Attachment Maintenance and Winter Storage - What to Watch For

In short: Cold, slush and salty road water speed up attachment wear and corrosion. Before winter, clean the equipment, check the pins and hydraulic connections, protect the paintwork, and plan where and how you'll store it if you use it little during winter.

Why winter is harder on an attachment

Cold air makes steel and rubber more brittle, slush and meltwater work their way into joints and pins, and if roads are salted, corrosion risk increases further. Equipment used almost daily in summer may sit idle for weeks in winter, while snow-clearing attachments, on the other hand, are exactly what starts working in winter. Both situations call for their own preparation.

Before winter: inspection and cleaning

• Clean the equipment thoroughly: remove soil, clay and plant residue that hold moisture and speed up rusting.
• Check pins and bushings: play that has built up by autumn worsens faster in the cold. Grease and replace worn parts where needed.
• Inspect the hydraulic connections: hoses and fittings become more brittle in the cold, check them for leaks and wear.
• Protect the paint and metal: cover scratched areas with paint or a protective coating before moisture reaches the steel.

Winter storage

If the attachment sits idle over winter, the storage location and method matter. Storing it under a shelter or indoors keeps temperature swings smaller and corrosion risk lower than leaving it out in the open.

• Support the equipment properly: resting on supports, not directly in snow or ice, to prevent water pooling and uneven load on the joints.
• Apply a thin layer of oil to bare metal: especially on cutting edges and pins, to prevent rust from forming.
• Hydraulic attachments: disconnect the connections properly and cap the open ends so moisture and dirt can't get in.

When an attachment is in active winter use

For snowplows and snow buckets, winter is exactly when they get to work. Here the maintenance focus is different: check the wear on cutting edges and rubber strips regularly, and clean the equipment after every use to remove salty slush that otherwise lodges between the joints and pins.

• Cutting edges: a worn edge leaves snow behind and makes the work harder, check it regularly.
• Hydraulics in the cold: oil behaves differently when cold, let the machine warm up before heavy work.

We'll help you choose spare parts and equipment

If a winter inspection shows that cutting edges, pins or hoses need replacing, check out our range of attachments and spare parts, for example excavator mounts. Feel free to ask which maintenance step matters most for your machine and attachment this winter. Get in touch via our contact page.