Forklifts are used to raise, engage and transfer palletized loads in manufacturing, warehousing, material handling, mining and construction applications. There are 3 basic types of forklifts: a fork truck, manual drive and motorized drive. The travel or load movement is powered manually or by walking behind the equipment with manual-drive lift trucks.
Motorized-drive model lift trucks are equipped with a motorized drive. In a lot of instances, a seat or protected cab is part of the design to keep the operator comfortable and safe. Fork trucks are a different kind that are motorized and include features such as cabs and backup alarms. In order to prevent the vehicle from overturning, several lift trucks are counterbalanced. Other types of forklifts include safety rails, a rotating element like a turntable or other types of hand rails.
When choosing forklifts, essential specifications to take into account comprise lift capacity and stroke. Stroke is defined as the difference between the fully-lowered and the fully-raised lift positions. Lift capacity is the supportable, maximum load or forcforce or load. Additional specifications for forklifts consist of their tire and type of fuel.
Different fuel options for lift trucks consist of: liquid propane or LPG, compressed natural gas or CNG, propane, diesel fuel, gasoline and natural gas. There are 2 major kinds of tires for operating forklifts and fork trucks: pneumatic and solid. Solid or cushion tires do not puncture and require less maintenance than pneumatic tires. The cushion or solid tires do offer less shock absorption in general. Pneumatic or air-inflated tires however offer great load-cushioning and drive traction.
There are 7 classes of lift trucks. The first class of lift trucks, Class I, is either seated or stand-up 3 wheeled units which are electric-motor rider trucks. Usually, rider units can have either pneumatic or cushion wheels and are counterbalanced. Class II forklifts are electric motor units that 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 standing-rider or walk-behind operated electric-motor trucks. High lift models and automated pallet lift trucks are usually counterbalanced units. Class IV lift trucks have seated controls and cabs. These models are rider fork trucks with internal combustion or IC engines. In addition, this class utilizes solid or cushion tires.
Rider fork Trucks are included in Class V. These machinery would have seated controls and cabs, pneumatic tires and IC or internal combustion engines. Like Class IV forklifts, they are typically counterbalanced. Class VI lift trucks are tow tractor lifts that are designed for a sit-down rider. This particular class is supplied with electric or IC or internal combustion engines.
Lastly, Class VII lift trucks are the perfect choice for use on rough terrain areas. They are a common feature in agricultural, construction and logging applications. Class VII forklifts include all employee carriers and burden carriers.