It is vital to figure out what type of requirements you need before selecting the warehouse truck. Consider things like how high you plan to raise your cargo, how much you have to raise, how much space you need to work in and how far you want to travel. These factors would really influence your buying decision and help decipher which type of forklift truck is the ideal one out there to suit your requirements and meet your overall expectations.
Normal Aisles
The most cost-effective trucks are pedestrian stackers. These machinery are ideal for working in standard width aisles and finishing regular stacking jobs in a warehouse. They are capable of easily lifting loads of less than 750kg and could stack them to heights of around 4.5 metres. Another model called rider stackers could successfully lift loads to approximately 6 metres.
Reach trucks are yet a different choice to think about. They give you much greater load and lift capacities and some models come complete with telescopic forks. This feature allows you the ability of stacking pallets two deep. For extra flexibility in goods handling, there is a 4-way and a multi-way reach truck which as the name implies, could be driven in four directions. These models are particularly suitable for handling long and large objects such as planks, boards and piping.
Counterbalance trucks are best suited for traveling longer distance and are a good option for stacking jobs, specially block stacking. They are also a great choice for free stacking and stacking cargo that weigh over 2 tonnes.
A Tight Squeeze
If you are working in a high-density storage operation, the aisle space would usually be a lot narrower and the heights you would want to reach to would likely be much higher. Man-up telescopic lift trucks work great in high-bay, narrow aisle stores. They provide the driver or operator a good view of the stacking process. There are other kinds called man-up combi trucks. These are fairly versatile in that they can be utilized for both stacking and order-picking tasks. They could be used in narrow aisles or driven throughout the warehouse.