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