Know Your Trucks

1. Know Your Trucks Have you ever seen a forklift? If not then let me give you a small example, do you remember Trix from Bob the Builder? She used to help J.J. and Bob in projects by lifting heavy stuff and moving them from place to place. If not necessarily bright violet-like Trix, but forklifts are essential commercial commodities that are used to carry heavy loads from one place to another or stack hefty piles on top of each other or top of shelves. Some people know what a forklift truck is but think there is only one forklift that does all kinds of work and to them I say, please read this article for your mind is about to be blown. There are several different kinds of forklift trucks, each having its functionality and if you are thinking of buying one or learning to drive one then you must know which one will suit you the best. Knowing the difference between each will make all the difference. \ First comes the warehouse forklift, which is the most recognizable, you must have seen them in many movies and TV shows. It resembles a golf cart and has two forks leading the charge in front. Two types of warehouse forklifts are side-loader forklift and counterbalance forklift, and

2. they are best suited in large warehouses and factories where a great deal of loading and unloading takes place. While both are suitable for lifting hefty loads in places like service centres or manufacturing units, what’s different is that the side loader operates in a sideways motion which allows loading/unloading without turning the entire vehicle, especially in a narrow aisle. Whereas counterbalance forklifts, as the name suggests, have two forks in the front and a weight in the back to balance the weight of the load, the forks go right under the load and pick it up with ease. Reach Forklifts are also used in warehouses but are superior to other warehouse forklifts as their forks can reach the topmost racks easily, it also has an open compartment for the operator which provides better visibility of the area and avoid accidents. Next comes the telehandler forklift, if a crane and a forklift had a child it would be this forklift truck. It has forks in the front to lift loads off the ground and an extended arm on top to carry loads to higher grounds. They are useful at construction sites to carry loads to and from tight angles and odd spaces. Next in line of succession is the industrial forklift which is one step above warehouse forklifts and one step below reach trucks. It means that they can lift loads higher than warehouse forklifts but not as high as the reach trucks, but can handle weights much bigger than warehouse forklifts. If forklifts were to be compared with Hollywood actors then rough terrain forklifts would be the Sylvester Stallone of forklifts due to their ability to operate outdoors on difficult and rocky grounds. Their oversized and threaded tires provide steady balance to safely transport heavy piles at places like construction sites. On the other hand, the pallet jack is the complete opposite of the above-mentioned forklifts. It’s can neither carry heavy loads nor can it reach top racks, but due to its small size, it can reach the tightest and challenging spaces to lift or place payloads. Lastly comes the walkie stacker, if the pallet jack is Steve Rogers (before the injection) then the walkie stacker is Captain America. They are a taller version and reach higher levels than pallet trucks. Also, they don’t have compartments for operators, instead, the operator walks behind and steers it using a handle. A type of walkie stackers is called order pickers which lift operators instead of loads to higher racks to help them carry a single load at a time and due to this feature they are ideal for storage facilities. They can carry a wide range of weights like auto parts, furniture, and machinery parts. Now that one knows which forklifts are best suited for which work, it will become much easier for them to deduce which one is best suited for their operations. Once you know that then work becomes play and investments become profit. For more information on forklift trucks visit RS Forklift Training Centres in Birmingham and West Midlands or find us on Google by typing “forklift training centre near me.”