Monthly Archives: June 2017

Things You Should Know before Renting Articulated Trucks

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Trucks are used by construction industry to carry huge pile of debris from the jobsite to the dump yard. Articulated trucks (ATs) are specialized trucks are used for hauling of heavy equipment from their source to destination. Hence, many construction industries, prefer buying ATs on rental basis to reduce their expenses. However, one has to be diligent while buying rented machines since it is expensive.

The following are some of the tips which may be useful for the buyer:

  1. Purchase equipment which is in good working condition:

Although it is used, buyer must take care that ATs must be in good working condition. Instead of buying on rent very old AT, one should purchase AT which is less than five years old.

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

  • Being one of the most difficult machines, evaluating AT is a difficult task. A physical inspection of AT is needed by investing enough time and taking it around during daylight.
  • Establish its serial number and the number of hours it has been operated. The serial number indicates the year of manufacture. While if it has run for less than 10,000 hours the machine is in better condition.
  • Different locks and articulation hinge joints should be checked for their movement. There are two parts to it. Oscillating part and articulation part. If there are problems with the former part then its repairs are very expenses as compared to the articulation part.
  • Engine, hinge pins, brakes, tires, battery, cab, mirrors, air filters, oil filters, suspension system in front should be thoroughly examined.
  • Buyer should make sure that brakes get applied to all wheels. Use of wet brakes reduce cost and requires less maintenance.
  • AT should be checked for its uphill movement and the amount of fuel used or the smoke released.
  • Truck’s comfort should be assessed in terms of cab’s safety and great visibility and comfort.
  • Machine’s maintenance records should be checked to know the service history. Knowing the past history of what it was used for hauling gives an idea of the wear and tear the machine must have gone through.

3.  Buyer should evaluate their work requirements.

Buyer should learn about application of ATs and should know if it useful for their type of work. They should check various details including the type of material, travel distance, cycle times and the equipment to be carried in AT. Since it is to be mentioned in the agreement, it is necessary that buyer should know the required duration of ATs at the work place.

4.  Product specifications:

There are different models of ATs. Buyer should know which type is required for their purpose since each model has different characteristics. The user should refer to product manuals and distributor/manufacturer’s websites, to learn about each model’s application. This will enable buyer to choose the right type of model for AT. It is important to know if the current model of ATs is supported by the manufacturer, which makes it easy to find parts of repair. In addition, buyer should also seek to know about factors such as high production per man hour and check the payload capacity both of which are important for increasing productivity.

5.  Consider the speed and gas gauge:

The travel speeds of ATs play an important role in productivity. The buyer should look at top-end speeds for long run and the pulling power for shorter distance. Check for the unit’s abundance of horsepower and torque which will allow operators to move fast and haul more in one cycle.

The buyer should also consider fuel efficiency based on material per gallon, which can be increased by proper planning of truck’s activities and by maintaining AT.

6.  Cost:

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

7.  Making of an agreement:

When the buyer is satisfied with the rental machine and the costs associated, then will go ahead with an agreement with the rental service provider.

Following these tips can guide buyers in purchasing appropriate articulated truck on rental basis and get the job done well.

Rental Tips for track loaders

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

The increasing population has led to increase in the construction activities. Many construction companies cannot afford to a buy and maintain all new equipment for their work. In case of short term projects, after completion of work the equipment is no longer required and this leads to waste of money. Hence, companies prefer to buy equipment and machines on rental basis at an affordable price and return it after use. Thus, the equipment rental business has gained a lot of momentum in last few years and is profitable.

It is observed that many equipment rentals, rent only specific equipment and not all types of equipments. Being in rental business of specific equipment can be a good idea as it saves the cost of buying and maintaining different equipment. Track loaders (TLs) are type of heavy equipment, used to move aside or load materials such as asphalt, demolition debris, snow feed, rock and so forth into or onto another type of machinery. TLs can do every kind of construction activity. Although not a perfect tool buying different equipment for every work is not possible for any construction company since it’s a heavy investment. Hence, multifunctional TLs are in demand. However, they are expensive, hence most construction companies prefer buying these equipment on rent.

