Forklifts are used in warehousing, manufacturing, material handling, construction and mining applications to raise, engage and transport palletized loads. Lift trucks have 3 basic kinds: a fork truck, manual drive and motorized drive. The load movement or travel is powered manually or by walking behind the equipment with manual-drive forklifts.
Motorized-drive model lift trucks are equipped with a motorized drive. In a lot of instances, a protected cab or seat is part of the design to keep the operator safe and comfortable. Fork trucks are a different kind that are motorized and comprise features such as backup alarms and cabs. In order to prevent the equipment from tipping over, several forklifts are counterbalanced. Other types of forklifts consist of safety rails, a rotating element like for instance a turntable or different kinds of hand rails.
Essential specifications to take into consideration when selecting lift trucks consist of lift capacity and stroke. Stroke is defined as the difference between the fully-raised and the fully-lowered lift positions. Lift capacity is the maximum, supportable load or forcforce or load. Additional specifications for forklifts consist of their fuel type and tire.
Forklifts include various fuel options like: liquid propane or LPG, CNG or compressed natural gas, diesel fuel, propane, gasoline and natural gas. There are 2 basic types of tires used for operating forklifts and fork trucks: solid and pneumatic. Solid or cushion tires do not puncture and require less maintenance compared to pneumatic tires. The solid or cushion tires do offer less shock absorption overall. Air-inflated or pneumatic tires however offer excellent load-cushioning and drive traction.
For forklifts, there are 7 classes. Class 1 forklifts include electric-motor rider trucks, stand-up or seated 3 wheeled units. Normally, rider units could have either cushion or pneumatic wheels and are counterbalanced. Class II forklifts are electric motor units that are used for order picking or stock applications in narrow aisle environments. These kinds of forklifts provide extra reach functions or swing mast.
Forklift Class III lift trucks consist of standing-rider or walk-behind operated electric-motor trucks. High lift models and automated pallet lift trucks are often counterbalanced units. Class IV forklifts have cabs and seated controls. These kinds of forklifts are rider fork trucks with IC or internal combustion engines. Furthermore, this class utilizes solid or cushion tires.
Rider fork Trucks are incorporated in Class V. These machinery would have seated controls and cabs, pneumatic tires and internal combustion or IC engines. Similar to Class IV forklifts, they are normally counterbalanced. Class VI lift trucks are tow tractor lifts which are designed for a sit-down rider. This class is supplied with IC or internal combustion or electric engines.
Class VII lift trucks are the last classification and consist of rough terrain lift trucks, that are normally utilized in logging, agricultural and construction applications. Class VII forklifts consist of all employee carriers and burden carriers.