Forklifts
In material handling, construction, manufacturing and warehousing applications, forklifts are usually used to transport and lift palletized loads. With manual-drive forklifts, the load or travel movement is either manually powered or walk-behind. Motorized drive forklifts have a motorized drive. In numerous kinds of forklifts, the forklift has a protected cab or seat for the driver. Fork trucks have features like for instance backup alarms, and cabs and are also motorized. Some types of forklifts are counterbalanced in order to prevent the vehicle from tipping over. Other models come equipped with safety rails, or a rotating element like a turntable or a hand rail.
Other factors which are essential to consider when choosing a forklift are the lift capacity and stroke. Lift capacity is defined as the supportable, maximum force or load. Stroke is defined as the difference between fully raised and fully lowered lift positions.
The type of tire and the type of fuel are also other key specifications which must be considered. The available fuel choices are: natural gas, LP or liquid propane, electricity, compressed natural gas or CNG, gasoline, propane or diesel.
For forklifts and fork trucks, there are two basic types of tires that could be used. They are: pneumatic and solid. The solid or cushion tires require less maintenance compared to pneumatic tires and do not puncture as easy. Air-inflated or pneumatic tires provide great drive traction and load-cushioning. At the end of the day, solid or cushion tires offer less shock absorption.
Generally used on rough terrain are Class VII forklifts. These types of machinery are normally used in construction, agriculture and in logging environments. Lastly, Class VIII forklifts include all personnel and burden carriers. Dual Fuel forklifts frequently fit in this class.