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Borowski says if you're working with a trowel equipped with an air-cooled engine it's important to the engine's longevity that the machine is not operating in a confined area. "Cool air needs to be drawn in and hot air needs to have a clear path to exit the engine," Borowski explains. "Any restrictions to cool air getting to the engine or allowing the hot air to flow away from the engine will cause the engine to overheat. That can and will drastically shorten engine life."

Annual
In addition to routine maintenance, there are a few annual checks you'll want to add to your maintenance schedule. Again, based on your manufacturer's suggestion for annual use, which is typically considered 300 to 500 hours of use, these are items you may end up doing once a year or a few times a year.

One annual maintenance item is changing your gear box oil. "There's a lot of friction in these gear boxes and a little bit of wear on those gears. You want to get that metal out of there or it's going to accelerate wear inside the gear box," Halverson says.

You should also pull out your blade arms and ensure proper adjustment, plan on replacing belt drives at least once a year, and closely examine your trowel's blade-tilt mechanism.

With walk-behind trowels, Halverson suggests annual maintenance on the throttle cable. "Throttle cable maintenance is something people don't think about until it sticks on them and they can't throttle down. Especially in the north where it gets cold in the winter and contractors are pushing the season, all you need is a drop or two of water in the throttle cable and it can freeze up and the trowel won't throttle up or down." Halverson uses a synthetic grease in the throttle cable, which he says tends not to attract water as much as a petroleum-based oil can.