Forklifts
In material handling, construction, warehousing and manufacturing operation, forklifts are commonly used to transport and lift palletized loads. With manual-drive forklifts, the load or travel movement is either manually powered or walk-behind. Motorized drive forklifts have a motorized drive. In various models, the forklift has a protected cab or seat for the driver. Fork trucks have features like for instance cabs, and backup alarms and are additionally motorized. Several types of forklifts are counterbalanced so as to prevent the vehicle from turning over. Other kinds of forklifts come outfitted with safety rails, or a rotating element like a turntable or a hand rail.
Other factors which are important to think about when selecting a forklift are 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.
The type of fuel and the type of tire are also other key specifications that should be considered. The fuel choices available include: liquid propane or LP, natural gas, compressed natural gas or CNG, electricity, diesel, gasoline or propane.
There are two basic types of tires used for fork trucks and forklifts: 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, cushion or solid tires offer less shock absorption.
Class VII forklifts are normally designed to be utilized on rough terrain. These machines are often utilized in agriculture, construction and in logging environments. Lastly, Class VIII forklifts have all burden and personnel carriers. Dual Fuel lift trucks often fit in this class.