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THE EQUIPMENT BLOG

Salt Spreader Maintenance Guide

Clearing roads and parking lots is a tough job — but if you’re up to it you can earn a solid second income. However, you need to keep your equipment in good shape if you want to be able to keep working at 100%, storm after storm — that’s why we’ve put together our salt spreader maintenance guide.

At TP Trailers & Truck Equipment, we have a full-service snow equipment repair shop, and every year we see salt spreaders break down because they weren’t properly maintained. Learn proper salt spreader maintenance to keep your equipment on the roads, and out of the shop.

5 Important Salt Spreader Maintenance Tips

If you do snow removal, you’re willing to work hard when most people are tucked into their beds. Proper plow maintenance and salt spreader maintenance are the last, yet still crucial, part of that job.

Here are the 5 places your salt spreader needs maintenance to prevent failures down the road:

  1. The Hopper — The hopper on your salt spreader is one of the most common places for a failure to occur. To prevent this, we recommend running your hopper until it is completely empty. If salt is left in the hopper it can actually freeze and jam up the machinery. After it’s empty, we recommend cleaning out any traces of salt and then washing the unit with a pressure washer. Finally, you should grease the moving parts to keep them running smoothly. This salt spreader maintenance should keep the hopper in good shape.
  2. Bearings — Lubricating the salt spreader bearings is an important piece of maintenance. However, if you notice that your bearings are beginning to go bad, you’re better off replacing them before they fail altogether.
  3. Electrical Plugs — Simple but important, one of the most common reasons for salt spreader breakdowns are damaged or corroded electrical plugs. Since the plugs sit at the business end of your spreader, they tend to become coated in salt and corrode as a result. This can result in the spreader not having power and not working for you when you need it. We recommend using electrical grease on the plugs as part of your salt spreader maintenance routine.
  4. Spinner — Another important moving part, another place to grease. If your spinner stops working you won’t be able to get salt out of the spreader and onto the roads. Make this a part of your salt spreader maintenance routine after each storm.
  5. Drag Chains — Since the drag chains on your salt spreader do the important job of moving salt back to the spinner, they need your attention. The drag chains are susceptible to corrosion and if left alone the chain links can break. To prevent this, never leave salt in your spreader and coat the drag chains with your all-purpose grease to keep them lubricated.

24/7 Snow Equipment Repairs at TP Trailers & Truck Equipment

While salt spreader maintenance is one of the most important things you can do to prevent a breakdown, sometimes you miss something. In the course of a busy night, you make a mistake and hit a curb with your plow.

Whatever happens, TP Trailers & Truck Equipment is here to support you and the rest of the snow removal industry. Since we know that breakdowns happen, we stay open 24/7 during snow emergencies to make sure you can get the service you need.

Our full-service snow equipment repair shop has parts on hand to fix and replace your equipment without a delay. In addition, our on-site custom fabricators can craft new hydraulic hoses for you the same night. When you trust TP Trailers & Truck equipment, you can be back to work the same night. That’s what you need and that’s our mission.

Bookmark our page so that you can call us if you need us in a snow emergency — or you can contact us to see what TP Trailers & Truck Equipment can do for you.

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