Five of the most popular types of forklifts
The forklift is a machine that makes light work when it comes to moving heavy objects around. Most forklifts are used within factories or warehouses, at ship yards and truck depots. Forklifts are able to move heavy objects round while not utalising a lot of space. This makes them ideal for use in small areas. In this article we will be looking at three of the most popular forklifts available on the market.
1. Counterbalance forklift
This is probably the most identifiable forklift and one of the most popular. This specific forklift features two forks at the front and has the ability to drive up close to a load to pick it up and move it. The name comes from the counterweight in the rear of the vehicle. This is to compensate for the heavy load being lifted at the front. The counterbalance forklift comes in both a three and four-wheel variety and can be powered by gas, diesel and electric. They are very powerful machines and are capable of lifting between 1.5 - 25 Tons pending on the fuel type with masts as high as 7m. One of the biggest manufacturers of this specific type of forklift is Toyota.
2. Reach forklifts
These forklifts have been built to lift loads up to heights of 13m. The benefit of this these machines allow warehouses to use very high aisle setups and ultimately save space with narrow spacing between aisles (roughly 2.6m-3.1m). Mitsubishi builds one of the best in this segment and they also offer you a choice between a Stand-On and Sit-On Reach Truck (Forklift). The Reach Truck capacities vary from 0.9 Tons - 3.0 Tons with the 1.4 Ton and 2 Ton being the most common option. Like all warehousing equipment, Reach Trucks can only be used indoors and must work on clean flat surfaces.
3. Order Pickers
Order pickers are designed for “Hand Picking” rather than moving full pallets. They allow personnel to quickly and efficiently pick orders in a warehouse. The basic model will lift the platform to the second row of racking (1-2m). High-level order pickers can elevate the worker to a picking height of 11.5m allowing them to reach products stored in higher positions.
4. Power Pallet Trucks
Also known as pump trucks, these forklifts aren’t capable of lifting large loads due to their small size and lack of power. Instead, pallet jacks have a small footprint, allowing them to fit into the tightest spaces and lift small loads in tight quarters. While you sacrifice power and manoeuvrability, the acquisition and renting costs of a pallet jack are much lower. Some of the most popular pallet jack models include the Mighty Lift 20 x 36 inch Pallet Truck and Vestil Electric Pallet Truck.
5. Telehandler
Also known as a telescopic forklift or a reach forklift, the telehandler has a boom and extendable arm, making a combination of a crane and forklift. The twin forks attached to this arm are used to move pallets off the ground. A standard telehandler is capable of lifting 2.4 tons of materials from up to 6m in the air. These material handling trucks are great for reaching into tight spaces and odd angles. Because of their growing popularity, manufacturers like JCB, Genie, Bobcat, Haulotte, and Caterpillar produce a variety of high-quality telehandlers. Models like the JLG 1644 are adept at larger capacity jobs, while other models can lift loads up to 16m high.