Forklifts
Forklifts are used to transport, raise and engage palletized loads in construction, material handling, warehousing and manufacturing applications. With manual-drive forklifts, the load or travel movement is either manually powered or walk-behind. Motorized drive forklifts have a motorized drive. In many kinds of forklifts, the forklift has a protected cab or seat for the driver. Fork trucks include features like backup alarms, and cabs and are additionally motorized. Some kinds of forklifts are counterbalanced in order to prevent the vehicle from turning over. Other types of forklifts come outfitted with safety rails, or a rotating element such as a turntable or a hand rail.
The stroke and lift capacity are other specification which you must take into account when selecting a kind of forklift. Lift capacity is defined as the supportable, maximum force or load. Stroke is defined as the difference between fully lowered and fully raised lift positions.
Several of the other key specifications for the forklift are fuel type and tire type. The fuel choices available are: natural gas, LP or liquid propane, electricity, CNG or compressed natural gas, propane, diesel or gasoline.
For forklifts and fork trucks, there are two basic types of tires that could be used. They are: solid and pneumatic. The solid or cushion tires need less maintenance compared to 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, solid or cushion tires offer less shock absorption.
Normally utilized on rough terrain are Class VII forklifts. These types of machinery are often used in construction, agriculture and in logging environments. Lastly, Class VIII forklifts include all burden and personnel carriers. Dual Fuel lift trucks typically fit in this class.