Even after the rise and explosion of telehandlers on the material handling business, rough terrain lift trucks and vertical mast forklifts could be found picking up and transporting various products and materials on jobsites all over the globe. There have been many other standard lift trucks which lost market share to telehandlers. This occurred especially when the challenger broke onto the construction scene. Ever since that time, sales numbers have become stable. Vertical-mast lift trucks have re-emerged and seem to be becoming more popular again because of their greater productivity, alteration of some telehandler-like features and low cost.
Straight-mast machinery will finish twice the job which a telehandler would do due to their maneuverability and ground speed. Interestingly enough, rental companies are starting to charge higher rates on straight-mast units.
Rental purchasers are having major influence within the rough-terrain forklift industry. More than 50 percent of all vertical-mast forklifts are now being sold to a rental yard. These purchases are usually driven mostly by use, that is a factor closely followed by purchase price.
The telehandler has become an extremely common equipment within the material handling business. Their popularity has given them a super advantage in terms of rental use. Their overall expansion has been moderated by their higher price. There is some lift truck users who feel that telehandlers are not nearly as productive compared to traditional rough-terrain forklifts for unloading and loading repetitive jobs. This means that even though competition amongst telehandler marketers has lowered their prices, a lot prefer the RT lift trucks that have been working well for decades.
The telehandler is a bit slower machine in comparison to a rough terrain lift truck unit. They are also ganglier to utilize and needs a higher level of skill to complete the job. On the upside, they get the reach if they require it. There would always be a place within the industry for lift trucks however, because there are places which you would not be able to access with a telehandler.
Rough terrain forklifts are usually compact equipment, smaller but more able to lift a heavier cargo vertically compared to the telehandler. Basically, so as to use the best machine for your application, you should determine what tasks precisely you would be completing, the kind of circumstances and environment you would be operating in and what your load capacity is. These factors would help you decide what the best options available are.