Lift trucks are utilized in manufacturing, warehousing, mining, material handling and construction applications to raise, engage and transfer palletized loads. Lift trucks have 3 basic kinds: a fork truck, manual drive and motorized drive. The load movement or travel is powered manually or by walking behind the equipment with manual-drive forklifts.
The motorized forklift models come complete with a motorized drive and in numerous cases have a seat or protected cab in their design to keep the operator safe and comfortable. Fork trucks are a different kind which are motorized and comprise features like for instance cabs and backup alarms. In order to prevent the vehicle from overturning, some lift trucks are counterbalanced. Other kinds of forklifts consist of safety rails, a rotating element like a turntable or different kinds of hand rails.
Important specifications to take into consideration when selecting lift trucks include lift capacity and stroke. Stroke is defined as the difference between the fully-raised and the fully-lowered lift positions. Lift capacity is the maximum, supportable load or forcforce or load. Additional specifications for lift trucks include their fuel type and tire.
Forklifts include various fuel options such as: LP or liquid propane, CNG or compressed natural gas, diesel fuel, propane, natural gas and gasoline. There are 2 major kinds of tires for operating fork trucks and forklifts: solid and pneumatic. Solid or cushion tires require less maintenance compared to pneumatic tires and do not puncture. The solid or cushion tires do provide less shock absorption overall. Pneumatic or air-inflated tires on the other hand offer great load-cushioning and drive traction.
For lift trucks, there are 7 classes. Class 1 forklifts include electric-motor rider trucks, seated or stand-up 3 wheeled units. Usually, rider units may have either pneumatic or cushion wheels and are counterbalanced. Class II lift trucks are electric motor units which are used for order picking or stock applications in narrow aisle setting. These models offer extra swing mast or reach functions.
Class III lift trucks are either walk-behind or standing-rider operated electric-motor trucks. Automated pallet lift trucks and high lift models 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. Furthermore, this class utilizes solid or cushion tires.
Rider fork Trucks are included in Class V. These equipment would have seated controls and cabs, pneumatic tires and IC or internal combustion engines. Similar to Class IV forklifts, they are typically counterbalanced. Class VI lift trucks are tow tractor lifts which are designed for a sit-down rider. This class is supplied with internal combustion or IC or electric engines.
Lastly, Class VII forklifts are the perfect option for use on rough terrain areas. They are a common feature in agricultural, construction and logging applications. Class VII forklifts consist of all burden carriers and personnel carriers.