Even after the rise and explosion of telehandlers on the material handling market, rough terrain forklifts and vertical mast forklifts could be found picking up and moving different items and supplies on jobsites all around the globe. There have been many other conventional lift trucks that lost market share to telehandlers. This occurred particularly when the competition broke onto the construction scene. Since that time, sales numbers have become stable. Vertical-mast forklifts have re-surfaced and seem to be becoming more popular again because of their greater production, lower cost and modification of some telehandler-like features.
Straight-mast equipment would finish twice the work that a telehandler will do due to their maneuverability and ground speed. Interestingly enough, rental companies are starting to charge higher rates on straight-mast units.
In the rough-terrain lift truck industry, rental purchasers have been having a greater influence. Over 50 percent of all vertical-mast forklifts are now being sold to a rental yard. These purchases are usually driven mainly by use, which is a factor closely followed by acquisition price.
The telehandler has become a very common equipment within the material handling industry. Their popularity has given them a super advantage in terms of rental use. Their overall expansion has been moderated by their higher price. There is several lift truck users who feel that telehandlers are not nearly as useful as opposed to conventional rough-terrain forklifts for unloading and loading repetitive jobs. This means that even though competition amongst telehandler marketers has lowered their prices, a lot prefer the RT lift trucks that have been working well for decades.
In comparison, the telehandler is a little slower, ganglier to operate and needs a higher level of skillfulness to complete the task. On the upside, they get the reach if they require it. There will always be a place within the business for forklifts however, because there are places that you would not be able to access with a telehandler.
The rough-terrain lift truck is small, compact and able to lift a heavier cargo vertically compared to the telehandler. Basically, so as to utilize the right machine for your application, you must determine what jobs exactly you would be completing, the type of environment and conditions you would be operating in and what your load capacity is. These factors would help you decide what the best options available are.