When the time comes to choose the right warehouse truck, it is a good idea to figure out how high you plan to lift your loads, how much you need to lift, how much space you have to work in and how far you would like to travel. These considerations will influence your purchasing decision and help decipher what kind of forklift truck is the best one out there to meet your needs and meet your overall expectations.
Normal Aisles
Pedestrian stackers are the most economical since these machinery are best utilized in standard width aisles and are able to complete ordinary warehouse stacking tasks. They are capable of easily lifting loads of less than 750kg and be able to stack them to heights of approximately 4.5 metres. Another model called rider stackers could successfully raise cargo to about 6 metres.
Reach trucks are yet a different option to think about. They give you much greater lift and load capacities and some models come complete with telescopic forks. This characteristic enables you the ability of stacking pallets two deep. For added flexibility in goods handling, there is a multi-way and a 4-way reach truck that as the name implies, can be driven in four directions. These models are particularly best for handling long and bulky things like piping, planks and boards.
Counterbalance trucks are best suited for traveling longer distance and are a great alternative for stacking jobs, especially block stacking. They are also a great alternative for stacking loads 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 will normally be a lot narrower and the heights you would want to reach to would potentially be a lot higher. Man-up telescopic lift trucks work well in narrow aisle, high-bay stores. They provide the driver or operator a good view of the stacking process. There are also kinds called man-up combi trucks. These are quite versatile in that they could be utilized for both stacking and order-picking tasks. They could be driven all around the warehouse or used in narrow aisles.