Even after the rise and explosion of telehandlers on the material handling industry, rough terrain lift trucks and vertical mast forklifts could be found picking up and transporting various items and supplies on jobsites all around the world. There have been numerous other conventional lift trucks that lost market share to telehandlers. This happened particularly when the competition broke onto the construction scene. Ever since that time, sales numbers have become stable. Vertical-mast lift trucks have re-surfaced and seem to be becoming more popular once more due to their greater production, modification of some telehandler-like features and low cost.
The straight mast lift truck can finish two times the work as a telehandler because of their excellent maneuverability and handling in combination with their better ground speed. Interestingly enough, rental outfits are beginning to charge higher rates on straight-mast units.
Within the rough-terrain lift truck industry, rental buyers have been having a greater influence. More than 50 percent of all vertical-mast lift trucks are currently being sold to a rental yard. These purchases are generally driven mostly by use, which is a factor closely followed by acquisition price.
The telehandler has become a very popular machine within the material handling business. Their popularity has given them a better advantage when it comes to rental utilization. Their overall expansion has been moderated by their higher price. There is several forklift users who feel that telehandlers are not practically as helpful as opposed to traditional rough-terrain forklifts for unloading and loading repetitive tasks. This means that although competition among telehandler marketers has lowered their prices, many prefer the RT lift trucks that have been performing well for decades.
The telehandler is a bit slower machinery in comparison to a rough terrain lift truck unit. They are also ganglier to operate and needs a higher level of skillfulness to finish the task. On the upside, they get the reach if they need it. There would always be a place within the industry for lift trucks however, as there are locations which you would not be able to access with a telehandler.
The rough-terrain forklift is compact, small and able to lift a heavier load vertically compared to the telehandler. Essentially, in order to use the right equipment for your application, you should determine what jobs exactly you would be accomplishing, the type of setting and conditions you would be operating in and what your load capacity is. All these factors would help you choose what the best options available are.