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United Lift Truck understands that buying a forklift is a big investment. You need to make sure you find one that handles your requirements without spending more than you need to. This guide's purpose is to explain the major choices you have to make and walk you through the questions you should answer before you start shopping for a forklift. The answers to these questions will help you determine exactly what kind of forklift truck(s) you need.
Here are some questions you should answer before you start comparison-shopping:
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Usage
The rule of thumb is that if you plan to use your forklift for more than 4 hours per day, you may benefit from investing in new equipment. This is because this type of usage tends to indicate that the forklift is a major part of your operation and any downtime would be extremely costly. United Lift Truck offers both new and used equipment. This website is dedicated solely to the sales of our reconditioned used inventory. For more information on new equipment, please visit our other website: www.unitedlifttruck.com.
If you plan to use your forklift less than 4 hours per day, you can really save money on your initial investment by purchasing used. For peace of mind and confidence in your purchase, please note that all equipment sold on this website has been reconditioned. Most of this equipment is derived from used lift trucks returning from a lease or retired rental equipment. In either case, we recondition our trucks with a new paint job, new tires, a thorough engine tune-up, and any other mechanical repairs that need to be made. To see more about our reconditioning process, please visit our reconditioning page.
Capacity
Forklift trucks are rated according to how much weight they can lift, starting at around 3,000lbs and going beyond 35,000lbs with 3,000lb, 5,000lb, and 8,000lb models being the most common.
The size of your typical load will affect the capacity you need. Forklift capacity is usually based on a 24-inch load center, which means that the distance from the center of gravity to the sides of the load is 24 inches. Another way to look at this is that a forklift can only lift its maximum weight if the load is a four-foot cube. If your loads are unusually long or high, the forklift won't be able to safely lift as much weight. That's why knowing the typical dimensions and weight of your loads is so critical.
If you constantly produce identical pallets of products, you know exactly what capacity you need. For those who deal with a more mixed environment, or one where the load size changes over time, you may want to buy a truck with more capacity than you currently need to make sure it gets the job done now, and in the future.
Height
Now that you've answered how MUCH you need to lift, now you need to answer how HIGH you need to lift. If your primary use for the forklift is loading and unloading trucks, you may not need much height at all. Whereas, if your warehouse has shelves 20' high, that is a pretty clear indicator of the reach your lift will need. Unlike load capacity, your height needs are unlikely to change over time unless you undergo new construction or major renovations. All in all, it is suggested to buy for the height you need now.
Forklift Fuel Choices
The two main choices for powering your forklift are electric - powered solely by an on-board battery - or internal combustion (IC), which uses a traditional engine that runs on one of several types of fuel. More on the different IC fuel types in a moment. First, let's return to electric units.
Electric Forklifts
Large, heavy lead-acid batteries power electric forklifts - the same kind found in your car, but considerably bigger and more powerful. The batteries typically provide enough power for one standard eight-hour shift, which translates into 5 or 6 hours of constant usage.
There are two primary advantages to electric-powered forklifts. One is that they produce zero emissions - if you are going to using your forklift indoors, this is a very important consideration. Of the internal combustion models, only propane-fueled units are usually used indoors, and they require good ventilation. Gas and diesel-powered models are usually not used inside at all.
The other big advantage to an electric truck is the low fuel cost, which gives them a lower cost per hour than an IC forklift. Their quieter operation and lack of fuel storage requirements are a big plus as well. The biggest disadvantages of electric forklifts are higher initial cost and battery downtime. Charging a forklift battery takes 8 hours or more, plus eight hours of cooling time before it should be used. Due to this slow charging speed, if you need forklifts for 2-3 shift operations, you will have to buy extra batteries so you can always charge the next one.
Electric units also require you to establish a charging station. The chargers should be housed in a dry, ventilated, and temperature-controlled location. If you have multiple batteries, you will also need special cranes to change the batteries. A final note about electric forklifts is that they are not suited for outdoor use - while you can use them on a well-paved parking lot, they cannot be used in inclement weather due to their unprotected electrical components.
Internal Combustion
These engines run on a variety of fuels including gasoline, diesel, and liquid propane gas (LPG). The primary benefit of internal combustion (IC) forklifts is their ability to be refueled in no-time: simply fill it up at a gas pump or load a new LPG tank on and your forklift is ready to continue working. Opposite to the electric trucks, IC forklifts are usually less expensive up front but have a higher cost per hour.
Fuel costs are generally the highest for gasoline forklifts and lowest for diesel, with LPG meeting somewhere in the middle. Fuel costs vary considerably from state to state so you should have a look at your local area before deciding.
To refuel these internal combustion units, you may have a significant extra expense for refueling equipment. Gasoline and diesel fuel require you to have storage tanks and pumps. Whereas, LPG only requires space for spare tank storage which is usually managed by a propane vendor. The choices between these fuels types are often decided by matching them to existing vehicles and equipment.
A final note on the choice between electric and internal combustion. If you need a high capacity forklift, you may be need an internal combustion unit. This is because the capacities of most electric forklifts only reach 12,000-15,000lbs. That's with the exception of special application lifts such as a marina forklift, which has a capacity of up to 52,000lbs.
Lift truck size
Especially when working indoors, size is a concern. Standard lift trucks need aisles that are 11 foot wide or larger to be able to operate and turn around. For aisles that are 8-10 foot wide, you will need a narrow aisle forklift. For aisles down to six foot wide, you will need a very narrow aisle forklift. The very narrow aisle forklift design has forks that are capable of turning at a right angle, so the forklift can drive straight down the aisle but pickup loads at its sides.
Options
Safety Features
Backup alarms, flashing strobe lights, headlights, and other safety features should be considered. While you are the best person to decide what you'll need, you should also be sure to abide by OSHA regulations.
Ergonomics
What may seem like an amenity to you makes all the difference for your operator who will drive the machine every day. Operator comfort will result in more productivity for you and your company. Lucky for you, Hyster leads the way in ergonomic innovations. In fact,
"Hyster Company knows what it takes to have man and machine function as one, comfortably. We've carefully analyzed the subtleties of operator comfort and productivity, creating integrated operator compartments to optimize their comfort, visibility and control. Everything your operators need to see, reach and grasp are precisely where they expect them. Our operator compartments are so intuitive your operators can execute functions without taking their eyes off the aisles ahead. No other lift truck manufacturer understands the role of ergonomics more than your productivity experts at Hyster Company".
Attachments
You can tailor your lift truck to better handle specific types of material: picking up rolls of cable or steel, tongs for 55 gallon drums, flat panels for lifting material that aren't on pallets, rolls of paper, and more. Most attachments are standardized so they can be used on any forklift so you may be able to buy one attachment and use it with any of your lift trucks. However, when purchasing a lift truck, you must be mindful of the number of hydraulic functions the machine is equipped with. Most forklifts are equipped with at least two functions: one to move the forks up/down and one to tilt the mast forward/back. Any additional functions are intended to expand the trucks repertoire. In most cases, the 3rd function will be used for side shift, which allows the forks to move hydraulically from side to side (in unison) without moving the forklift. This allows more precise placement of loads. In most cases, if you are installing an attachment, you will want a lift truck with four hydraulic functions; commonly called a 4-way valve or 4-way hydraulics.
If you have any questions on our reconditioning process, please feel free to contact us.
Information in this article was adapted from BuyerZone.
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