Forklifts
Forklifts are utilized to transfer, lift and engage palletized loads in material handling, construction, manufacturing and warehousing applications. With manual-drive forklifts, the travel or load movement is either powered manually or walk-behind. Motorized drive forklifts have a motorized drive. In various kinds of forklifts, the forklift has a protected seat or cab for the operator. Fork trucks have features like for example backup alarms, and cabs and are additionally motorized. Some kinds of forklifts are counterbalanced so as to prevent the vehicle from tipping over. Other models come equipped with safety rails, or a rotating element such as a turntable or a hand rail.
Other specifications that are important to consider when selecting a forklift include the stroke and lift capacity. Lift capacity is defined as the supportable, maximum load or force. Stroke is defined as the difference between fully raised and fully lowered lift positions.
Several of the other vital specifications for the forklift include tire type and fuel type. The fuel choices available include: natural gas, liquid propane or LP, compressed natural gas or CNG, electricity, diesel, gasoline or propane.
There are two basic kinds of tires for forklifts and fork trucks: solid and pneumatic. The cushion or solid tires require less maintenance than pneumatic tires and do not easily puncture. Air-inflated or pneumatic tires provide 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 utilized on rough terrain. These kinds of machinery are often used in agriculture, construction and in logging environments. Lastly, Class VIII forklifts have all personnel and burden carriers. Dual Fuel forklifts typically fit in this class.