When the time comes to choose the right warehouse truck, it is a good idea to figure out how high you intend to raise your loads, how much you have to lift, how much space you need to work in and how far you would like to travel. These considerations will really influence your buying decision and help decipher what type of forklift truck is really the ideal one out there to meet all your needs and meet your overall expectations.
Normal Aisles
Pedestrian stackers are the most inexpensive as these machines are best utilized in normal width aisles and are able to complete ordinary warehouse stacking jobs. They are capable of easily raising loads of less than 750kg and can stack them to heights of approximately 4.5 metres. One more model called rider stackers could successfully raise cargo to around 6 metres.
Reach trucks are yet another option to think about. They give you much greater lift and load capacities and some 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 multi-way and a 4-way reach truck which as the name implies, can be driven in four directions. These models are particularly best for handling long and bulky items such as boards, piping and planks.
Counterbalance trucks are best suitable for traveling longer distance and are a good choice for stacking jobs, specially block stacking. They are also an excellent option for stacking cargo which weigh more than 2 tonnes and free stacking.
A Tight Squeeze
If you are working in a high-density storage operation, the aisle space would typically be a lot narrower and the heights you will want to reach to would possibly be much higher. Man-up telescopic lift trucks function well in narrow aisle, high-bay stores. They provide the operator or driver a good view of the stacking process. There are other models called man-up combi trucks. These are quite versatile in that they could be utilized for both order- picking and stacking jobs. They could be used in narrow aisles or driven all over the warehouse.