The following are some tips for person in business of renting track loaders to make it profitable:

  1. TLs are expensive and rental service provider (RSP) should be able to afford to buy them. He should be aware of his personal expenses while owing a big place or showroom, advertising, labour and maintenance costs, and so forth. He should make a business plan and have strategies to sale TLs on rent.
  2. TLs should not be overpriced. Many people are willing to buy on rental will find it difficult to purchase. Hence they will negotiate with the price. Quoting the appropriate price is important.
  3. They should make his business known by advertising through newspapers and websites.
  4. Buying brand new TLs is costly. Hence instead of purchasing the entire fleet of TLs (of different sizes and models), the RSP should study the demands of the market to know what is mostly preferred by the construction industry. Keeping TLs from small to mid-size of different brands is a good option.
  5. Due to technological advancements, the new equipment have become compact and easy to operate. This increases productivity at the work site since the speed of work increases. The new compact TLs are more in demand and are said to replace the heavy bulldozers and preferred than the skid steer loaders. RSP should provide such technologically advanced TLs on rent, which increases the customer interest and sales.
  6. Buying used equipment on rental basis is common for the short duration projects, hence they are in demand. Thus, RSP can also look for option of renting ‘used’ or ‘second hand’ TLs, since purchasing such equipment is cost affordable. However, they should be careful while choosing such equipment that they are not very old aged and not used much. Only when these used machines have less wear and tear and their parts are available that they should be purchased from the seller.
  7. The RSP should be careful while renting the expensive heavy machines to the buyer. They should understand the nature of work requirements of the customer and should guide them properly. Also they have to make sure that the buyer has the capability to pay the rental amount and should take care of the equipment and will return the equipment in good condition. The rental agreement has to made between RSP and prospective buyer before the equipment is rented that all the terms and conditions are acceptable to both parties.  
     

 

Operators should learn to fix heavy equipment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Breaking down of heavy equipment in midst of loads of work is nothing less than a nightmare for the construction company. This is perhaps the last thing that they will ever want to happen in their business. Heavy equipment not working due to technical glitch and unavailability of a competent mechanic is a big problem that one can imagine. Dependency on others especially mechanics have proved to be pretty expensive for many construction companies and for which time and again they had to pay a heavy price for it. Therefore one should learn for the mistakes and never let it happen again.

Since the onus of the well-being of the heavy equipment lies mainly on the operator, it is therefore the operator should also take the onus to learn how to fix machines. Many small construction companies who can’t afford to hire a team of mechanics hire operators who have fair deal of knowledge to fix heavy equipment. It makes more sense to pay more to operators with good knowledge of heavy equipment than paying to mechanics who charges a bomb from the companies.

Make use of user manual to learn repairing techniques:-

When there is a minor glitch in the heavy equipment, there is no point to call a mechanic. The operator if he knows how to fix minor glitches can prove to quite a resource to the company. In case, he does not know to fix glitches he can take help from the user manual and understand the basics of the machine first. As a matter of fact, he has to use the user manual to check the various functions and how to use them properly. He can’t experiment as long as he is not aware of the different functions of the machine and therefore his first book of reference will be the user manual. He will also get to learn few basic tricks to repair the machine if there appears to be a minor technical glitch somewhere down in the engine or any other part of the machine. He will find it to be extremely helpful and can manage things on his own rather than having dependency on a mechanic to sort such a simple problem.

Blogs can be helpful:-

Ideally most of the operators are attached to some or the other blog that talks about heavy equipment. Now if they experience any issue with their machine which they are unable to sort, they can simply put forth the issue on the blog and check for people’s responses. One can expect some marvelous workarounds to the issue and applying them can really work for you. So make use of blogs in times when heavy equipment has ceased to work and get some solution from there.

Videos on internet can be a quick solution:-

Watching videos that shows how to fix a problem can prove to be really helpful. There you will watch the guy actually fixing the machine and you will have a better idea to solve your problem. Moreover you do not have to wait for anybody’s reply on solving the issue. You can get a quick solution in no time.

Buy Now on eBay

[ebayfeedsforwordpress feed=”” items=”2″]

Heavy equipment required for road construction

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

In the current scenario or era, where communication and connectivity is the key element for the globe to stay in touch with every corner of the world, roads play a very important role in this purpose. With increasing population, the need for construction of new roads is also increasing day by day. Hence, to meet with the requirement, heavy construction equipment for the construction of roads is also increasing every day.

Technological advancements have given birth to different kinds of machines, tools and engines as well as heavy construction equipment. They all serve different purposes and are used during different needs. Hence, depending on the type of construction that you are catering to, you need to choose the type of heavy construction equipment. Here is a list of all the most important ones that you might require during the construction of the road.

  • Crawler and Excavator:

 

Before the construction task is started, the area needs to be excavated and the load of dump needs to be removed and the loader and excavator help in this task. It can dig the earth and remove the rocks and earth from the area. These usually have a bucket, a boom and a cab. They can have either tracks or wheels, depending on the requirement and surface that it needs to work on.

