Narrow Aisle Lift Trucks
The kind of electric truck that is designed to operate in narrow aisles is called a Narrow Aisle Lift Truck. Standard storage aisles are 3.6 meters wide, enough space for a counterbalanced lift truck to pivot in the aisle. Then again, narrow aisles can be about 2.4 meters wide to as little as 1.8 meters. The narrow area requires specialized lift truck models that are small, capable of tight turns, and able to put away loads without pivoting. The common types of narrow-aisle trucks are turret trucks, order pickers and reach trucks.
Narrow-aisle reach trucks
Reach trucks were the first narrow-aisle lift truck to be developed for warehouse use. These small trucks could turn without problems in narrow aisles as their design has eliminated the requirement for a big counterweight. Stability is instead provided by outrigger arms which extend in front of the truck. The disadvantage of this design is that the outrigger arms could hinder access to the storage rack because the truck cannot get close enough. These kinds of trucks really work well in a warehouse that is well lit, has clean, even floors, ample space for turning and good traffic flow.
Turret trucks
The design of a turret truck has pivoting forks on side of the truck. The forks turn 90 degrees and move from side to side. The load could face forward while the operator drives down the aisle. When stopped at the designated storage location, the forks of the truck turn to the storage side and raise the load to their full extension, and then smoothly deposit the load before resuming their original position. Turret trucks could come with a wire guidance system that keeps the truck on its path in really narrow aisles. In man-down trucks, operators remain at floor level.