Forklifts
In material handling, construction, manufacturing and warehousing operation, forklifts are commonly utilized to transport and raise palletized loads. With manual-drive forklifts, the travel or load movement is either manually powered or walk-behind. Motorized drive forklifts have a motorized drive. In many types of forklifts, the forklift has a protected seat or cab for the operator. Fork trucks include features like for example cabs, and backup alarms and are additionally motorized. Various models of forklifts are counterbalanced so as to prevent the vehicle from tipping over. Other types of forklifts come equipped with safety rails, or a rotating element like for example a hand rail or a turntable.
Other specifications which are vital to think about when selecting a forklift are the stroke and lift capacity. Lift capacity is defined as the supportable, maximum force or load. Stroke is defined as the difference between completely raised and fully lowered lift positions.
The type of tire and the type of fuel are also other vital specifications which should be considered. The fuel choices available include: liquid propane or LP, natural gas, electricity, CNG or compressed natural gas, gasoline, propane or diesel.
There are two basic types of tires for fork trucks and forklifts: solid and pneumatic. The cushion or solid tires need less maintenance than pneumatic tires and do not puncture easily. Air-inflated or pneumatic tires provide load cushioning and great drive traction. At the end of the day, solid or cushion tires offer less shock absorption.
Class VII forklifts are generally designed to be utilized on rough terrain. These kinds of machines are normally used in agriculture, construction and in logging environments. Lastly, Class VIII forklifts include all personnel and burden carriers. Dual Fuel forklifts frequently fit in this class.