Forklifts are used within warehousing, manufacturing, material handling, construction and mining applications to raise, engage and transfer palletized loads. Lift trucks have 3 main types: a manual drive, motorized drive and fork truck. The load movement or travel is powered manually or by walking behind the machine with manual-drive lift trucks.
The motorized forklift models come complete with a motorized drive and in many cases have a protected cab or seat in their design to keep the operator safe and comfortable. Fork trucks are another type which are motorized and comprise features such as backup alarms and cabs. In order to prevent the equipment from overturning, some lift trucks are counterbalanced. Other kinds of forklifts comprise safety rails, a rotating element such as a turntable or different kinds of hand rails.
When choosing forklifts, essential specifications to take into consideration comprise stroke and lift capacity. Stroke is defined as the difference between the fully-lowered and the fully-raised lift positions. Lift capacity is the supportable, maximum load or forcforce or load. Other specifications for lift trucks consist of their fuel type and tire.
Different fuel options for lift trucks consist of: liquid propane or LPG, compressed natural gas or CNG, diesel fuel, propane, natural gas and gasoline. There are 2 basic types of tires for operating forklifts and fork trucks: solid and pneumatic. Cushion or solid tires need less maintenance compared to pneumatic tires and do not puncture. The solid or cushion tires do provide less shock absorption overall. Air-inflated or pneumatic tires on the other hand offer excellent load-cushioning and drive traction.
For forklifts, there are 7 classes. Class 1 forklifts include electric-motor rider trucks, seated or stand-up 3 wheeled units. Normally, rider units could have either pneumatic or cushion wheels and are counterbalanced. Class II forklifts are electric motor units which are utilized for order picking or stock applications in narrow aisle environments. These types of forklifts offer extra swing mast or reach functions.
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 often counterbalanced units. Class IV forklifts have cabs and seated controls. These types of forklifts are rider fork trucks with internal combustion or IC engines. Furthermore, this class has solid or cushion tires.
Class V forklifts are rider fork trucks. They have seated controls and cabs, pneumatic tires and internal combustion or IC engines. Similar to Class IV forklifts, they are usually counterbalanced. Class VI lift trucks are tow tractor lifts that are designed for a sit-down rider. This particular class is supplied with internal combustion or IC or electric engines.
Lastly, Class VII lift trucks are the ideal option for use on rough terrain areas. They are a common feature in agricultural, construction and logging applications. Class VII lift trucks include all personnel carriers and burden carriers.