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