When it comes to maintaining the lift truck, it could be easy to neglect the simple yet essential tire. If you pick the wrong tire, you can end up accidentally with a huge increase in fleet operating costs, or increased safety risks, which is worse yet. If on the other hand, you select right type of tire you could enjoy significant cost-savings, improved safety and an overall more effective operation. A properly selected tire can really reduce the downtime for replacement and probably last 40 percent longer.
The lift truck tire is a quite complex component of the machinery. It is therefore, easy to choose the wrong type accidentally. There are so many different brands of tires and types, with a huge array of treads and compounds. This means you should be completely prepared with the right data when you are purchasing tires so that you can select some durable and safe alternatives to help extend the life of your forklift.
The specific kind of tire selected for a forklift depends on the kind of surface you will be utilizing the machinery on. Like for instance, indoor applications and smooth surfaces normally use tires which are made from rubber and that are a smaller size. On the contrary, outdoor applications require pneumatic tires. Pneumatic tires are filled with compressed air and have a rubber tread. These characteristics give them a great grip on rough and uneven surfaces.
Lift Truck Tire Safety
Each year, there are around 200 individuals killed in accidents related for lift truck use. Ensuring forklift safety, such as correct inspection practices, can all contribute in to avoiding these horrible and dangerous accidents from occurring.
Pre-Work Check
Before every shift, the lift truck's tires have to be checked. Ideally, they should have the proper air pressure, as set forth by the maker. This is very vital because if the tire pressure is very low, the equipment could inadvertently tip over when a load is being raised.
Kinds
For indoor work, lift trucks which have solid tires made out of rubber are the most suitable choice.
Other factors
The OHSA or Occupational Health and Safety Administration require that lift trucks used on a continual basis have to be checked at the completion of each and every shift. The driver should inspect the equipment for any mechanical problems and the tires must be looked over for excessive wear, cuts or obvious damage to the tires. Any problems which are detected should be dealt with as soon as possible to maintain safety.