Utility Task Vehicles and Winches

The best site will provide comprehensive information about all winches available


UTVs, once rarely seen anywhere, have really taken off in popularity, and can now be seen just about anywhere where off-road activity takes place. Hunters and fishermen, among others, love the flexibility this vehicle provides them in getting to prime locations previously difficult if not impossible to access with standard vehicles. Others utilizing the UTV in other activities enjoy the ease and functionality the UTV brings them, with the wide variety of options available to customize their vehicle to make it look and feel just as they like it to.

Buying a standard UTV without special options is a nice buy in itself. But perhaps one aspect of UTV ownership that buyers really appreciate is the chance to customize their vehicles in a great number of ways. Among other items, owners can add or upgrade the following to their UTVs to make their UTV more comfortable, functional, and easier to operate. These include: lights, mirrors, seats, windshields, wheels and tires, doors, audio, storage, mounting brackets, harnesses, lift kits, snow plows, and perhaps one of the most utilized accessories, winches.

UTV winches are really essential pieces of equipment for those riders that take their UTV off-road, off beaten paths and into the brush. They can be used for a number of different applications, and based on the owner's needs and preferences, come in a wide variety of different sizes and equipment options.

UTV owners interested in getting a winch for their vehicle may have any number of questions about winches, and what would be best suited for their specific needs regarding the UTV they'll be putting it on. At this point, it would be best for them to go online and find a company that is reputable, proven, and specializes in selling superior, top-of-the-line winches and other UTV accessories. One premier company, Side By Side Stuff, offers all this and more.

There is no "one size fits all" winch for any of the great number of UTVs out on the market. Shoppers should investigate closely on a company's website the winches that are available in their own given UTV category. The best site will provide comprehensive information about all winches available, from leading winch manufacturers, which includes the features of the winch, as well as options available. Pictures and up-to-date pricing will also be listed, as well as shipping information and payment options.

Purchasing Factory Equipment Tips

Three Simple Tips for Purchasing Factory Equipment

As the manager of a factory, it's understandable that you'd want to find the best deals possible for your machinery. No one wants to invest an unnecessary amount of money into their business, especially if there are already issues with productivity. In order to help prospective managers separate themselves from their competition though, this guide will take a look at a few ways in which purchasing factory equipment can be less of a hassle. Of course, this guide can't speak to a specific manufacturer's needs, but it can tackle some of the general points nonetheless.

Finding Replacements

When you're shopping for new equipment, it can actually be worthwhile to see how expensive a minor replacement is instead. It may not be the shiniest or newest equipment, but replacements are typically just as effective, even if they're not as flashy. With that in mind, even minor components of larger machines can be replaced for substantially reduced costs. For instance, if your industrial-grade air compressor starts having problems, instead of purchasing an entirely new one, it might be worthwhile to instead get aftermarket air compressor parts from a dealer like Industrial Air Suppliers.

Embrace Innovation

In cases where you can't readily find replacements to existing machinery, considering ditching it altogether. In these circumstances, embracing innovation may be the way to go. Alternative technologies are constantly being developed, and these can have a profound impact on the long-term viability of your manufacturing processes. If you're someone who has struggled in the past with improving efficiency, then new technologies may hold the answer.

Plan Accordingly

Before committing to any new purchases, make sure you've fully outlined your company's needs ahead of time. By taking an honest look at your company's needs, you can more accurately determine what you need and what you want. The difference can be small, but it can also keep you from spending unnecessary amounts of money on purchases that ultimately do little to impact your business. By taking realistic stock of where your business stands, you can ensure that each step you make is deliberate and, perhaps more important, necessary.

While these tips can't protect you from a poor purchase, they should hopefully steer you in the right direction. As with most business decisions, it's a good idea to enlist the aid of qualified specialists before going forward with anything. While these tips can give you a solid foundation to build from, you'll still need to make decisions based on the nature of your specific business.

Safety Vests and Hard Hats

Ooo I should also do a review of kevlar flak vests / bulletproof vests... That would be fun!

Although to be fair I have no idea where to buy bullet proof vests... Online I guess. Anywho, that is off topic.

But I do know where to buy safety vests and hard hats... Both good when working around heavy machinery or operating industrial tools where visibility and head protection are a factor. (I once hit my head on an industrial sheer when I was digging pieces of metal out of the back - ogawd I wish I had been wearing a hard hat at the time.)

For those that don't know a safety vest (aka, a high visibility vest or jacket) is typically orange and sometimes has yellow reflective strips on them to make them more easy to spot. Like the image below.

 There really is nothing special about such vests. They have pockets... ooo... pocketses! My precious!

And they're designed to go over top of your other clothing.

The same thing goes with hard hats - if they are SA Approved that is all you really need to know.

All of my steel-toed boots that I've been buying since the age of 18 have been SA Approved (although to be fair I have yet to find a pair of safety boots that are NOT SA Approved - possibly because the places I shop at make sure that all the safety boots they sell are approved).

The real issue with hard hats is finding one that fits you properly.

HOW TO MAKE SURE YOUR HARD HAT FITS PROPERLY

Suspensions

The inside of a hard hat has a harness of suspensions into which your head fits (OR should fit, if its the correct size). The suspensions create a gap between the head and the top of the hat where an impact can occur. Hard hats utilize either a four-or six-point suspension system and are usually adjustable. To adjust a hard hat so it properly fits you, adjust the suspensions. Pull on the suspensions to make them tighter if you have a smaller head, or loosen the suspensions to make more room if you need it. You want the hat to fit snugly so it doesn't fall off, but you also don't want to make it so tight that it causes discomfort and headaches.

