Lift trucks are utilized to raise, engage and transfer palletized loads in manufacturing, warehousing, material handling, construction and mining applications. There are 3 basic kinds of lift trucks: a manual drive, motorized drive and fork truck. The load movement or travel is powered manually or by walking behind the machinery with manual-drive lift trucks.
The motorized forklift models come complete with a motorized drive and in many cases have a protected cab or seat in their design in order to keep the operator comfortable and safe. Fork trucks are another type which are motorized and consist of features like for instance backup alarms and cabs. In order to prevent the vehicle from overturning, some forklifts are counterbalanced. Other kinds of forklifts consist of safety rails, a rotating element like for example a turntable or other types of hand rails.
Important specifications to take into account when choosing lift trucks comprise stroke and lift capacity. Stroke is defined as the difference between the fully-lowered and the fully-raised lift positions. Lift capacity is the maximum, supportable load or forcforce or load. Other specifications for forklifts consist of their tire and fuel type.
Forklifts consist of different fuel options like: liquid propane or LPG, compressed natural gas or CNG, diesel fuel, propane, gasoline and natural gas. There are 2 basic kinds of tires for operating forklifts and fork trucks: solid and pneumatic. Solid or cushion tires require less maintenance than pneumatic tires and do not puncture. The solid or cushion tires do provide less shock absorption in general. Pneumatic or air-inflated tires on the other hand provide great load-cushioning and drive traction.
There are 7 classes of forklifts. The first class of lift trucks, Class I, is either seated or stand-up 3 wheeled units that are electric-motor rider trucks. Usually, rider units are counterbalanced and may have either cushion or pneumatic wheels. Class II lift trucks are electric motor units which are utilized for stock applications or order picking in narrow aisle setting. These kinds of forklifts offer extra swing mast or reach functions.
Forklift Class III lift trucks include walk-behind or standing-rider operated electric-motor trucks. Automated pallet lift trucks and high lift models are often counterbalanced units. Class IV forklifts have seated controls and cabs. These models are rider fork trucks with internal combustion or IC engines. Furthermore, this class uses solid or cushion tires.
Class V lift trucks are rider fork trucks. They have seated controls and cabs, pneumatic tires and IC or internal combustion engines. Like Class IV forklifts, they are typically counterbalanced. Class VI lift trucks are tow tractor lifts which are designed for a sit-down rider. This particular class is supplied with electric or internal combustion or IC engines.
Finally, Class VII forklifts are the ideal option for use on rough terrain areas. They are a common feature in agricultural, construction and logging applications. Class VII lift trucks include all personnel carriers and burden carriers.