Forklifts are used in warehousing, manufacturing, material handling, construction and mining applications to lift, engage and transfer palletized loads. Forklifts have 3 main kinds: a motorized drive, fork truck and manual drive. The travel or load movement is powered manually or by walking behind the machinery with manual-drive forklifts.
The motorized forklift models come complete with a motorized drive and in lots of cases have a protected cab or seat in their design to keep the operator comfortable and safe. Fork trucks are another type which are motorized and include features like backup alarms and cabs. In order to prevent the vehicle from overturning, some lift trucks are counterbalanced. Other types of forklifts include safety rails, a rotating element like a turntable or different kinds of hand rails.
Essential specifications to take into consideration when selecting lift trucks include lift capacity and stroke. Stroke is defined as the difference between the fully-lowered and the fully-raised lift positions. Lift capacity is the supportable, maximum load or forcforce or load. Other specifications for lift trucks consist of their tire and fuel type.
Forklifts include various fuel options like: LP or liquid propane, CNG or compressed natural gas, propane, diesel fuel, natural gas and gasoline. There are 2 major kinds of tires for operating forklifts and fork trucks: solid and pneumatic. Solid or cushion tires require less maintenance than pneumatic tires and do not puncture. The cushion or solid tires do offer less shock absorption in general. Pneumatic or air-inflated tires on the other hand offer excellent load-cushioning and drive traction.
For forklifts, there are 7 classes. Class 1 forklifts incorporate electric-motor rider trucks, seated or stand-up 3 wheeled units. Normally, rider units could have either cushion or pneumatic wheels and are counterbalanced. Class II lift trucks are electric motor units which are used for order picking or stock applications in narrow aisle environments. These models provide extra reach functions or swing mast.
Forklift Class III lift trucks consist of walk-behind or standing-rider operated electric-motor trucks. Automated pallet lift trucks and high lift models are often counterbalanced units. Class IV forklifts have cabs and seated controls. These kinds of forklifts are rider fork trucks with IC or internal combustion engines. Additionally, this class has solid or cushion tires.
Class V lift trucks are rider fork trucks. They have seated controls and cabs, pneumatic tires and internal combustion or IC engines. Like Class IV lift trucks, they are usually counterbalanced. Class VI forklifts are tow tractor lifts that are designed for a sit-down rider. This particular class is supplied with internal combustion or IC or electric engines.
Class VII lift trucks are the last classification and include rough terrain lift trucks, that are commonly used in agricultural, construction and logging applications. Class VII lift trucks consist of all burden carriers and employee carriers.