Forklifts are utilized in warehousing, manufacturing, material handling, construction and mining applications to lift, engage and transport palletized loads. Lift trucks have 3 basic kinds: a motorized drive, fork truck and manual drive. The travel or load movement is powered manually or by walking behind the machinery with manual-drive forklifts.
The motorized forklift models come complete with a motorized drive and in lots of cases have a seat or protected cab in their design to keep the operator comfortable and safe. Fork trucks are a different kind which are motorized and include features like for example backup alarms and cabs. In order to prevent the equipment from overturning, some lift trucks are counterbalanced. Other models include safety rails, a rotating element like for instance a turntable or different kinds of hand rails.
Essential specifications to take into account when selecting forklifts consist of stroke and lift capacity. Stroke is defined as the difference between the fully-raised and the fully-lowered lift positions. Lift capacity is the supportable, maximum load or forcforce or load. Other specifications for lift trucks comprise their type of fuel and tire.
Different fuel options for forklifts consist of: liquid propane or LPG, CNG or compressed natural gas, propane, diesel fuel, gasoline and natural gas. There are 2 major types of tires for operating fork trucks and forklifts: solid and pneumatic. Solid or cushion tires need less maintenance compared to pneumatic tires and do not puncture. The cushion or solid tires do offer less shock absorption in general. Pneumatic or air-inflated tires however offer great drive traction and load-cushioning.
For lift trucks, there are 7 classes. Class 1 forklifts include electric-motor rider trucks, stand-up or seated 3 wheeled units. Usually, rider units are counterbalanced and may have either cushion or pneumatic wheels. Class II forklifts are electric motor units which are used for stock applications or order picking in narrow aisle environments. These models 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 normally counterbalanced units. Class IV lift trucks have cabs and seated controls. These models are rider fork trucks with IC or internal combustion engines. Moreover, this class utilizes cushion or solid tires.
Class V forklifts are rider fork trucks. They have seated controls and cabs, pneumatic tires and internal combustion or IC engines. Similar to Class IV forklifts, they are normally counterbalanced. Class VI lift trucks are tow tractor lifts that are designed for a sit-down rider. This particular class is supplied with IC or internal combustion or electric engines.
Class VII forklifts are the last classification and consist of rough terrain lift trucks, that are commonly used in agricultural, construction and logging applications. Class VII forklifts consist of all burden carriers and employee carriers.