On Wednesday, December 7 and Thursday, December 8, IronPlanet will cross mountains, rivers, and deserts so we can bring you the best deals both online and on-site. During our two-day East West Sale you'll have your pick not only of the equipment you need like excavators, trucks, skid steer loaders, and cranes, but also the way you buy it.

On Wednesday, December 7, IronPlanet and CAT Auction Services will be onsite in Portland, OR for a live, UNRESERVED auction at Portland Meadows, 1001 N Schmeer Road. You can preview the items in person starting November 21, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Can't be in Portland for the live auction? Not to worry - preview the items here and bid online during live auction hours. The auction will begin at 9:00 a.m. Pacific time. This is an UNRESERVED auction so preview the items, make a list, and for the love of yellow iron, don't be late!

On Thursday, December 8, IronPlanet will be online with an auction featuring over 1,000 items. RingPower is selling a slew of great equipment that includes a 2015 Cat 906H2 Wheel Loader, a 2012 Cat 257B3 Compact Track Loader, a Komatsu PC50MR-2 Mini Excavator, and wouldn't a 2014 Sullair 185DPQ Air Compressor come in handy?

Depending on where you live, the first week in December is pretty much the last minute for storing heavy equipment for the winter. IronPlanet likes to think of the last minute more in terms of successful completion of a deadline. To help you meet that deadline, here is a five-item checklist for storing your equipment until the thaw. When you've completed the list, you're ready to do some shopping for yourself at our December 1 auction.

Fluids. Make sure all fuel tanks are full for storage or utilize winter fuel for running units. Do an oil change (consider a lower-viscosity oil for the season), and lubricate any moving parts according to your manufacturers’ recommendations. Double-check that the coolant mix for your machines corresponds to the winter conditions in your area.

Cleanup.  If any of your machines are going into storage for the winter, be sure they’re free of dirt, mud build-up and other debris from the spring/ summer work season. 

Maintenance. Make sure you’re on top of any regular or planned maintenance for each piece of equipment in your fleet. Well-maintained machines will provide more reliable operation and servicing them now will identify potential problems that could be exacerbated by sub-zero temps. 

Storage. If you’ve acquired machinery since last winter, assess your storage space and plan ahead for any additional square footage or different arrangements needed to store everything properly. 

Sell. Winter is a great time to step back and look at the big picture. If there are no jobs in your current project pipeline requiring a particular machine or set of machines, consider selling it and using the cash to reinvest in your business.

Now you're ready to kick back and take a look at the equipment available in IronPlanet's December 1 online auction. Whether you're dreaming of a skid steer loader, a mini excavator, or maybe a new truck to replace your old reliable, chances are good you'll find it here.

2004 Cat 321C LCR Track Excavator

Enclosed Cab, Air Conditioner, Heater, 44” Tooth Bucket, Hydraulic Coupler, 9' 6" Stick, Control Pattern Changer, 31.5" Track Shoes. The engine started and ran. The drivetrain engaged in forward and reverse. The main components appear to be in place and operational.

Did you forget something?

With the election, Veteran's Day, the Humvee sale, and the Curse of the Billy Goat finally broken for the Cubs, you've had things on your mind. Important things. In fact, IronPlanet won't be surprised if you've lost track of the fact that next week is Thanksgiving.

Yes, next week. But hey, dont' panic; there are still days to get a plan together. To help you with inspiration, your friends at IronPlanet turned to our version of Encyclopedia Brittanica: Myth Busters. Sure enough, they've got this whole Thanksgiving thing under control, with a method of cooking a turkey dinner while you drive to the extended family's house. That method would involve your car's engine.

You're welcome. 

Now you're free to shop the November 17 auction featuring over 1,000 items, including in-demand Komatsu excavators like this 2014 PC360LC-10 Track Excavator 

All Harleys have a history, but the Harley-Davidson FXDL Dyna Low Rider-Davidson FXDL Dyna Low Rider that will be available to bid on in the upcoming live Leake Collector Car Auction November 18-20 has a past that's colorful and big-hearted. It was owned by Jay Leno, featured on the Tonight Show, and is autographed by the likes of Tom Cruise, Samuel L. Jackson, John Travolta, Cuba Gooding Jr., David Spade, Rodney Dangerfield (who surely got some respect,) Nicole Kidman, Salma Hayek and many more.  Leno sold the motorcycle to benefit the Twin Towers fund, established to provide educational and welfare assistance to children who lost a parent in the 9/11 attacks.

IronPlanet is taking online bids for this beautiful ride, and if the opportunity to be its next owner isn't enough to inspire bids, there's this: proceeds will benefit the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, whose mission is to advance cures and means of prevention for pediatric diseases through research and treatment.

