Forklifts
In material handling, construction, manufacturing and warehousing applications, forklifts are normally utilized to transport and raise palletized loads. With manual-drive forklifts, the travel or load movement is either walk-behind or manually powered. Motorized drive forklifts have a motorized drive. In various models, the forklift has a protected seat or cab for the operator. Fork trucks include features such as cabs, and backup alarms and are additionally motorized. Various types of forklifts are counterbalanced so as to prevent the vehicle from turning over. Other models are offered with safety rails, or a rotating element such as a turntable or a hand rail.
Other factors which are important to think about when selecting a forklift include the stroke and lift capacity. Lift capacity is defined as the maximum, supportable load or force. Stroke is defined as the difference between completely raised and fully lowered lift positions.
The type of fuel and the type of tire are also other key specifications that must be considered. The fuel choices available include: natural gas, liquid propane or LP, electricity, compressed natural gas or CNG, diesel, gasoline or propane.
For forklifts and fork trucks, there are two basic types of tires which could be utilized. They are: solid and pneumatic. The cushion or solid tires require less maintenance compared to pneumatic tires and do not puncture as easy. Air-inflated or pneumatic tires offer great drive traction and load-cushioning. At the end of the day, cushion or solid tires provide less shock absorption.
Class VII forklifts are normally designed to be utilized on rough terrain. These kinds of machines are normally used in agriculture, construction and in logging environments. Lastly, Class VIII forklifts have all burden and personnel carriers. Dual Fuel forklifts frequently fit in this class.