Forklifts
Forklifts are utilized to transport, lift and engage palletized loads in construction, material handling, warehousing and manufacturing applications. With manual-drive forklifts, the travel or load movement is either walk-behind or manually powered. Motorized drive forklifts have a motorized drive. In various models, the forklift has a protected seat or cab for the driver. Fork trucks include features such as cabs, and backup alarms and are also motorized. Some kinds of forklifts are counterbalanced so as to prevent the vehicle from tipping over. Other kinds of forklifts come outfitted with safety rails, or a rotating element like a turntable or a hand rail.
The lift capacity and stroke are other specification that you must take into consideration when choosing a type of forklift. Lift capacity is defined as the supportable, maximum force or load. Stroke is defined as the difference between completely lowered and completely raised lift positions.
Several of the other vital specifications for the forklift include tire type and fuel type. The available fuel choices are: natural gas, liquid propane or LP, compressed natural gas or CNG, electricity, propane, diesel or gasoline.
For fork trucks and forklifts, there are two basic types of tires that could be utilized. They are: pneumatic and solid. The solid or cushion tires need less maintenance compared to pneumatic tires and do not easily puncture. Pneumatic or air-inflated tires provide great drive traction and load-cushioning. 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 often used in agriculture, construction and in logging environments. Last of all, Class VIII forklifts include all personnel and burden carriers. Dual Fuel lift trucks frequently fit in this class.