Is it too soon to start talking about shopping for a cause? Not when the shopping is about Humvees, and the cause is Fisher House. But first, IronPlanet wants to introduce you to Eric McElvenny - former U.S. Marine Captain stationed in Afghanistan, devoted husband and father, beloved son, and Ironman athlete.

On December 9, 2011, Eric stepped on an IED in the tiny village of Now Zad in Afghanistan, resulting in the loss of his right leg below the knee. He was treated overseas and transported to the Navy Medical Center in San Diego, near his home, for rehabilitation. His parents and a sister flew from Pennsylvania and stayed at a Fisher House during the weeks of his recovery.

Fisher House is a non-profit organization that operates comfort homes where families of military vets can stay free of charge while their loved ones receive treatment. The homes are built at military and VA medical centers across the country and gifted to the government. 

Here's the truth. The result of searching for a scary construction site video for your auction preview entertainment yielded bupkus. They ran the gamut from lame to far-fetched to flat-out dopey, and you deserve better than that. If you must see one go here - the interesting part is at 1:04. But don't say we at IronPlanet didn't warn you.

Instead, here's something cool and a little freaky, to keep with the spirit of the season.

That's cooler than a ghost, right?

The featured deals in our November 3 auction are just as impressive! Take a look at this 2014 Komatsu D65PX-17 Crawler Tractor, this 2011 Freightliner Cascadio 125 T/A Conventional with sleeper from Walmart,  and this 2015 Case 321F Wheel loader. Check out all the November 3 items out here:

Firefighters in Gouverneur, New York got an assist from a heavy equipment operator this week. A man trapped on the second story of a burning house climbed into the bucket of a Komatsu excavator and was safely taken out of harm's way. The real action starts at around the 50 second mark.

Thanks to quick thinking, this construction worker was able to leap the to rescue. From the looks of the building and the size of the flames, there wasn't time to lose.

Just in time for end of season purchases are IronPlanet's deals next week. So big we're expanding it to two days, October 27 and 28, and offering over 2,000 trucks, excavators, telehandlers, crawler tractors - items that might not save your life, but will make it a whole lot easier.

Take a look at some of the equipment offered by Southeast Equipment Company:

Pull Behind, Diesel Engine, 10' Hopper, 80" Long x 60" Wide Elevator.

 

2003 John Deere 200C LC Track Excavator

 

Enclosed Cab, Air Conditioner, Heater, 36” Tooth Bucket, 9' 5" Stick, Straight Line Travel Pedal, Thumb Bracket, 31 1/2" Triple Grouser Track Shoes

 

2012 Terex TA400 Articulated Dump Truck

 

 

Enclosed Cab, Air Conditioner, Heater, Rear Camera, Tailgate, Auto Lube, Air Ride Seat, 29.5R25 Tires

 

23 Auctions in 30 Days with Bidders from 84 Countries, Nearly 10,000 Items Sold

PLEASANTON, Calif. –  IronPlanet^®, a leading online marketplace for selling and buying used equipment and other durable assets, today announced record-breaking results from its month-long September to remember auction events. Combining both online and on-site auctions, the company sold 9,890 items for more than $99 million in GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume), during 23 auctions in September.

When you live in the California Bay Area like many IronPlanet staffers do, there are things you take for granted. Some of them are awesome, some of them, not so much.

In the awesome column we have: wearing shorts well into October, ski slopes within an afternoon's drive, and enough sporting events in any weekend to make grown men weep like little school children.

In the not so much column let's write down: traffic, annoying people in coffee lines, and let's see. . . oh yeah, earthquakes. Big honking earthquakes that make freeways roll like a 1970s waterbed. Like this:

IronPlanet mentions it because this week marks the 27th anniversary the Loma Prieta earthquake rocked our world. It was weird, it hit the "reset" button on our psyches. As soon as the dust settled, people manned their equipment and tools to put highways, homes, and businesses back on their foundations, and in the doing, got shell-shocked residents back on their feet.

A safer, better, more productive way to rock your world is by checking out IronPlanet's October 20 online auction. Reliable Komatsu excavators, Cat crawler tractors, mini excavators and trenchers from JCB, and trucks from Kenworth, Peterbilt, and Volvo.

Across the entire month of September IronPlanet sold excavators, crawler tractors, compactors, Humvees, tools, and one great big crawler crane to bidders from around the globe.

Auctions were held on IronPlanet’s online marketplaces, live on-site, and some were a kind of hybrid, with items to preview on-site, and kiosks outfitted with tablets so purchasers could place online bids. Events included a two-day auction by Kruse Energy & Equipment Auctioneers held in Odessa, Texas, an online auction with items to preview in Edmonton, Alberta with Cat Auction Services, an unreserved two-day auctionpalooza in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, and a GovPlanet Humvee online auction that was decidedly, well, un-girly man.