Lift trucks are used to lift, engage and transfer palletized loads in manufacturing, warehousing, material handling, construction and mining applications. There are 3 basic types of lift trucks: a motorized drive, fork truck and manual drive. The travel or load movement is powered manually or by walking at the rear of the equipment with manual-drive lift trucks.
The motorized forklift models come equipped with a motorized drive and in many cases have a protected cab or seat in their design in order to keep the operator safe and comfortable. Fork trucks are another type that are motorized and comprise features like backup alarms and cabs. In order to prevent the machine from overturning, some forklifts are counterbalanced. Other models consist of safety rails, a rotating element like for example a turntable or different types of hand rails.
When choosing forklifts, important specifications to take into account consist of stroke and lift capacity. Stroke is defined as the difference between the fully-raised and the fully-lowered lift positions. Lift capacity is the supportable, maximum load or forcforce or load. Additional specifications for forklifts consist of their tire and fuel type.
Different fuel options for forklifts comprise: LP or liquid propane, CNG or compressed natural gas, propane, diesel fuel, gasoline and natural gas. There are 2 major types of tires used for operating fork trucks and forklifts: pneumatic and solid. Cushion or solid tires need less maintenance than pneumatic tires and do not puncture. The solid or cushion tires do offer less shock absorption in general. Air-inflated or pneumatic tires however provide great drive traction and load-cushioning.
For forklifts, there are 7 classes. Class 1 lift trucks include electric-motor rider trucks, stand-up or seated 3 wheeled units. Normally, rider units may have either pneumatic or cushion wheels and are counterbalanced. Class II lift trucks are electric motor units that are used for order picking or stock applications in narrow aisle setting. These models offer extra swing mast or reach functions.
Class III forklifts are either walk-behind or standing-rider operated electric-motor trucks. High lift models and automated pallet lift trucks are normally counterbalanced units. Class IV lift trucks have seated controls and cabs. These kinds of forklifts are rider fork trucks with IC or internal combustion engines. Additionally, this class uses solid or cushion tires.
Rider fork Trucks are incorporated in Class V. These machines will have seated controls and cabs, pneumatic tires and IC or internal combustion engines. Similar to Class IV lift trucks, they are normally counterbalanced. Class VI forklifts are tow tractor lifts which are designed for a sit-down rider. This class is supplied with electric or IC or internal combustion engines.
Finally, Class VII forklifts are the perfect 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 personnel carriers.