Chin Straps

Some hard hats also come with chinstraps connected to the inner sides of the hat. You can adjust the chin straps so they are the proper length to fit snugly around your chin. This type of additional support provides extra security for your head when you are working in unusual conditions, such as windy environments, extreme heights or underground tunnels.

How to make your own T-Shirt Company

Isn't technology awesome?

I mean seriously. It used to be if you wanted to make your own t-shirt company you basically just learned how to make screen prints, purchased lots of cheap blank shirts and then did all the work of screen printing onto the t-shirts yourself.

These days you can just get CafePress or a similar website to do it for you (and pay an arm and a leg for shipping), but that really cuts into your profit margin.

But what if you could just buy a machine that did all that for you? Now I admit Industrial Embroidery Equipment is pretty expensive. Out of the range of most people, but it can be done if you're willing to make the investment.

And a lot of the process can now be easily automated, so the onus on you is really to just set it up the way you like it, let the machine do the work and your job is really to get the sales.

Check out the amusing video below:


Now I admit that is an awesome video and the cartoon mouse sure makes it look easy.

But consider the prices. I browsed swfusa.com and the cheapest machine I could find was $7,500. (American dollars of course.)

The prices of the various machines weighed in between $7,500 to $55,000 USD. So yeah, if you have the money you could get a machine to do all the work for you.

So really you would just need to design the clothing, program the machine and then find buyers for your products, followed by shipping and accounting costs. (And buy the materials, of course. Thread, fabric, etc.)

I think the hardest part of all that would actually be "programming the machine" to do embroidery work on a t-shirt. That sounds super technical and I wonder just how easy the software allows you to do that.

Okay, so I admit that does sound like significant work, but it may all be worth it, especially if you're selling in bulk. But it beats having everything sewn in third world countries by sweatshop labour (*cough cough* slave labour *cough cough*).

Next lets pretend you are up to the challenge and have 10s of thousands of dollars to be spent on machinery. What will you actually design?

In theory you could do quite a few different designs. There are certainly lots of options out there. Worse comes to worst you could just browse Facebook for ideas for slogans, artwork, etc... just so long as nothing is copyrighted.

Speaking for myself I would have t-shirts made of all my artwork, use quotes from famous people (quotes are copyright free) and whenever the inspiration struck me make random limited runs of various things. And then sell it all on fashion blogs like Fashion Salon, etc.

However I am a very creative person. I create new things every day of my life. I would have to be in a coma to not be creating something physical (and even then I'd still be dreaming in a creative way).

Note to Self: If I ever end up in a coma I must remember to wake up and ask for a pint of stout. (Magnum PI fans will like that idea.)

So anywho, having your own t-shirt company (and the heavy machinery to do the actual work) isn't for everyone. You would have to be very creative in the first place. Preferably with some training in the fashion industry.

Garage Door Openers and Industrial Doors

TECHNOLOGY - I think garage door openers are one of the kewlest inventions to come out of the 1980s. I think they were first introduced in the 1980s, I cannot be certain, I just remember the ads for them on TV during the mid-1980s and I presume they were invented shortly before that time. (It is entirely possible they were invented before then.)

New technology was a big thing in the 1980s. It influenced the movies and TV shows. Shows like Airwolf (a supersonic helicopter that could do over Mach 1), MacGyver (a scientist / sleuth), Knight Rider (a car that can think and talk) and movies like TRON or the one Superman movie where the real danger ends up being an intelligent super computer. If you lived through the 1980s you can probably think of more.

Watching TV in the 1980s the wealthy people always had phones in their cars, garage doors that opened automatically and gadgets that the average person simply could not afford.

But now you can. Three decades later such things have become a lot cheaper (you can get a new cellphone for free, just sign your soul away on a contract) and gadgets like garage door openers are now easy to get.

In the industry of selling these things they're not even called garage door openers either. They're called Industrial Door Operators and the name to me sounds almost clinical and mechanical. I guess they called it an operator because it doesn't just open the door, it also closes it. Ah.

The only trick is that they really only work on one style of doors. Industrial Doors. So I really need to talk about that first. When looking to get a garage door make sure its compatible with the garage door opener you intend to use. (I think that is rather important, don't you?)

Companies like MICANON sell everything you need for your garage door. If you browse micanan.com you will see their broad range of services and products. The door itself and also:

Jackshaft Operators
Trolley Operators
Sliding Door Operators
Gate Operators (for those really rich people who have a walled estate and a gate blocking the driveway)

What I like about MICANON is that it is a Canadian company based in St-Regis Dorval, Quebec. Huzzah for Canadians!

They also have offices Phoenix, Arizona and also Atlanta, Georgia, which allows them to service basically anywhere in Canada or the USA.

Garage Door Openers I think is one of those conveniences we don't really think about much in the 2010s. Its old tech from decades ago. Its a gadget. Its really not that impressive in a world where we've become used to seeing Aston Martin convertibles with folding roofs that fold automatically in 10 to 15 seconds at the touch of button.

Or compared to robotic vacuum cleaners, webcams, tablet computers, smartphones with video cameras built in, eBook Readers. A simple trip to Future Shop or Best Buy will give you an idea of the mass market electronic marvels we now have... giant flat screen TVs with 3D glasses for your home entertainment system.

It really makes you realize how attached to our technology we now are... people addicted to Twitter and Facebook... and comparatively few people going outside and enjoying nature and life as it was meant to be.

So if you have a car here's an idea: Go take a drive in the country. Pick a lake on a map and go drive there to have a look. Take your camera with you if you must have a gadget.

Just remember to close the garage door on your way out.