When the time comes to select the appropriate warehouse truck, it is a good idea to figure out how high you plan to lift your loads, how much you have to raise, how much space you need to work in and how far you want to travel. These considerations will truly affect your purchasing decision and help decipher what forklift truck is the best one out there to suit all your needs and meet your overall expectations.
Normal Aisles
Pedestrian stackers are the most economical because these equipment are best utilized in normal width aisles and can complete ordinary warehouse stacking tasks. They can easily lift cargo of less than 750kg and be able to stack them to heights of about 4.5 metres. Another type referred to as rider stackers could successfully lift cargo to around 6 metres.
Reach trucks are yet a different alternative to consider. They give you much greater load and lift capacities and several models come complete with telescopic forks. This feature allows you the ability to stack pallets two deep. For added flexibility in handling goods, there is a 4-way and a multi-way reach truck that as the name implies, could be driven in four directions. These models are specifically great for handling large and long items like for instance boards, piping and planks.
The counterbalance line of trucks is best for traveling longer distances. They are a great option for stacking jobs, specially block stacking. They are also a great alternative for stacking cargo which weigh over 2 tonnes and free stacking.
A Tight Squeeze
If you are working in a high-density storage operation, the aisle space will normally be a lot narrower and the heights you will want to reach to would likely be a lot higher. Man-up telescopic lift trucks work great in high-bay, narrow aisle stores. They provide the driver or operator a good view of the stacking process. There are also types referred to as man-up combi trucks. These are fairly versatile in that they could be used for both stacking and order-picking jobs. They can be used in narrow aisles or driven all around the warehouse.