HeavyEQ knowledge centre
Buying, inspection, ownership and transport guides
Practical guidance for choosing a machine, evaluating its condition and planning the complete cost of putting it to work.
Buying guides
Used Excavator Buying Guide
Build an excavator shortlist around the work envelope, access and installed tools, then price the condition of each actual machine. A low asking price cannot compensate for a machine that misses the required reach or cannot enter the site.
ExploreUsed Mini Excavator Buying Guide
A compact excavator must fit the access route, work area and transport package while carrying the tools the job requires. Start with those constraints before comparing power or purchase price.
ExploreUsed Dozer Buying Guide
A dozer purchase combines a blade decision, an undercarriage decision and a condition assessment. Match the installed machine to the material and finishing work you expect to do.
ExploreUsed Wheel Loader Buying Guide
Choose a wheel loader around the material, loading target and fitted bucket. Bucket volume, operating weight and hinge-pin height each answer a different question.
ExploreUsed Compact Track Loader Buying Guide
Look beyond tread appearance. A compact track loader is a combined running-gear, lift and attachment package, and each part can affect the cost of putting it to work.
ExploreUsed Skid Steer Buying Guide
A useful skid steer shortlist starts with surface, lift path and attachments. Match those requirements before comparing a familiar model badge or a single capacity figure.
ExploreUsed Backhoe Loader Buying Guide
Inspect a backhoe as two working ends on one carrier. The loader, digging equipment, stabilizers and driveline all need to support the same job and travel plan.
ExploreUsed Telehandler Buying Guide
Select a telehandler for the load at the required placement point. Maximum rated capacity and maximum lift height usually describe different parts of the working envelope.
ExploreUsed Motor Grader Buying Guide
A motor grader should be evaluated for controllable blade position and the intended road or finishing work. Moldboard width is useful, but it cannot describe the condition of the blade-control system.
ExploreUsed Articulated Dump Truck Buying Guide
An articulated hauler must fit the loading fleet, haul route and tipping area. Payload, body volume, tire condition and the complete work cycle belong in one buying decision.
ExploreUsed Asphalt Paver Buying Guide
Buy the paver and screed as a documented working combination. Basic paving width, extension width and the installed screed package need to match the work you intend to quote.
ExploreExcavator Tail Swing and Access Planning
A machine can fit through an entrance and still lack room to work. Plan the access route, upper-structure clearance and digging envelope as separate spaces.
ExploreUsed Cold Planer Buying Guide
A cold planer should be matched to milling work, material removal and transport as one system. The installed drum and conveyor arrangement matter as much as the machine model.
ExploreInspection guides
Used Heavy Equipment Inspection Checklist
Use an inspection to turn uncertainty into documented findings. The useful output is a record of what was identified, what was tested, what needs attention and what remains unknown.
ExploreExcavator Undercarriage Inspection Guide
An excavator undercarriage is a wear system. Shoes can look presentable while other components are near a service decision; a component report is more useful than a single remaining-life percentage.
ExploreEquipment Service Records and Fluid Analysis
Service records and fluid analysis help explain a machine's history. Their value depends on traceable identity, dates, component scope and the conditions under which evidence was collected.
ExploreDiesel Aftertreatment When Buying Used Equipment
Identify the engine and emissions configuration before interpreting warnings, service history or operating behaviour. Similar machine names can carry different engine and aftertreatment arrangements.
ExploreRemote Used-Equipment Inspection: Evidence to Request
Remote buying works better when each photograph, video and report answers a defined question. Establish the evidence standard before asking someone to send a general walkaround.
ExploreComparisons
Skid Steer vs Compact Track Loader
Choose the running gear around the surfaces you actually work on, then compare lift geometry, attachments and transport. Tires versus tracks is only one part of the decision.
ExploreBackhoe vs Excavator
The decision depends on how much of the day is spent digging, loading, moving and changing setup. Compare the whole job sequence rather than selecting by digging depth alone.
