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Forklifts Overview

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Forklifts come in a variety of styles and sizes. Pallet trucks look like fork lifts in the way that they carry their loads, but they are often hand- powered or controlled by an individual walking behind them. They simply transport loads from one place to the other, without lifting or lowering the frame that carries the load. A rider pallet truck enables the operator to stand on the motorized equipment (as opposed to sit or walk) as loads are transported. Stackers look similar to pallet trucks in that the operator walks behind the motorized equipment, but the frame of the lift does maneuver up and down to “stack” materials, as the name suggests. Stockpilers enable an operator to be lifted up varying heights along with the pallet in order to place or remove stock from warehouse settings. Sit down counterbalanced trucks is what one usually thinks of when he or she hears the word “forklift.” These handy machines can carry loads from 3,000 pounds to 8,000 pounds. There are some heavy duty models that can handle even larger loads. Stand up counterbalanced trucks function the same way as sit down ones, except for the obvious fact that the operator stands up! Other variations on these types of trucks are made for very narrow settings. One is called a reach truck which has a frame that lifts up and down to transport boxes in narrow settings. A slightly different variation allows the operator to be lifted up and down in order to stack or retrieve items in a warehouse setting. Forklifts can be powered by batteries or they can operate off of gasoline, propane or diesel fuels. Fuel- operated ones can be equipped with four cylinders up to eight cylinder engines. Safety and ergonomics are important considerations in the design and manufacturing of newer models of forklifts.

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