It's time to throw out preconceived notions about old battery technology, run and charging time, and the capabilities of electric powered lift trucks. Today, with zero emissions, electric powered lift trucks outsell engine powered models and represent the lowest overall cost of use (providing longer life cycles and lower costs to maintain vs. their engine powered counterparts) and are designed to operate indoor and outdoor on all types of surfaces, in adverse weather conditions, and handle up to 80,000 lbs.
As noted earlier, lift trucks are available with different types of tires. The tire type impacts the size and design of the lift truck and the surface area they can operate on. "Cushion" tires describe the smaller diameter tires that are primarily used inside or on smooth, flat surfaces and typically allow lift trucks to turn in tighter spaces. "Pneumatic" air filled tires (or pneumatic shaped solid) are larger diameter and are designed to operator outdoors or on dirt or semi-improved surfaces. Pneumatic tired lift trucks can also be configured with dual drive tires to increase the overall stance or width. Dual drive tires improve flotation and stability when handling long or wide loads. "Rough terrain" tires, often described as "tractor tires" are coupled both with 2 and 4WD models and allow lift trucks to operate on uneven or loosely packed surfaces. Spoiler alert, the tire types are not interchangeable so it's important to engage a Lift Truck Center Sales Professional to evaluate the surface areas to be traveled prior to making your purchase selection.
Automated Guided Vehicles are available to lift or tow products without operators and offer quick return on investment. There are also many specialized lift trucks that are designed for a narrower band of handling applications such as die change, and roll and coil handling. Specialized lift trucks are often equipped with hydraulic attachments that are unique to the product being handled. Examples of attachments include Paper Roll or Tire Clamps.
Large capacity or sideloading lift trucks are designed to handle awkward sized and heavy loads up to 125,000 lbs. Most lift trucks can be ordered with special Underwriters' Laboratory (UL) ratings (i.e. LPS, EE, DS, EX) to meet the requirements dictated by your insurer. Explosion Proof EX Rated tractors and lift trucks are available in capacities up to 12,000 lbs. and designed to operate as pallet, platform, straddle, reach, or counterbalanced riders.
Electric powered narrow aisle models that typically operate in aisles widths of around 9', and very narrow aisle models with turret masts or articulated frames that operate in aisle widths as narrow as 56" also fall in to the Specialized category. The narrow/very narrow aisle lift truck models allow downsizing of traditional 12'+ aisles and provided additional pallet positions without the need to expand the size of your existing building.
Lift Truck Center Equipment Sales Professionals are available for a no charge/no commitment site visit to review your needs and offer consultative solutions.
- Electric & Engine Powered Sideloaders
- Automated Guided Vehicles
- Narrow and Very Narrow Aisle Lift Trucks
- Truck Mounted Lift Trucks for On Site Deliveries
- Telehandler and Rough Terrain Lift Trucks
- Explosion Proof Lift Trucks
- Large Capacity Lift Trucks up to 125,000 lbs.
- Boat Handling Lift Trucks
- Straddle Carriers
- Container Handling
- Low, Mid and High Level Order Pickers
- Paper Roll Handling
- Multiple Pallet Handling Solutions
- Special Conditioning for Foundry and Freezer Environments
- Rigging and Equipment Moving
- Cold Storage and Freezer Conditioned
