Where To Look For Parts For Your Heavy Equipment
Heavy equipment that is used daily needs maintenance to stay running, and often that means buying parts like oil and air filters, hydraulic lines, and parts that wear as the machine is working. Finding heavy equipment parts for newer or more common machines is often not difficult, but there are a couple of things you may want to consider when buying parts.
New Parts
One of the most common ways to buy heavy equipment parts is to go directly to the factory dealer's parts department. The parts counter associate can help you find all the parts you need, and they carry all factory replacement parts, so there is no question that the parts will fit the equipment properly.
Some factory replacement heavy equipment parts come with a warranty as well, so if you have a dealer near you, you may want to talk to them about supplying your parts for your heavy equipment. The dealer can often work with you to keep specific maintenance parts available or even ship them to your shop or business when it is time to service the machines.
The dealer also can order OEM (original equipment manufacturer) heavy equipment parts from the supplier, so if you need a part and are having trouble finding it, working with the dealer to get it might be the best option.
Aftermarket Parts
There are some heavy equipment parts that you may regularly use that are available from an auto parts store in some areas. Air filters, oil filters, belts, and hoses are all typically available as third-party or aftermarket parts made specifically to fit your machines.
These parts are made using the OEM standards, so they are direct replacements for the factory parts, and they can be easier to get and less expensive than the OEM replacements. If you have a large fleet, the lower cost can be essential, especially if your equipment is running in conditions that require frequent air filter changes or other maintenance resulting from the work you do with them.
Sand and dust can fill air filters early, causing belts to wear faster because of the abrasive sand on pulleys and belt surfaces, and sometimes these working conditions can damage brake systems. The result could be early replacement of parts, and there may be no other option to keep the equipment up and running.
Hard To Find Parts
If you run older machines, you may run into a situation where you need a part, but it is no longer being manufactured. The alternative is to find a used heavy equipment parts dealer with the part you need in their inventory. These dealers typically run scrap yards and strip old machines for the parts, refurbish and resell the parts as used parts, and can be an excellent resource for hard-to-find items.
