Forklifts
In material handling, construction, warehousing and manufacturing operation, forklifts are commonly utilized to transport and lift palletized loads. With manual-drive forklifts, the load or travel movement is either walk-behind or powered manually. Motorized drive forklifts have a motorized drive. In numerous types of forklifts, the forklift has a protected seat or cab for the driver. Fork trucks have features like for instance cabs, and backup alarms and are also motorized. Some models of forklifts are counterbalanced in order to prevent the vehicle from tipping over. Other kinds of forklifts are offered with safety rails, or a rotating element like for instance a turntable or a hand rail.
Other factors that are essential to think about when choosing a forklift are the stroke and lift capacity. Lift capacity is defined as the supportable, maximum 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 vital specifications that should be considered. The fuel choices available include: natural gas, LP or liquid propane, CNG or compressed natural gas, electricity, gasoline, propane or diesel.
There are two basic kinds of tires utilized for forklifts and fork trucks: solid and pneumatic. The solid or cushion tires require less maintenance compared to pneumatic tires and do not puncture as easy. Air-inflated or pneumatic tires provide load cushioning and great drive traction. At the end of the day, cushion or solid tires offer less shock absorption.
Generally utilized on rough terrain are Class VII forklifts. These kinds of machines are usually utilized in agriculture, construction and in logging environments. Lastly, Class VIII forklifts have all burden and personnel carriers. Dual Fuel forklifts often fit in this class.