Yard notesWhy we list hours on every unit
Most yards make you ask. Publishing the number costs us some conversations we would have preferred to have in person.
Notes from the yardWhat we know,
What we know,
written down.
Guides to sizing and running iron, and notes on how this yard works. Plain, specific, and free.
GuidesLatest
Buckets: what "3.0 m³" actually buys you
A bucket rating is a volume under assumptions. Change the material and you have changed the machine.
Yard notes
Parts & ServiceHeat and dust: the July checklist
Summer is the easy season for ground and the hard one for machines. Three systems do the suffering.
IndustryMoving iron: weights, widths and the trailer question
The machine that suits the job has to reach the job. Transport is a spec, not an afterthought.
BuyingUtilisation: the number that decides rent or own
Most fleets do not know their real utilisation. The ones that do make better decisions than the ones that guess.
GuidesMini or full size: right-sizing the excavator
The biggest machine that fits is rarely the cheapest machine that works. Where the line sits.
Parts & ServiceThe wear parts that cost you the most
Wear items are not failures. They are a schedule. The expensive ones are the ones you ignore.
GuidesBoom or scissor: picking the lift
Scissors go up. Booms go up and over. Almost every wrong lift on a site is that distinction, ignored.
RentingDelivery day: getting the truck in and back out
The machine is the easy part. Five minutes of thought about access saves a wasted delivery.
SDLGSDLG and the majors: the comparison, honestly
The majors build excellent machines and charge accordingly. Here is where that is worth it, and where it is not.
GuidesCompaction: how many passes is enough
The answer is not a number somebody tells you. It is a number you find on the first lift and then hold.
FinancingLoan, lease, or lease-to-own
Three ways to pay for iron. They differ on who owns it, who carries the risk, and what happens at the end.
GuidesSkid steer or compact track loader?
Same operator, same attachments, different ground. The decision is almost entirely underneath.
BuyingHours or years: which one is the machine's real age
Neither, on its own. The useful number is what the hours were spent doing.
Yard notesWhat a firm quote includes, and what it cannot
A rate is a rate. A quote is a number you can hold us to. Here is what goes into one.
GuidesAttachments: one carriage, five jobs
The cheapest second machine is usually a different attachment on the one you already have.
BuyingThe ten minutes before you sign: inspecting a used machine
You will not strip a machine in a yard visit. You can still find most of what matters.
RentingDay, week or month: picking the period that costs least
A week rate is not seven day rates. Knowing where the lines sit is worth real money on a long job.
IndustrySpring on the coast: what rain does to a schedule
The machines still work. The ground does not. Planning around a wet March is its own skill.
GuidesGround pressure: why your machine sinks and the next one does not
Two machines, same weight, different day. The number that explains it is not on the sales sheet.
Yard notesWhy we quote by hand, and take no card online
Every quote here goes through a person. That is a deliberate choice, and it costs us something.
IndustryFrozen ground: digging the Lower Mainland in February
Frost changes what the ground will take, what the machine will do, and how long the day runs.
GuidesTelehandler reach charts, explained in one page
The chart on the cab door is the machine's real spec sheet. Reading it takes five minutes.
Parts & ServiceSDLG parts in Canada: what we stock and why it matters
A machine is only as good as the shelf behind it. Here is what a parts shelf in Surrey changes.
GuidesHow to size a wheel loader — buckets, tonnes and truth
Bucket volume sells the loader. Breakout force, truck match and site width decide whether it was the right one.
BuyingRenting vs buying: the real five-year math
The sticker is the smallest part of the decision. Here is the arithmetic, with the columns most people leave out.
GuidesWhat "serial-verified" means in our yard
Brochure specs describe a model. The data plate describes the machine you are actually renting.