When the time comes to choose the proper warehouse truck, it is a good idea to figure out how high you plan to raise your cargo, how much you need to raise, how much space you need to work in and how far you would like to travel. These considerations would influence your buying decision and help decipher what forklift truck is truly the best one out there to suit all your requirements and meet your overall expectations.
Normal Aisles
The most economical trucks are pedestrian stackers. These machines are great for working in normal width aisles and completing regular stacking tasks inside a warehouse. They can easily raise loads of less than 750kg and can stack them to heights of roughly 4.5 metres. A different model called rider stackers can successfully raise cargo to around 6 metres.
Yet a different choice to consider are reach trucks as they provide much greater lift and load capacities, while some models complete with telescopic forks. This feature allows you the ability of stacking pallets two deep. For extra flexibility in handling goods, 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 suitable for handling bulky and long objects like boards, piping and planks.
The counterbalance line of trucks is best for traveling longer distances. They are a great choice for stacking jobs, especially block stacking. They are also an ideal option for stacking loads that weigh more than 2 tonnes and free stacking.
A Tight Squeeze
The aisle space in a high-density storage operation will usually be much narrower, while the heights can be quite higher too. The Man-up telescopic lift trucks are best used in high-bay, narrow aisle stores. They provide the driver or operator a good view of the stacking process. There are also kinds called man-up combi trucks. These are fairly versatile in that they could be used for both stacking and order-picking tasks. They could be driven all over the warehouse or used in narrow aisles.