Forklifts are used to lift, engage and transfer palletized loads within manufacturing, warehousing, material handling, mining and construction applications. There are 3 main types of forklifts: a motorized drive, fork truck and manual drive. The load movement or travel is powered manually or by walking behind the machinery with manual-drive lift trucks.
The motorized forklift models come complete with a motorized drive and in a lot of cases have a protected cab or seat in their design to keep the operator safe and comfortable. Fork trucks are another type which are motorized and comprise features like cabs and backup alarms. In order to prevent the vehicle from tipping over, some forklifts are counterbalanced. Other models comprise safety rails, a rotating element like for instance a turntable or different types of hand rails.
When choosing lift trucks, essential specifications to take into account comprise lift capacity and stroke. Stroke is defined as the difference between the fully-lowered and the fully-raised lift positions. Lift capacity is the supportable, maximum load or forcforce or load. Other specifications for forklifts comprise their fuel type and tire.
Forklifts include different fuel options such as: liquid propane or LPG, CNG or compressed natural gas, diesel fuel, propane, natural gas and gasoline. There are 2 major kinds of tires for operating forklifts and fork trucks: solid and pneumatic. Cushion or solid tires do not puncture and need less maintenance than pneumatic tires. The solid or cushion tires do offer less shock absorption in general. Air-inflated or pneumatic tires however offer great drive traction and load-cushioning.
For lift trucks, there are 7 classes. Class 1 lift trucks incorporate electric-motor rider trucks, stand-up or seated 3 wheeled units. Normally, rider units are counterbalanced and could have either pneumatic or cushion wheels. Class II lift trucks are electric motor units which are utilized for order picking or stock applications in narrow aisle environments. These models offer extra swing mast or reach functions.
Class III lift trucks are either standing-rider or walk-behind operated electric-motor trucks. High lift models and automated pallet lift trucks are often counterbalanced units. Class IV forklifts have cabs and seated controls. These types of forklifts are rider fork trucks with IC or internal combustion engines. Moreover, this class has cushion or solid tires.
Class V forklifts are rider fork trucks. They have seated controls and cabs, pneumatic tires and IC or internal combustion engines. Similar to Class IV lift trucks, they are normally counterbalanced. Class VI forklifts are tow tractor lifts which are designed for a sit-down rider. This class is supplied with internal combustion or IC or electric engines.
Class VII lift trucks are the last classification and include rough terrain lift trucks, that are normally used in construction, logging and agricultural applications. Class VII lift trucks include all employee carriers and burden carriers.