When the time comes to select the appropriate warehouse truck, it is a good idea to figure out how high you intend to lift your loads, how much you have to lift, how much space you have to work in and how far you would like to travel. These considerations would influence your buying decision and help decipher what kind of forklift truck is the ideal one out there to meet your needs and meet your overall expectations.
Normal Aisles
Pedestrian stackers are the most economical because these machines are best utilized in standard width aisles and could finish ordinary warehouse stacking tasks. They are capable of easily lifting cargo of less than 750kg and can stack them to heights of around 4.5 metres. A different model referred to as rider stackers could successfully lift cargo to approximately 6 metres.
Reach trucks are yet a different alternative to consider. They give you much greater lift and load capacities and some models come complete with telescopic forks. This characteristic allows you the ability to stack pallets two deep. For extra 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 specifically suitable for handling large and long objects like for instance piping, planks and boards.
The counterbalance line of trucks is suitable for traveling longer distances. They are a good choice for stacking jobs, specially block stacking. They are also a great choice for free stacking and stacking cargo that weigh over 2 tonnes.
A Tight Squeeze
If you are working in a high-density storage operation, the aisle space would normally be much narrower and the heights you would want to reach to will potentially be much higher. Man-up telescopic lift trucks work great in high-bay, narrow aisle stores. They provide the operator or driver a good view of the stacking process. There are also types known as man-up combi trucks. These are quite versatile in that they can be utilized for both stacking and order-picking tasks. They could be driven all around the warehouse or utilized in narrow aisles.