  • Motor Grader:

 

The first step of road construction is creating a flat surface, suitable for the spreading of asphalt. To create that surface, you need a motor grader. The usual structure of the motor grader has –

  • Two rear axles at the back
  • The cab and engine located above
  • One axle in the front of the vehicle
  • A long blade in between the front and rear axles.

The motor graders are also commonly known as a maintainer.

  • Chip Spreader:

 

Once the surface is prepared, the chip spreader spreads the bitumen or asphalt on the surface. They come in different shapes and sizes. The asphalt that is mixed in a permanent or temporary asphalt plant is spread by the chip spreader.

  • Road Roller:

 

As the chips, bitumen or asphalt is spread on the surface, the road roller presses it down into the place. There are different types of road rollers like –

  • Double drum asphalt rollers
  • Rubber tire rollers
  • A combination of both
  • Pneumatic tired rollers.

As the material that needs to be rolled or compacted in case of a road construction is either of asphalt, gravel, concrete or soil vibratory steel drum rollers or padded drum compactors are used for this task.

These are some of the very basics of the heavy construction equipment that are required for the construction of roads. The type of road that needs to be constructed, the type of surface, the area and the engineering plan would decide the types of equipment or machinery that would be required. Along with the heavy equipment, there is always the requirement of various tools, drills and mixing machines, without which the construction of the roads would never be possible.

 

Non-traditional financial institutions can rip you with high interest

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

When you are in a business you are always in need of capital. Sometimes to buy infrastructure for your business or you need money to fulfill your merger and expansion plans. It is also evident that you will not have the amount required at your disposal and therefore you have to hunt for a lender who can give you the money at an economical rate of return. Now the crux of the matter is to get a lender who can give you the loan amount at an affordable rate. There are many lenders who are also hunting for clients and are ready to provide loans but they have certain conditions which may not be acceptable to you. Either they will charge you with higher closing cost or they will give the loan at a higher interest rate. More or less, they are ready to give you loan which will be not as per your convenience.

For a person who owns a construction business, he is always in need of capital and his volume of requirement is always high. This means that a construction business owner is potentially a more feasible and appropriate client for the lender. In such a situation, the business owner should keep in mind his interest first. Just because he needs money, he should not go for someone who is providing loan at an unfavorable term and condition. There are few things which the borrower needs to analyze before he finalizes to go for the loan.

Credit rating must be good:-

A construction business owner borrows money to meet his business requirements and the frequency of borrowing money is quite often. In midst of borrowing money, he should also remember that he can’t afford to default any payment because if he defaults then that will have its ramifications on his credit rating which take a hit. No good lenders provide loan to people with poor credit rating and they eventually land up to non-traditional financial institutions who care less about poor credit rating but they offer loans with higher interest rates. This will really hurt you in the long run. You will pay more of interest and less of principal resulting in the non-depletion of loan amount. So a good/high credit rating will always benefit you in terms of availing loan at a lower interest rate.

Closing costs are extremely high:-

Whenever you go for a loan, there are few costs that you have to pay to close the loan. There are charges paid to the guy who will underwrite the loan, then charges to the attorney and also fees that will be charged by the non-traditional lenders to arrange for everything to close the loan. These fees can be exorbitant and might also pinch you. The traditional lender also charges closing costs but that is comparatively lesser than the non-traditional ones.

Construction houses should be extremely careful when they are dealing with lenders. They need to do a thorough study about the different costs that they need to pay to the lender and only if they are convinced with the terms and conditions that they should proceed any further.

[ebayfeedsforwordpress feed=”” items=”5″]

Quality of raw materials to be monitored in the construction industry

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Any company in order to survive and simultaneously grow in a competitive environment has to show a lot of metal. They need to be consistent in one thing and that is maintaining the quality of the end product. As long as they are able to maintain the quality of their products they exist in the competitive market and once they start compromising on the sole factor that is responsible for their growth they will soon see a fall in their sales. At the same time people who have been using their products for a long time will want to see something new. May be an add-on feature at the same cost but if they see a decline in the quality of the product they will for sure give a second thought to go for the same brand ever in their life. This huge can be the impact of the quality of a product.

In the construction industry too quality plays a crucial role in its overall growth. Construction industry like any other industry is as competitive as it can be and therefore it becomes all the more important for a construction company to give significance to the quality part. Now in order for the final product to be an ace product it is significant that the raw materials used to manufacture the end product is also of ace quality. You can’t expect the end product to be exceptional by using deteriorated quality of raw materials. This is where the quality of raw materials plays such an important role in the overall making of a wonderful product. So the company has to pay special attention to the fact that the raw materials used for construction are of first rate quality and they will be for sure applauded for their wonderful work.

