Lift trucks are used in warehousing, manufacturing, mining, material handling and construction applications to lift, engage and transport palletized loads. Lift trucks have 3 basic types: a motorized drive, fork truck and manual drive. The travel or load movement 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 a lot of cases have a protected cab or seat in their design in order to keep the operator comfortable and safe. Fork trucks are another kind that are motorized and comprise features like cabs and backup alarms. In order to prevent the machine from tipping over, some forklifts are counterbalanced. Other models comprise safety rails, a rotating element like for example a turntable or different kinds of hand rails.
Important specifications to take into consideration when choosing forklifts include stroke and lift capacity. Stroke is defined as the difference between the fully-raised and the fully-lowered lift positions. Lift capacity is the maximum, supportable load or forcforce or load. Other specifications for forklifts consist of their type of fuel and tire.
Forklifts include various fuel options such as: LP or liquid propane, compressed natural gas or CNG, diesel fuel, propane, natural gas and gasoline. There are 2 major types of tires used for operating fork trucks and forklifts: solid and pneumatic. Cushion or solid tires require less maintenance than pneumatic tires and do not puncture. The solid or cushion tires do offer less shock absorption overall. Pneumatic or air-inflated tires on the other hand offer excellent load-cushioning and drive traction.
For forklifts, there are 7 classes. Class 1 lift trucks include electric-motor rider trucks, seated or stand-up 3 wheeled units. Typically, rider units are counterbalanced and may have either pneumatic or cushion wheels. Class II forklifts are electric motor units which are used for order picking or stock applications in narrow aisle setting. These models provide extra swing mast or reach functions.
Forklift Class III lift trucks include standing-rider or walk-behind operated electric-motor trucks. High lift models and automated pallet lift trucks are normally counterbalanced units. Class IV forklifts have seated controls and cabs. These kinds of forklifts are rider fork trucks with IC or internal combustion engines. Additionally, this class has solid or cushion tires.
Rider fork Trucks are incorporated in Class V. These machinery will have cabs and seated controls, pneumatic tires and IC or internal combustion engines. Like Class IV lift trucks, they are normally counterbalanced. Class VI lift trucks are tow tractor lifts which are designed for a sit-down rider. This class is supplied with IC or internal combustion or electric engines.
Lastly, Class VII lift trucks are the ideal choice for use on rough terrain areas. They are a common feature in logging, agricultural and construction applications. Class VII forklifts include all burden carriers and employee carriers.