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