When the time comes to pick the right warehouse truck, it is a great idea to figure out 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 factors would influence your purchasing decision and help decipher which type of forklift truck is the ideal one out there to suit your needs and meet your overall expectations.
Normal Aisles
Pedestrian stackers are the most economical because these machines are best used in standard width aisles and are able to complete ordinary warehouse stacking jobs. They could easily lift cargo of less than 750kg and be able to stack them to heights of approximately 4.5 metres. Another type called rider stackers can successfully lift cargo to around 6 metres.
Reach trucks are yet another option to think about. They give you much greater lift and load capacities and some models come complete with telescopic forks. This characteristic allows you the ability of stacking pallets two deep. For added flexibility in goods handling, there is a multi-way and a 4-way reach truck that as the name implies, could be driven in four directions. These models are specifically great for handling bulky and long things such as piping, planks and boards.
The counterbalance line of trucks is suitable for traveling longer distances. They are a great alternative for stacking jobs, specially block stacking. They are also a great choice for stacking cargo that weigh over 2 tonnes and free stacking.
A Tight Squeeze
If you are working in a high-density storage operation, the aisle space will normally be a lot narrower and the heights you will want to reach to will possibly be much higher. Man-up telescopic lift trucks work well in narrow aisle, high-bay stores. They provide the driver or operator a good view of the stacking process. There are also models referred to as man-up combi trucks. These are quite versatile in that they can be utilized for both order- picking and stacking tasks. They could be utilized in narrow aisles or driven all around the warehouse.