When it comes to topics around spraying equipment and maintenance, I usually have to think a bit before deciding what to cover. Should I talk about hoses? Maybe highlight the importance of preventative maintenance? Or do a little self-promotion and say, “Look how great we are!” All valid ideas. But today, I want to talk about something that most people—myself included—tend to neglect: spare parts.

This subject might not be as exciting as new gear or cool tools, but it’s one of the most important things you can plan for if you're trying to stay productive and avoid costly downtime.

Why Just One Isn’t Enough

When we sell pump seals, we usually ask, “Are you sure you only need one?” Nine times out of ten, the answer is yes. And most of the time, that single part does the trick. But what happens when something goes wrong?

I learned the value of buying a little more than needed during a home renovation. I was replacing old cast iron drain lines with PVC. Trying to be efficient, I bought only what I thought I needed. My house sits on a crawl space, so every time I needed a different fitting, I had to shimmy through a tight door, climb over leftover iron pipe and old Coke bottles from the 1920s, and crawl back out again to make yet another trip to the store. The store was just five minutes away, but the total wasted time added up quickly. I didn’t figure it out until I’d lost around three hours in trips back and forth. Eventually, I smartened up—bought a range of parts, saved the receipts, and returned what I didn’t use.

You’d think I would have learned my lesson for good.

Lessons Re-Learned the Hard Way

Not long ago, I was helping my mom fix some outdoor electrical issues at the old family home. They were preparing to put it on the market, and a junction box at the end of the driveway needed replacing. A professional had done the work previously, but let’s just say it didn’t meet code. I wanted to do it right.

I surveyed the job, made a list, and headed to the store. Once again, I got exactly what I thought I needed. Of course, I came back with the wrong size conduit. After returning and getting the right size, I realized I had the wrong type of flex conduit too. After my third trip, the memory of that old plumbing job came back—and so did the common sense. I bought more than I needed, and finished the project without another delay.

This blog post practically wrote itself while I was picking up those parts.

The Reality in the Field

We’re a little different from the big hardware chains. We don’t upsell unnecessarily. If you only need twelve clamps, I’m not going to talk you into buying forty. But when it comes to high-use items—things like seals, filters, and spray tips—it’s better to have extras. Because when you're in the middle of the season, losing time to a missing part is far more expensive than the cost of carrying a spare.

We’re getting close to the Corn Run, when aerial applicators head into the Corn Belt to help spray crops. It’s one of the busiest times of the year. Local operators bring in help, and the schedule gets tight. This is also when we start overnighting parts directly to hotels. The calls come in saying, “Ship this to the Hampton Inn today. If it can’t go today, overnight it tomorrow to the Holiday Inn.”

Every year, someone will call to order a fuel filter and have it shipped overnight. We’ll ask if they want two, since freight is practically the same and we might be running low. Still, the answer is usually no. Then the next day, the same customer will call to order the same filter again—still just one. It happens more often than you’d think.

A Little Foresight Saves a Lot of Time

There’s one customer I’ve known for over a decade. We get along well, share a few laughs, and catch up over a beer now and then. He recently called in to order a pump seal. I asked if he wanted a second one, since it would ship for the same cost. I reminded him that if the first seal cracked during installation or if the pump ran dry, he could be stuck. He was running three trucks with the same seal anyway. He paused, realized I was right, and ordered the extra.

The only time I won’t suggest a spare is when I’m overnighting something like a GX-390 Honda engine, which we’ve done. The freight was around $450—but it kept the customer up and running, which was well worth the cost.

At our office, we live by this mindset. We have backup tools, alternate vendors for critical parts, and even redundant office equipment. I spec’d our printers so that if the main ticket printer goes down, I can reassign the job to another without skipping a beat. Few things frustrate me more than stopping a project just to chase a part.

It’s Not Just About Money—It’s About Momentum

If your business is seasonal, like spraying, then your income depends on uptime. Losing a day because of a missing $12 camlock or a cracked seal isn’t just annoying—it’s expensive. And while it’s easy to see the money you spend on extra parts, it’s a lot harder to see the hours you’ve wasted chasing them down.

You’re going to pay for it one way or another. Wouldn’t you rather be working than waiting on UPS?