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.
Excavator Bucket Size and Dig Depth Selection Guide
Choose excavator bucket size, dig depth, stick length and coupler setup by soil type, trench width, truck loading height, breakout force, hydraulic demand and transport constraints.
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.
Komatsu PC200-11 500-Hour Maintenance Checklist: Regional Specs, Hydraulics, Filters and Undercarriage
A Komatsu PC200-11 500-hour maintenance checklist for regional spec verification, hydraulic oil, filters, cooling airflow, track wear, attachments, Komtrax notes and service records.
Komatsu PC200-11 Hydraulic Power Loss Troubleshooting: Slow Boom, Weak Arm, Travel Fade and Pump Noise
A Komatsu PC200-11 hydraulic troubleshooting workflow for slow boom, weak arm, lazy bucket, travel fade, pump noise, hot oil, attachment flow and stop-work triggers.
Komatsu PC200-11 Seasonal Maintenance Guide: Winter Fuel, Summer Cooling, Tracks and Storage
A Komatsu PC200-11 seasonal maintenance guide for winter starts, fuel, hydraulic warm-up, summer cooling, dust, track cleaning, monsoon jobs, storage and return-to-service checks.
Cat 950 GC 500-Hour Maintenance Checklist: Loader Hydraulics, Axles, Brakes, Tires and Bucket Pins
A Cat 950 GC 500-hour maintenance checklist for loader hydraulics, Cat C7.1 service, fuel quality, axles, brakes, 23.5R25 tires, bucket linkage, cooling airflow, and work-order notes.
Cat 950 GC Transmission and Hydraulic Troubleshooting: Slow Lift, Weak Bucket, Hot Oil and Shift Problems
A Cat 950 GC troubleshooting workflow for slow lift, weak bucket curl, hot hydraulic oil, rough shifts, axle or brake drag, steering complaints, tire issues, and production loss.
Cat 950 GC Seasonal Maintenance Guide: Winter Starts, Snow Work, Summer Dust and Yard Storage
A Cat 950 GC seasonal maintenance guide for winter diesel, batteries, snow bucket work, tire pressure, summer radiator dust, cooling airflow, yard storage, and return-to-service inspections.
Hydraulic Fluid Sampling Guide for Heavy Equipment Fleets
How to take useful hydraulic oil samples from excavators, loaders, dozers, and backhoes, including contamination control, sample timing, label data, and what abnormal reports usually mean.