Hire expert people:-

You should be hiring people who have expert knowledge in recognizing the quality of the raw material. Raw materials which are superior in quality are quite expensive. So the call is yours which one you would want to go with. However, it will be crucial to have people who know about the quality of raw materials and can give their expert opinion of the subject. There are chances that you might get cheated by the raw material vendor who supplies the stuff to you. The subject experts can analyze the quality of the stuff and can guide you if the quotation laid by the vendor is reasonable or not.

Buy government approved raw materials:-

Hiring experts can prove to be quite expensive and if you are unable to afford them then the next best available option for you is to buy government approved raw materials. Government gives grades to the raw materials and on the basis of it the price of the item is fixed. So you need to know which item can cost how much. This small part of research needs to be done by you to buy raw materials of superior quality.

Heavy Equipment Amusement Park

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Vacations are a much needed part of our lives which helps us to get relieved of the hectic weeks. It removes a lot of stress out of our mind and prepares us to take on new challenges. But when we talk about vacations we usually see a gap from work for a week. Now taking leaves so frequently is not possible when you are a part of the corporate world and when you have a lot of responsibilities to take care of. In such a situation, the best available option to get rid of stress is to visit an amusement park. It is perhaps the perfect place where one can enjoy with his friends and family. You go there in the morning and by the time it is evening you are exhausted with all the rides and still you feel so fresh and charged up. That is the magic that an amusement park has for you.

These days we have theme based amusement parks where they keep stuffs based on a particular topic or subject matter. These things are gaining immense popularity as kids are able to learn about a specific topic and have fun at the same time. We have one such theme based amusement park in US which focuses on heavy equipment. So children whose parents are from the construction industry will gain a lot from this park. They will get to learn many things as they take on each ride.

It is obvious that their parents will tell them the significance of each machine as they move on with the rides. This will also develop an interest in the young minds towards the construction sector and particularly towards the heavy equipment industry. As a matter of fact, the heavy equipment industry has immense scope of growth for people who are great thinkers and like to see things out of the box. Innovation is the need of the hour and kids of this generation are for reason smarter than what we were.

Children can learn to dig using heavy equipment:-

Children who have seen their parent working inside the cabin of heavy equipment and also aspire to be like them can benefit a lot from one such amusement park. The amusement park named “Diggerland USA” is one such park that provides children the thing they need to become competent operators. They get to ride on real heavy equipment and are also given to dig the ground using the machines. They are certainly accompanied by their parents who if are an operator can also share their views on the machine to the young chap.

Every hour has a new thing to do:-

Children are given a time slot within which they can be on one machine and play on it. Once the hour is over the next game begins and they have to move to the next type of heavy equipment and continue their game. This means that there is unlimited fun along with dining and simultaneously children get to learn new things in life which may later become useful to them.

Buy Now on eBay [ebayfeedsforwordpress feed=”” items=”5″]

 

 

Renting a bulldozer can pay you off handsomely

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

We buy heavy equipment on the basis of our needs and it has been often seen that after upgrading the heavy equipment, we are ultimately left with 2 machines of the same stature. So what we eventually think is to do away with the old one since we do not see any need of it. Well, we are wrong if we think about selling it off unless the machine is too old for anybody to use it and you sell it as scrap. However, when you have the option to rent the equipment why go for selling it. Bulldozer is often the first equipment possessed by a contractor. He may need it for his demolition business but then after a point in time he will think of upgrading his arsenal and might buy another one which is far more technologically advanced. In a situation like this, he can end up renting the previous machine and continue to make recurring income.

There is always a market for renting bulldozer:-

Bulldozers will never find themselves out of market. As long as the construction industry is in existence, dozers will have their place in this segment. Therefore, the dozer you have and you may not need it will always find someone who will want to use it. You can let it out to them by making a contract for a week or month or year or more than that and also fix an amount that you will get as a compensation for letting the other person use your machine. There are many contractors who are in constant hunt for dozers as they can’t afford to buy a new one. They are pretty happy to pay the rental money in lieu of the dozer.

Dozers are eye candy for demolition business owners:-

People who are into the business of demolition do not intend to make big investments. As a matter of fact, this is probably one of the few businesses where you do not need a lot of capital to invest to kick start your business. All you need in the form of heavy equipment is a dozer and few accessories that you need on the dozer. They certainly do not want to buy a dozer which can prove to be very expensive to them. The best alternative for them is to get it on rent. Since the rentals of dozers are comparatively cheaper than other heavy equipment, it certainly fits into their pocket. Simultaneously, getting a demolition job is simpler; they can easily afford to pay the rents without any defaults.

