05/05/2026
One of the more enjoyable aspects of running a trucking business is managing the equipment. Trucks and trailers are the tools of our trade, but they are more than just tools. They are a rolling billboard for your company. It can be so tempting to overlook little maintenance items and keep pushing for the next load and the next good month, but those "little" things add up and before you know it you've got a real problem on your hands. There are a myriad reasons to set high standards for your equipment. Safety, business image, employee retention, and reliability to name a few.
At Heritage Trucking, we have purchased a lot of older equipment over the years, paying lower upfront costs and reinvesting the difference in restoring and maintaining used iron. It can be very rewarding to go through an older truck or trailer and work out all of the little bugs and issues until you have a straight, reliable unit. That being said, as our company has grown, we have found there is a limit to how many older pieces we want to have around, as we simply do not have enough time, manpower, or shop space to keep ahead of all of the maintenance and repair that comes with well-used equipment. For this very reason, we have started to replace and upgrade parts of our fleet with younger units, giving our maintenance side a bit of breathing room.
Here are a few before and afters of a 2015 End dump project that we completed this past winter. We purchased this unit around 2018 or 2019 and it served us well for several years. Eventually the paint started to get rough and overall the trailer needed a refresh. Before blasting and painting, we wanted to do some custom mods to suit oilfield work a bit better. We fabbed up custom front and rear fender brackets on the whole trailer, replacing the original rear tub fenders and attaching portions of the front fenders to the box of the trailer (better for chaining up) We also added a front ladder, some custom chain mounts, and mudflap hangers.
From there we took the trailer all the way down to southern AB to Bens Fabrication. They handle blasting and painting, replaced all the brake chambers, shocks and airbags, mounted a new power tarp. and custom bent smooth aluminum for all the fenders. We were very pleased with the end result and are confident that this trailer will haul plenty of cuttings off of various Peace Country rigs for a good while to come.
