Lift trucks are utilized to raise, engage and transfer palletized loads in manufacturing, warehousing, material handling, construction and mining applications. There are 3 main types of lift trucks: a manual drive, motorized drive and fork truck. The travel or load movement is powered manually or by walking behind the machinery with manual-drive forklifts.
The motorized forklift models come complete with a motorized drive and in numerous cases have a protected cab or seat in their design in order to keep the operator safe and comfortable. Fork trucks are a different kind that are motorized and comprise features like cabs and backup alarms. In order to prevent the equipment from overturning, some forklifts are counterbalanced. Other types of forklifts consist of safety rails, a rotating element such as a turntable or different types of hand rails.
Important specifications to take into consideration when selecting lift trucks consist of stroke and lift capacity. Stroke is defined as the difference between the fully-lowered and the fully-raised lift positions. Lift capacity is the maximum, supportable load or forcforce or load. Other specifications for lift trucks include their fuel type and tire.
Forklifts comprise various fuel options such as: liquid propane or LPG, CNG or compressed natural gas, diesel fuel, propane, natural gas and gasoline. There are 2 major types 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 offer less shock absorption overall. Pneumatic or air-inflated tires on the other hand provide excellent load-cushioning and drive traction.
For forklifts, there are 7 classes. Class 1 lift trucks incorporate electric-motor rider trucks, seated or stand-up 3 wheeled units. Usually, rider units are counterbalanced and could have either cushion or pneumatic wheels. Class II lift trucks are electric motor units which are utilized for order picking or stock applications in narrow aisle setting. These models provide extra reach functions or swing mast.
Forklift Class III lift trucks consist of standing-rider or walk-behind operated electric-motor trucks. High lift models and automated pallet lift trucks are normally counterbalanced units. Class IV lift trucks have cabs and seated controls. These models are rider fork trucks with IC or internal combustion engines. Additionally, this class utilizes solid or cushion tires.
Rider fork Trucks are incorporated in Class V. These equipment would have cabs and seated controls, pneumatic tires and IC or internal combustion engines. Like Class IV forklifts, they are usually counterbalanced. Class VI forklifts are tow tractor lifts which are designed for a sit-down rider. This class is supplied with electric or internal combustion or IC engines.
Finally, Class VII lift trucks are the ideal option for use on rough terrain areas. They are a common feature in construction, logging and agricultural applications. Class VII forklifts include all personnel carriers and burden carriers.