Forklifts
In construction, material handling, warehousing and manufacturing operation, forklifts are commonly used to transport 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 types of forklifts, the forklift has a protected seat or cab for the operator. Fork trucks have features like cabs, and backup alarms and are additionally motorized. Some models of forklifts are counterbalanced in order to prevent the vehicle from turning over. Other models come outfitted with safety rails, or a rotating element such as a hand rail or a turntable.
The lift capacity and stroke are other specification which you should take into consideration when selecting a type of forklift. Lift capacity is defined as the maximum, supportable force or load. Stroke is defined as the difference between fully lowered and fully raised lift positions.
The type of tire and the type of fuel are also other vital specifications that should be considered. The available fuel choices are: natural gas, liquid propane or LP, compressed natural gas or CNG, electricity, gasoline, propane or diesel.
There are two basic types of tires utilized for forklifts and fork trucks: pneumatic and solid. The cushion or solid tires need less maintenance compared to pneumatic tires and do not easily puncture. Pneumatic or air-inflated tires offer great drive traction and load-cushioning. At the end of the day, solid or cushion tires provide less shock absorption.
Class VII forklifts are usually designed to be used on rough terrain. These types of machines are usually utilized in construction, agriculture and in logging environments. Lastly, Class VIII forklifts have all personnel and burden carriers. Dual Fuel forklifts often fit in this class.