Propane cylinders are designed to take up really little space and could be kept in an outdoor facility or inside the storage area. It does take some time to switch out a propane cylinder, though, it still does need knowledge of safety standards like for example the Occupational Health and Safety Administration or OSHA and also requires operator training in order to be performed safely.
IC lift trucks are faster and easier to refuel, compared to electric lift trucks, but the IC or internal combustion engines produce major air-polluting emissions and are extremely noisy.
NARROW-AISLE FORKLIFTS
The ITA's Class 2 trucks consist of a large array of electric forklifts and these are specifically made to be utilized in narrow aisles. The standard storage aisles are 12 feet wide, and this easily enables a counterbalanced forklift to turn in the aisle and put a load away. Normally, narrow aisles are 8 feet wide, while the very narrow aisles are around 5.5 to 6 feet wide. These narrow aisles require specialized lift trucks that could put away loads that are small enough to turn on a tight radius or without any turning at all.
Turret trucks, order pickers and reach trucks are 3 of the most common narrow-aisle forklifts. The differences between these lift trucks are discussed below.
Narrow-Aisle Reach Forklifts
The original narrow-aisle lift truck is considered to be the traditional reach truck. These machinery do not need a huge counterweight and are therefore, small enough to turn in narrow aisles. Instead, stability is provided by the outrigger arms which extend in front of the lift trucks. Nevertheless, these outrigger arms can prevent the forklifts from getting close enough to the storage rack to retrieve and deposit loads, depending on the storage configuration. To be able to overcome this situation, a pantograph was designed. The pantograph is a reach truck which is made with a telescoping mechanism. This allows forks to reach into storage areas easily and concisely.
The ideal environment for a narrow-aisle forklift is a place that is clean, has good lighting, and has good traffic flow, well-maintained floors, as well as a sufficient turning aisle.
These types of machines have revolutionized the material handling industry. Toyota stands behind their commitment to giving excellent quality and very strong equipment. As the company changes, they always strive to apply solutions so as to offer their diverse customer base with the best products available.