It is essential to figure out what type of requirements you have before choosing the warehouse truck. Think about things like how high you intend to lift your loads, how much you have to raise, how much space you have to work in and how far you would like to travel. These considerations would influence your purchasing decision and help decipher which kind of forklift truck is the best one out there to suit all your requirements and meet your overall expectations.
Normal Aisles
Pedestrian stackers are the most inexpensive because these machines are best used in standard width aisles and could finish ordinary warehouse stacking jobs. They are capable of easily raising cargo of less than 750kg and be able to stack them to heights of about 4.5 metres. Another type referred to as rider stackers could successfully raise cargo to about 6 metres.
Reach trucks are yet another option to think about. They give you much greater lift and load capacities and several models come complete with telescopic forks. This characteristic enables you the ability to stack pallets two deep. For added flexibility in goods handling, 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 particularly great for handling long and large objects such as piping, planks and boards.
Counterbalance trucks are best suitable for traveling longer distance and are a great option for stacking jobs, particularly block stacking. They are also an excellent option for stacking cargo which weigh more than 2 tonnes and free stacking.
A Tight Squeeze
The aisle space in a high-density storage operation would normally be a lot narrower, whilst the heights could be quite higher too. The Man-up telescopic lift trucks are best used in high-bay, narrow aisle stores. They offer the operator or driver a good view of the stacking process. There are other types known as man-up combi trucks. These are quite versatile in that they could be utilized for both stacking and order-picking jobs. They could be used in narrow aisles or driven all around the warehouse.