Even after the rise and explosion of telehandlers on the material handling market, rough terrain lift trucks and vertical mast lift trucks can be found picking up and transporting different products and materials on jobsites all over the globe. There have been many other standard lift trucks which lost market share to telehandlers. This occurred specially when the competition broke onto the construction scene. Since that time, sales numbers have become stable. Vertical-mast forklifts have re-surfaced and seem to be becoming more popular once more due to their greater production, lower cost and alteration of some telehandler-like features.
The straight mast forklift could finish twice the work as a telehandler because of their superior handling and maneuverability in addition to their better ground speed. Interestingly enough, rental companies are beginning to charge higher rates on straight-mast units.
Rental purchasers are having significant influence in the rough-terrain lift truck industry. Over half of all vertical-mast lift trucks are currently being sold to a rental yard. These acquisitions are generally driven mostly by utilization, which is a factor closely followed by acquisition price.
The telehandler has become a very common machine in the material handling business. Their popularity has given them a better advantage when it comes to rental use. Their overall expansion has been moderated by their higher price. There is several lift truck users who feel that telehandlers are not nearly as useful as opposed to conventional rough-terrain forklifts for unloading and loading repetitive tasks. This means that although competition amongst telehandler marketers has lowered their prices, many prefer the RT forklifts that have been working well for decades.
The telehandler is a little slower machine in comparison to a rough terrain forklift unit. They are also ganglier to utilize and requires a higher level of skill to finish the job. On the upside, they get the reach if they require it. There will always be a place in the business for forklifts though, because there are places that you will not be able to access with a telehandler.
The rough-terrain forklift is small, compact and able to lift a heavier cargo vertically as opposed to the telehandler. Basically, in order to utilize the best equipment for your application, you should determine what jobs exactly you will be completing, the type of setting and conditions you will be operating in and what your load capacity is. These factors will help you choose what the right options available are.