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Unless you are lucky (or unlucky enough) to work all year long, now is the time to ready your equipment for the upcoming pavement maintenance season. All your equipment needs to be put in top working order, and that includes your smaller sweepers and blowers as well as your larger pavers, rollers, and trucks. In most instances, your main service focus will be on engines that have set idle for several months.

The following are a few important tips from manufacturers regarding your 26-hp-and-under gasoline engines, how to get them ready for spring and how to keep them running in top form all year long.

Pre-season checklist

Since the lifeblood of any engine is the oil, one of the first pre-season tasks is to change the oil (and oil filter if so equipped), says Honda spokesperson Sage Marie. If the engine has been setting idle for a long period of time, Honda also suggests draining the fuel, including the fuel in the carburetor that could have collected water over the winter.

Checking and cleaning the engine air filter is part of any pre-season regimen, Marie adds. This is especially important for paving contractors who oftentimes work in especially dusty and dirty conditions. Your pre-season checklist should also include the engine's electrical system, including the spark plug. Honda recommends inspecting and adjusting the spark every six months or 100 hours of operation, which means that starting the season out with a new plug is a good idea.

In preparation for a new year of operation, then, Marie advises contractors to change the oil and filter, change the spark plug, and check and clean the air filter on their gasoline engines.