Ready for Anything, Any Time: Your Seasonal Guide to Equipment Preparedness
Just as the seasons change, so do the needs for your property, and the equipment you use to maintain it. How you prepare and use your machinery for weather transitions is extremely important to ensuring the longevity of your units. As an owner and operator of Kubota equipment, it’s your responsibility to be prepared for the changing equipment needs as the conditions change throughout the year. To help, we’ve collected a seasonal guide with the top tips for equipment preparedness and maintenance throughout the year.
Entering Spring & Summer Months
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Define your projects and ensure you’ve got the right equipment in place: Leading into the spring, assess the goals you have for your property that will begin in the spring and go throughout the summer. For example, will you be introducing a food plot to the land or expanding an already wooded area, or will your focus remain more on landscaping your property? Depending on your answer, you may consider purchasing a new piece of equipment. Units in the L02 Series, like the new L2502 and L4802, combine comfort, modern styling and operability for operations like hobby farming and land maintenance. If landscape maintenance is your priority, consider the updated Z200 for residential mowing or the Z400 for estate or grounds care and mowing. Additionally, the RTV520 provides additional utility to any lineup when it comes to traversing your property and towing for your projects.
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Get your equipment warm weather ready: Make sure all equipment is ready for the season, especially if it has been in storage all winter. Fully charging your battery and knowing it’s in good condition is a critical first step, as well inspecting the tread and pressure of the unit’s tires. Other essential checks include adding fresh fluids according to the Kubota’s recommended service intervals, changing the oil, inspecting the machine’s belts for wear, examining bearings, chains and sprockets and ensuring parts are properly greased or sharpened.
Entering Fall & Winter Months
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Conduct routine maintenance: Seasonal maintenance should be conducted regardless of temperatures, including changing fluids and filters. Each climate is different, so it’s important to check your owner’s manual on what fluids to use given your specific model number and your local climate. Consistent inspections are even more critical during the winter months. Taking a few extra minutes every day for daily cleaning and inspections is critical to identify the small problems that can quickly turn major if left unaddressed. Examine fluid hoses regularly for cracks – the added stress of cold temperatures can cause cracking in very cold temperatures. Other areas to inspect include oil and grease lubrication, coolant, fuel levels, battery function and the undercarriage.
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Keep it clean: Clean the undercarriage regularly – excess snow, salt, and ice can get stuck to the machine causing performance and mobility issues.
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Store it properly: Housing the equipment inside a shed or building will reduce the winter strain on the equipment. When it’s time to start it up, allow the machine to properly warm up – machine function is better when the engine and machine have time to warm above 40 degrees. Adding a block heater to the machine will decrease warm up time and allow the cab to heat up more rapidly.
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Assess your attachments: Make sure you have all the winter attachments you need to clear paths and driveways during the winter months, like the snow blower, snow blade and snow trip blade.
When in doubt, Kubota has resources in place to answer your in-the-moment questions, such as the Owner’s Manual, the Know Your Kubota maintenance video series on YouTube, and the myKubota app for guides specific to your equipment. As always, authorized Kubota dealers are a great resource to answer questions about maintenance, readiness and preparation for any season.