Marcus Vance, PE
Senior Heavy Machinery & Fleet Maintenance Engineer
Marcus Vance is a Licensed Professional Engineer with 18+ years of fleet management and heavy machinery diagnostics experience across major civil infrastructure projects.
Editorial Role
What Marcus Vance, PE Covers
Marcus Vance, PE contributes practical heavy equipment guidance focused on specs, maintenance intervals, diagnostic workflows, fleet operating costs, and model-to-model comparison decisions. Pages credited here are intended for equipment owners, fleet managers, mechanics, estimators, and buyers who need clear numbers before checking the final OEM manual or dealer documentation.
Technical pages are written to separate verified specification fields from editorial planning estimates such as fuel burn and hourly operating cost. Critical values such as lift capacity, transport dimensions, fluid specifications, torque values, and safety procedures should always be verified against the exact serial range and configuration.
Machine Coverage
Equipment Profiles Referenced by This Author
Published Technical Guides
Maintenance, diagnostics, fleet economics, and equipment comparison articles by Marcus Vance, PE.
Heavy Equipment Daily Walkaround Inspection Checklist
A practical pre-shift walkaround checklist for excavators, dozers, wheel loaders, and backhoes covering leaks, tires, tracks, pins, fluids, safety items, filters, and documentation.
Hydraulic Leak Troubleshooting for Heavy Equipment: Safe Field Checks Before Repair
A safety-first hydraulic leak troubleshooting guide for excavators, loaders, dozers, and backhoes covering leak location, fluid loss, hose rubs, cylinders, fittings, pressure risk, and repair documentation.
Excavator Track Keeps Coming Off: Causes, Field Checks and Repair Decisions
Troubleshoot an excavator track that keeps coming off by checking track tension, packed debris, rollers, idlers, sprockets, final drives, track chain wear, slope work and operator habits.
Excavator Undercarriage Inspection and Wear Measurement Guide
A practical excavator undercarriage inspection guide covering track chains, shoes, rollers, idlers, sprockets, final drives, track tension, wear measurement and cost planning.
Dozer Track Tension and Undercarriage Wear Guide
A dozer track tension guide for reducing undercarriage wear, derailment risk, dry joints, roller damage, sprocket wear, powertrain load and operating cost.
Wheel Loader 500-Hour Maintenance Checklist: Articulation, Hydraulics, Tires and Brakes
A practical 500-hour wheel loader maintenance checklist for articulation pins, bucket linkage, hydraulic filters, tires, axles, brakes, cooling airflow, fuel system and work-order notes.
Wheel Loader Hydraulic and Steering Troubleshooting: Slow Lift, Weak Tilt and Articulation Problems
Troubleshoot wheel loader slow lift, weak tilt, steering hesitation, hydraulic heat, brake drag, articulation play, pump noise, low oil, filter restriction and sensor faults.
Cat D6 500-Hour Maintenance Checklist: LGP VPAT Blade, Powershift, Fluids and Undercarriage
A Cat D6 500-hour maintenance checklist for LGP VPAT dozers covering fluids, filters, cooling airflow, 4-speed powershift, blade linkage, tracks, ripper prep and service records.
Cat D6 Powertrain and Undercarriage Troubleshooting: Track Slip, Steering Pull, Blade Drift and Heat
Cat D6 troubleshooting workflow for steering pull, poor pushing power, track slip, blade drift, hot transmission, final drive leaks, packed tracks and stop-work symptoms.
Cat D6 Seasonal Maintenance Guide: Winter Starts, Summer Cooling, LGP Tracks and Blade Wear
A Cat D6 seasonal maintenance guide for winter starts, fuel, DEF, powershift warm-up, summer cooling, dusty grading, LGP tracks, blade wear, storage and return-to-service checks.
Backhoe Loader Dig Depth and Reach Selection Guide: Standard vs Extendable Dipper, Stabilizers and Loader Lift
Choose a backhoe loader by dig depth, reach, standard or extendable dipper, stabilizer footprint, loader lift, hydraulic flow, roading needs, bucket match and jobsite access.
Backhoe Loader Hydraulic and Stabilizer Troubleshooting: Slow Boom, Weak Loader, Drift and Roading Problems
Troubleshoot backhoe loader slow boom, weak loader curl, stabilizer drift, hydraulic heat, pump noise, brake drag, roading vibration, steering pull and attachment complaints.