer hours. This in turn means increase in the productivity. Simultaneously, it has an automatic idling stop which will stop the engine of the machine if it is idle for a given period of time. This leads to less fuel consumption.

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Option to become a heavy equipment operator freelancer

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When you are the best in performing an activity that has good demand in the market you will never find yourself short of opportunities. You will be loved in your organization for your good work and will always remain a valued employee. Now this is what we all want to become at the end of the day. A person who will be known for his wonderful piece of work and respected for his job is probably the dream of many. On the basis of your experience and your performance you get rise in your pay. Your performance is assessed at the end of each year and then you are given some points. On this basis of those points you are given a raise in your package. For people who want to earn more as they feel that they have the capacity to work harder, they always have an option to become a freelancer. A freelancer is the one who is responsible for his job and is also his own boss. He does not have anybody to fire him (other than the person for whom he is working).

Heavy equipment operator who has loads of experience in the construction industry working with all sorts of machines can have a great future becoming a freelancer. As long as he knows what he is doing and how to get it done he has every chance to earn handsomely being a part of the construction industry. So if you are a person who has spent almost all his life working on heavy equipment, try to move to the next level and become heavy equipment operator. Finding projects will not be a problem if at all you are known to people in your business circle. You only have to pervade the message that you also work as a freelancer and you will see people coming to you with projects.

Set up a website:-

If you have already thought of become a freelancer the best way to start is by creating your website. You may dealt all your life with machines but now you also have to work a bit on tech savvy stuffs. This will take you closer to become a full scale freelancer. Once you become a full scale/fulltime freelancer you do not have to stick to your salaried job. You can let that go and simply focus on your business. However, to make that a reality you have to start with your website. Fill in everything that you know about yourself. The companies that you have worked with and the kinds of machines that you have operated should be stated in the website. People should know about your qualities which will help you to get work from them.

You can work as a freelancer with your current employer:-

When you decide to become a freelancer, it does not mean that you no longer can work with your current employer. It only means that you will not be salaried and will be paid as per the terms of the contract which may be more than what you usually get. However, you have to put in more hours of work in that case. You will still find that to be satisfying and enjoyable.

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Regular washing of heavy equipment lengthens its life span

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Heavy equipment catch a lot of dirt after going through arduous activities on a jobsite. It also becomes the reason of its early wear and tear. Normally, heavy equipment are meant for rough use but need also should be taken to clean it up after use so that it evades any early wear and tear. Most contractors have to do away with their machines as they were not able to maintain it well. They however felt that they were not given top notch machines which led the machine to become a scrap before time. But the fact is somewhat different. It has been witnessed that contractors let their heavy equipment to others who use it as per their own whims and fancies and never ever bother about servicing it, washing the machine is a farfetched idea. Faulty machines have hardly been the cause of its early wear and tear.

Wash your machine after every 15 days:-

Washing heavy equipment depends completely on the way it has been used. If the machine is used on marshy lands, then it should be washed almost every day or else there are high chances that the machine will not last for long. However, if it is used in a normal construction jobsite where it does not attract lot of dirt at a single point in time, then giving it to wash every fortnight will be a good idea. People ideally wash their equipment at the time of servicing it which is not at all an ideal thing to do. Servicing the equipment is different from washing it regularly. Servicing the machine includes washing, oiling, changing the engine oil and stuff. You conduct this activity once in a month or may be once in two months. But if the washing part is ignored, then the quality of the machine will take a backseat.

It saves money on replacing faulty parts:-

Washing the heavy equipment regularly cleans the dirt it has gathered for the last many days. If the dirt remains accumulated for weeks, it causes direct impact to the vital parts of the machine and eventually making that particular part obsolete. Any vital part of heavy equipment is highly expensive and if you have to replace it, you are taking out money from your business to fund the replacement. This would have been absolutely unnecessary had things been taken into control at the right time. Regular washing will clean off the dirt and will keep the vital parts of the machine in good order. This will eventually save money which otherwise would be spent on buying replacements.

Will not break down in middle of a project:-

Breaking down of heavy equipment in the middle of a project is nothing less than a nightmare from contractors. This is perhaps the last thing they would ever want to happen with them. Regular washing of machine lengthens the life span and thus one can be assured that this machine will not stop working as he always ensures that it is in good condition.

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