When the time comes to pick the right warehouse truck, it is a great idea to figure out how high you plan to raise your cargo, how much you have to raise, how much space you need to work in and how far you want to travel. These considerations will influence your purchasing decision and help decipher which forklift truck is truly the best one out there to suit all your requirements and meet your whole expectations.
Normal Aisles
Pedestrian stackers are the most economical as these machines are best utilized in normal width aisles and are able to complete ordinary warehouse stacking tasks. They are capable of easily raising cargo of less than 750kg and can stack them to heights of around 4.5 metres. A different type referred to as rider stackers can successfully raise cargo to about 6 metres.
Reach trucks are yet a different alternative to think about. They give you much greater load and lift capacities and some models come complete with telescopic forks. This characteristic enables you the ability to stack pallets two deep. For added flexibility in handling goods, there is a 4-way and a multi-way reach truck which as the name implies, could be driven in four directions. These models are particularly great for handling long and bulky items such as planks, boards and piping.
The counterbalance line of trucks is suitable for traveling longer distances. They are a good option for stacking jobs, specially block stacking. They are also an excellent alternative for stacking loads which weigh over 2 tonnes and free stacking.
A Tight Squeeze
If you are working in a high-density storage operation, the aisle space will typically be a lot narrower and the heights you will want to reach to would possibly be much higher. Man-up telescopic lift trucks function great in narrow aisle, high-bay stores. They provide the operator or driver a good view of the stacking process. There are also models known as man-up combi trucks. These are fairly versatile in that they can be used for both stacking and order-picking jobs. They can be utilized in narrow aisles or driven all around the warehouse.