It is important to figure out what type of requirements you need prior to selecting the warehouse truck. Consider things such as how high you plan to lift your cargo, how much you need to lift, how much space you need to work in and how far you want to travel. These factors will influence your purchasing decision and help decipher which type of forklift truck is the best one out there to suit your needs and meet your overall expectations.
Normal Aisles
The most cost-effective trucks are pedestrian stackers. These machinery are great for working in standard width aisles and completing ordinary stacking tasks inside a warehouse. They are capable of easily lifting cargo of less than 750kg and could stack them to heights of approximately 4.5 metres. Another kind called rider stackers could successfully lift cargo to about 6 metres.
Reach trucks are yet another choice to think about. They give you much greater lift and load capacities and some models come complete with telescopic forks. This feature enables you the ability to stack pallets two deep. For extra flexibility in handling goods, there is a 4-way and a multi-way reach truck that as the name implies, can be driven in four directions. These models are particularly best for handling long and large objects such as planks, boards and piping.
The counterbalance line of trucks is best for traveling longer distances. They are a great alternative for stacking jobs, specially block stacking. They are also a great choice 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 normally be much narrower and the heights you will want to reach to would possibly be much higher. Man-up telescopic lift trucks function great in high-bay, narrow aisle stores. They offer the driver or operator a good view of the stacking process. There are other types called man-up combi trucks. These are quite versatile in that they can be used for both order- picking and stacking tasks. They could be driven all over the warehouse or used in narrow aisles.