what spare parts to carry with you

[Dragger]

I am new to the lawn care business and wish to be full time by spring .


What spare parts do you carry in your trucks to do on site repairs?
and what spares do you keep in stock at your shop in order to save down time waiting on parts to arrive ?

Thanks in advance

Dragger

[xpertlawnman]

I am probably in the minority here, but I don't really carry any spare parts with me. But I always have a good variety tools with me just for a quick fix to get me through the rest of the day. Mostly all of my lawns are pretty close to my house. So if a mower does go down, I can run home home and grab my backup or my neighbor's mower in a pinch.
As far as spare parts in my garage, I don't keep many things on hand except for filters, cables, spark plugs, blades.... just the basics. My Ferris dealer is fairly close by, so I can just run over there and buy stuff as needed.

[lawnguybri]

lawnguybri

extra tires , belts, blades, cables and anything else your workers may break or bend on a daily basis. spare parts are priceless in this ruthless line of work.

[Steve]

Also, we talked about this in the past, a fire extinguisher!

Trimmer line?

[Dragger]

extra tires , belts, blades, cables and anything else your workers may break or bend on a daily basis. spare parts are priceless in this ruthless line of work.

Ruthless is not the word i would use but cannot think of a more hostile word at this time

a couple weeks ago was helping a friend cut the yard ..(more of a hay field it seems .)of a foreclosed home and he hit a fence post that broken off about 6 inches from the ground level and hidden in the tall grass ...
broke the spindle on the mower deck with this but we were able to weld it up had a bit of vibration but spindle was shot any way and it allowed us to finish the Job.
I am going to guess not many carry a mig welder on there trucks . the service truck body is nice to be able to carry more then i need and had found a power inverter from an old ambulance in the junk yard so ac power is not an issue on jobs when it is needed ...

[Dragger]

Also, we talked about this in the past, a fire extinguisher!

Trimmer line?

Yup Steve

all of my trucks and cars have at least a small one in it ..and have thankful i have it

only been used once for some one else stopped on the side of the road but since that time it is the one item i will not leave home with out

[picframer]

Also, we talked about this in the past, a fire extinguisher!

Trimmer line?

This is actually code here including an approved first aid kit.

As for spare parts we carry for the most part nothing, maybe a chain for each chainsaw but that is about it.

Each crew does have a tool box with the basic hand tools, two trucks have larger tool box's with just about every tool going including a small air compressor and air gun.

In my two years it was rare we needed any parts and when we did the dealer always had what we needed.

I was of the mind based on all the gear we have it wasn't worth it to stock items that could become lost.

[jymie]

I keep in a storage box in my garage:

• a deck belt
• a drive belt
• a deck pulley for each type (flat and curved)
• a spindle
• a collection of nuts and bolts
• 2 spare mulch blades
• oil for the tractor
• grease gun

In the truck I keep:

• the nuts and bolts
• tools to be able to attach them if necesary
• trimmer line
• 2 cycle oil
• motor oil
• a spare tire for the front and one for the back of tractor
• a floor jack to raise up tractor if I have a flat on site

When something major goes down on the tractor, I am close to home as well so there is where I will head to do major repairs.

[MountainViewGreenskeeper]

well figured I would add my 2 cents.
We keep:
Spark plugs for all the equipment
2 stoke oil
grease gun(mini)
lithium grease spray
and maybe a air filter for the hedge trimmer.(seams to be the only one that needs to be change quarterly)
weed eater line
fire extinguiser
spare chain saw blade
tools do the above

As for an inventory its the same with product for us let the store store your inventory unless its a special order item then consider stocking it.

[Steve]

a couple weeks ago was helping a friend cut the yard ..(more of a hay field it seems .)of a foreclosed home and he hit a fence post that broken off about 6 inches from the ground level and hidden in the tall grass ...
broke the spindle on the mower deck with this but we were able to weld it up had a bit of vibration

Holy crap that must have been a violent break! I wouldnt want to be anywhere near that when the spindle broke loose!

Where you able to grind down the weld a bit after you welded it? I'd figure even the slightest bit of unbalance would vibrate the mower like crazy.

In my two years it was rare we needed any parts and when we did the dealer always had what we needed.

I was of the mind based on all the gear we have it wasn't worth it to stock items that could become lost.

Being that you worked with a lot of excavation jobs, what about hydraulic fluid and maybe an extra hose?

That could also be helpful with plowing too I would think.

[picframer]

Holy crap that must have been a violent break! I wouldnt want to be anywhere near that when the spindle broke loose!

Where you able to grind down the weld a bit after you welded it? I'd figure even the slightest bit of unbalance would vibrate the mower like crazy.



Being that you worked with a lot of excavation jobs, what about hydraulic fluid and maybe an extra hose?

That could also be helpful with plowing too I would think.

The problem Steve is no two hoses are the same length and you have to replace them with an exact match on the arms if you blow one, and in perhaps 2,000 hours of total excavation I have blown one hose. It took 30 min to drive to Deere, 20 min for them to make me a new hose, 30 min drive back, most hoses in my experience can be changed out in about 20 to 30 min.

We do have Gydraulic fluid in the trucks but it's rare we used it, twice in the last year. Keep in mind everything goes in for service every 200 hours and they really get a going over, excavators and tractors.