Forklifts are utilized within warehousing, manufacturing, material handling, construction and mining applications to raise, engage and transfer palletized loads. Lift trucks have 3 basic kinds: a motorized drive, fork truck and manual drive. The load movement or travel is powered manually or by walking at the back of the equipment with manual-drive forklifts.
The motorized forklift models come equipped with a motorized drive and in a lot of cases have a protected cab or seat in their design in order to keep the operator comfortable and safe. Fork trucks are another type that are motorized and comprise features like for instance cabs and backup alarms. In order to prevent the vehicle from tipping over, some forklifts are counterbalanced. Other types of forklifts include safety rails, a rotating element like for instance a turntable or other types of hand rails.
Essential specifications to take into consideration when selecting forklifts consist of lift capacity and stroke. Stroke is defined as the difference between the fully-raised and the fully-lowered lift positions. Lift capacity is the supportable, maximum load or forcforce or load. Additional specifications for forklifts consist of their type of fuel and tire.
Forklifts comprise various fuel options such as: liquid propane or LPG, CNG or compressed natural gas, diesel fuel, propane, gasoline and natural gas. There are 2 basic kinds of tires utilized for operating forklifts and fork trucks: solid and pneumatic. Solid or cushion tires do not puncture and need less maintenance than pneumatic tires. The cushion or solid tires do offer less shock absorption overall. Pneumatic or air-inflated tires on the other hand provide excellent load-cushioning and drive traction.
For forklifts, there are 7 classes. Class 1 forklifts incorporate electric-motor rider trucks, stand-up or seated 3 wheeled units. Normally, rider units are counterbalanced and may have either pneumatic or cushion wheels. Class II forklifts are electric motor units which are utilized for stock applications or order picking in narrow aisle environments. These kinds of forklifts provide extra reach functions or swing mast.
Forklift Class III lift trucks consist of walk-behind or standing-rider operated electric-motor trucks. High lift models and automated pallet lift trucks are often counterbalanced units. Class IV forklifts have seated controls and cabs. These models are rider fork trucks with internal combustion or IC engines. In addition, this class uses cushion or solid tires.
Class V lift trucks are rider fork trucks. They have cabs and seated controls, pneumatic tires and internal combustion or IC engines. Like Class IV forklifts, they are normally counterbalanced. Class VI lift trucks are tow tractor lifts which are designed for a sit-down rider. This class is supplied with internal combustion or IC or electric engines.
Finally, Class VII forklifts are the perfect choice for use on rough terrain areas. They are a common feature in agricultural, construction and logging applications. Class VII forklifts consist of all personnel carriers and burden carriers.