Equipment manufacturers often offer product support kits that make it easy to order everything needed to successfully upgrade, maintain and repair equipment.

A product support kit is a collection of OEM parts that comes as a single packaged unit with all of the parts needed to make a repair or upgrade, along with hardware and instruction sheets for easy repairs/installations.

Product support kits are aimed at helping farmers get the best performance from their equipment. By offering the latest safety and productivity features, kits deliver increased machine productivity, enhanced trade-in value and reduced downtime.

Kits are usually offered as one package – one part number – and can offer savings in terms of both time and money. For farmers who do their own equipment repair and maintenance, kits give the confidence of having all of the components needed to complete a job, allowing for faster repairs.

The cost of a product support kit is typically lower than the sum of its components. Farmers can benefit from typical cost savings compared with the cost of buying individual components.

The parts in kit form have the advantage of grouping all of the genuine factory parts needed to complete a job under one part number. There’s no guesswork, less wasted time by having all parts, hardware, etc., on hand to complete a job and no need to make multiple trips to hunt down missing or overlooked items.

Upgrade kits are perfect for farmers who have an older machine but could benefit from some of the features offered on new models. Upgrade kits include all of the precise-fitting parts and tools needed for a machine to deliver improved performance in specific equipment applications.

Upgrade kits also allow farmers to upgrade older equipment, to meet the latest specifications, with components offered on current production machines. With the right upgrade, older machines can deliver like-new performance and efficiency, be more comfortable for operators or operate with the newest attachments.

Maintenance kits include all of the individual components needed to repair minor or major assemblies by simply ordering a single part number. They provide farmers with all of the genuine factory parts that should be replaced, as opposed to only those that appear to be damaged or worn.

For example, blade change system kits and complete disc assembly kits, with replacement parts and all the hardware included, are available for disc mower-conditioners. Pickup-tine kits, plunger knife kits, pickup-reel tine bar bearing kits, and cam follower kits are just a few of the product support kits available for square balers. The list goes on and on.

Each kit makes it easier and simpler to make repairs or updates and reduces downtime. Check with your equipment dealer for availability.

Product support kits are certainly worth considering, whether a repair job needs to be done, or a machine would benefit from an upgrade. By using product support kits, machines can easily be updated to include the latest technology, boosting their productivity and trade-in value.

The advantage of having everything you need to do the job in one package under one part number, even including hardware, is tremendous.  PD

PHOTO: With this ShockPRO disc drive hub retrofit kit, customers can retrofit older-model mower-conditioners with true modular cutterbars, or quickly repair newer models. The kit is designed to make in-field repairs quick and easy, so customers can keep harvesting. Photo courtesy of John Guilfoyle.