ExploreRadial vs Vertical Lift: Choosing a Compact Loader
Lift path describes how the attachment moves, not a guarantee of capacity or productivity. Compare where the tool must reach during your actual loading task.
ExploreEquipment values
Ownership
Heavy Equipment Total Cost of Ownership
Put purchase, resale, operation and mobilization on one consistent timeline. A useful ownership model separates known quotations from assumptions and shows how the answer changes when productive hours fall.
ExploreEquipment Idle Hours and Productive Utilization
Engine hours, productive hours and availability describe different things. Keeping them separate makes both used-equipment comparisons and hourly-cost estimates easier to understand.
ExploreRent vs Buy Heavy Equipment
Compare ownership with rental over the same work programme, including transport, attachments, service responsibilities and downtime. The cheapest daily figure may not produce the cheapest completed job.
ExploreAuction buying
Transport
Heavy Equipment Transport Planning in Canada
A transport quote needs the machine in its travel configuration and a realistic loading plan. Manufacturer dimensions help prepare the request; the actual machine and route still need confirmation.
ExploreEquipment Transport Dimensions Worksheet
Prepare one configuration sheet that a carrier can use without guessing which brochure value applies. Record actual measurements, the measurement basis and the parts travelling separately.
ExploreAttachments
Heavy Equipment Attachment Compatibility Guide
Compatibility is a combination of mounting geometry, weight, hydraulics, controls and approved duty. A matching bracket or a familiar model name does not confirm the complete system.
ExploreHydraulic Flow and Pressure for Attachment Selection
Flow, pressure, return routing and controls are separate compatibility questions. Build a circuit record for the actual carrier and attachment before pricing an installation.
ExploreJob planning
Choosing Equipment for Utility Trenching
Build the equipment brief around the finished utility installation, not the deepest digging number. Access, trench geometry, spoil handling and restoration determine which machine package deserves a quote.
ExplorePlanning Equipment Work Through Restricted Access
Check the narrowest and lowest points along the entire route, then the room needed to work. A machine that passes a gate can still be unsuitable once its boom, bucket or lift arms move.
ExploreMatching a Loader or Excavator to Truck Loading
Start with the receiving truck and material. Bucket volume, dump clearance and cycle time need to describe one compatible loading system.
ExploreSelecting a Land-Clearing Machine and Attachment Package
Choose the required end state first: standing-tree removal, mulched vegetation, extracted timber or a cleared surface. Those outcomes lead to different carriers, tools and support equipment.
ExplorePlanning Demolition Material Handling and Sorting
Separate the demolition method from the downstream sorting task. This guide helps prepare a carrier, attachment and material-flow brief; structural demolition needs its own qualified plan.
ExploreChoosing Equipment for Commercial Snow Clearing
Build the fleet brief around the route, surfaces, obstacles and snow-storage plan. Blade width alone does not describe how quickly or cleanly a site can be serviced.
ExploreMatching Compaction Equipment to Material and Work Area
Use the project material and acceptance requirements to choose a compaction system. Machine weight and drum width are screening inputs, not a pass schedule.
ExplorePlanning a Small Crushing and Screening Operation
Prepare the feed, product and site-layout brief before selecting a crusher. Conveyors, screens, loading equipment and stockpiles determine whether the whole circuit works.
ExploreBuilding an Asphalt Paving and Rolling Package
Match the paver, screed, delivery flow and rolling equipment to the project specification. A paver’s maximum width cannot describe the complete paving operation.
ExploreOpen-Cut Trenching vs Directional Drilling: Equipment Needs
Compare the two installation methods using the project route, ground and restoration requirements. This is an equipment and support-system brief, not a bore design or excavation approval.
ExplorePlanning Temporary Site Power: Generator and Battery Choices
Separate power demand from energy duration, then confirm the electrical and installation requirements with qualified suppliers. A generator badge or battery capacity is not a complete site-power design.
ExploreChoosing Equipment for Bulk Earthmoving and Hauling
Match excavation, loading, haulage and placement as a cycle. The largest truck or scraper is not automatically the most useful machine for the site.
Explore