When it comes to maintaining the lift truck, it can really be easy to neglect the simple yet important 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 however, you select right tire you can enjoy substantial cost-savings, improved safety and an overall more effective operation. A correctly selected tire can really lessen the downtime for replacement and probably last 40 percent longer.
The forklift tire is a quite complex part of the machine. It is thus, easy to select the wrong kind accidentally. There are so many different types of tires and brands, with a wide variety of compounds and treads. This means you should be fully prepared with the right data when you are going shopping for tires so that you could choose some safe and durable alternatives to help prolong the life of your forklift.
Your company must select the particular tire for their machinery based on the type of surface the machinery would be operated on. Indoor applications and smoother surfaces for instance, will usually utilize tires that are smaller in size and made from rubber. On the other hand, outdoor operations require pneumatic tires. Pneumatic tires have a rubber tread and are filled with compressed air. These features give them a good grip on surfaces that are uneven and rough.
Lift Truck Tire Safety
Each and every year, 200 people are killed in forklift or lift truck related accidents each year. Ensuring forklift safety, like for instance correct inspection practices, could all contribute in to preventing these terrible and dangerous mishaps from taking place.
Pre-Work Check
The tires of the lift truck needs to be inspected prior to each shift. Tires should ideally have the right air pressure, that is set by the tire manufacturer. This is extremely essential because if the tire pressure is too low, the equipment could inadvertently tip over when a load is being raised.
Types
The tires used on indoor lift trucks will be made out of solid rubber.
Other Considerations
Occupational Health and Safety Administration or OSHA places a requirement on the continual use of lift trucks. These forklifts must be inspected at the end of every shift. The driver has to inspect the machine for any mechanical problems and the tires should be checked for excessive wear, cuts or obvious damage to the tires. Any issues that are detected have to be addressed as soon as possible to maintain safety.