When the time comes to select the appropriate warehouse truck, it is a good idea to figure out how high you intend to raise your loads, how much you need to lift, how much space you have to work in and how far you want to travel. These factors will influence your purchasing decision and help decipher which forklift truck is really the best one out there to suit all your requirements and meet your overall expectations.
Normal Aisles
The most cost-effective trucks are pedestrian stackers. These machinery are great for working in normal width aisles and completing regular stacking jobs in a warehouse. They are capable of easily lifting cargo of less than 750kg and can stack them to heights of approximately 4.5 metres. One more model called rider stackers could successfully raise loads to roughly 6 metres.
Reach trucks are yet another option to consider. They give you much greater load and lift capacities and several models come complete with telescopic forks. This characteristic allows you the ability to stack pallets two deep. For added flexibility in handling goods, there is a multi-way and a 4-way reach truck which as the name implies, could be driven in four directions. These models are specifically best for handling long and bulky items such as planks, boards and piping.
The counterbalance line of trucks is best for traveling longer distances. They are a great choice for stacking jobs, specially block stacking. They are also an excellent option for free stacking and stacking loads that weigh more than 2 tonnes.
A Tight Squeeze
The aisle space in a high-density storage operation will normally be a lot narrower, while the heights could be somewhat higher too. The Man-up telescopic lift trucks are best used in narrow aisle, high-bay stores. They offer the driver or operator a good view of the stacking process. There are also types called man-up combi trucks. These are fairly versatile in that they can be utilized for both stacking and order-picking jobs. They could be driven all around the warehouse or used in narrow aisles.