Can demand higher rent if machine is in good condition:-

The instrumental factor that determines the rental price of a dozer is the condition of the machine. If the machine is in good health then the price can be a bit higher but if it is not then you can’t expect a good rental value from it. This means that you got to take good care of your machine whether it is in use or not so that if ever you have to let it out, you can get a good price for it.

Buy Now on eBay [ebayfeedsforwordpress feed=”” items=”3″]

Things to Consider while Buying Heavy Equipment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Heavy equipment is one of the most important or most essential elements in the current era of construction. If you too run a small to medium construction business, it is a must that you either own or rent the heavy construction equipment. The large scale construction business owners mostly own their own equipment. This helps them in cutting down the budget.

But, in case you are a small to medium scale construction business owner, it is a must that you consider these things before buying the heavy construction equipment.

  • Equipment that you need:

 

Depending on the type of construction work that you offer or are prepared to offer, you need to purchase the heavy equipment. The equipment needs to suit the type of business that you do. Many construction businesses only offer construction service for buildings. Many, on the other hand, offer services for dam construction, road construction as well as deforesting services. Your equipment should be compatible with your work or service.

  • Your budget:

 

The next thing that you need to keep in mind or take into consideration is that you should decide on a budget. Budget is the most important thing when it comes to buying the heavy construction equipment. This is because the heavy construction equipment do not come for an easy price. They are indeed expensive and you cannot afford to waste or engage money on something that you do not need. Make a list of the equipment and machines that you need and then decide your budget.

  • Used or New:

 

Since the heavy construction equipment comes for an expensive price, the small to medium scale business owners often think of renting the equipment. However, if your business is a well-settled one and you have quite a number of projects in hand, think of owning or purchasing the equipment.

While you decide on buying the equipment, you will get options like used or second hand equipment as well as the brand new ones. The prices differ drastically. There is nothing to worry about buying the used heavy equipment, provided you buy from a trusted source. Make sure it has all the documents and is sold buy a legal owner. Since the price of the heavy equipment is quite high, there are often illegal financial transactions taking place regarding the purchase and sale of the heavy equipment. Avoid any of that to make sure that you do not fall into trouble.

Also, check for the condition of the heavy equipment. The few things that are important are –

  • How old the equipment is
  • The condition of the engine
  • Whether the equipment is injured or not
  • If there is anti-theft software or tools installed.

If all these factors seem convincing to you, you can decide on buying the heavy equipment. You can check for the trusted online as well as offline sellers, who can offer you various options of these machines. The experts will certainly guide you regarding the choice of the right heavy equipment that you should spend on.

Buy Now on eBay [ebayfeedsforwordpress feed=”” items=”5″]

Where can I look for parts for heavy equipment?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

When your car shows up some problem and your mechanic tells you to change a part of it, it makes every sense to go ahead and change just that part that has gone fault and not the entire car. Similarly, when it comes to heavy equipment you got to fix the problem by changing a particular part of the machine (only if the mechanic asks you to) and not ponder into the idea of buying a whole new brand of machine. We all understand how important heavy equipment is to the construction work and what amount of loss a company may incur if they fail to get the machine work when it is really needed.

Therefore, the first rule should be to take assistance of a mechanic whenever you see a problem developing in your machine and if the mechanic detect the problem is due to a part of the machine that has gone faulty, you should waste no time and get it replaced. Now the question is where you can look for parts of heavy equipment. Well, that should not be a problem as you have plenty of options available from where you can procure heavy machinery parts.

Look for it at your local dealer store:-

Once you know what exact part you want, you need to reach out to your local heavy equipment dealer store and check if they have it available with them. Most of the time, you may find the parts but at times you got to inform them about it so that they can get it ordered and shipped at their place from the company’s inventory. Now most of these heavy equipment stores that you see are local dealers and they tend to deal with selling heavy equipment and its parts for almost all major heavy equipment companies. So there may be a possibility that they may run out of stock for the part that you are looking for or may have it of some other brand that will not go well with your machine. This is when they get it ordered directly from the store. This process may take some time which is they it is imperative that you consult with your mechanic as soon as you see the heavy equipment developing issues so that if at all the delivery of the part takes some time, you still have the machine running and do not have to sit tight doing nothing.

Buy the part online:-

Just in case you do not get the part of the heavy equipment at your local store or you get to know that they will take long to ship it, you can very well shop it online. While you are shopping for the part online, you get more options that you may not find with your local dealer. So before you place the order or buy the item, please make sure the time the seller will take to ship the item and when it will reach you. You may even be able to compare the price of the part with the dealer’s quotation and may take the best call.

Buy Now on eBay [ebayfeedsforwordpress feed=”” items=”5″]