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Talking to a forklift salesman can fill your head with unfamiliar Phrases. CM takes a look at the main types of lift, their application and who can supply them.
There you are in your office, things are going well: the fleet has grown from a
couple of trucks to a couple of dozen, you've moved to a bigger yard which has a warehouse and now you need a forklift truck. No problem. You pick up the phone and call a local supplier but it seems you've got a crossed line into an argument between a double glazing salesman and a used car dealer.
Some words are recognisable—kilowatts, capacity and gradeability—but others such as travel speed, lift rates and stack heights, you've never heard of let alone considered their relevance to your impending purchase. So, starting from the top, forklifts come in two basic forms— counterbalance or reach. They have three or four wheels and are powered by electricity or have diesel or gas-fed engines. Depending on what you want your forklift to do you will need a combination of these features and there are many other considerations.
For general loading of trucks the reach truck is a non-starter, they are designed for use in the narrow isles used in high-stack warehouses (there are a couple of exceptions such as the machines produced by Hamech). But in general you will probably need a counterbalance truck (where the engine/battery pack counterbalances the load on the forks).
Next to be considered is the weight of the pallets to be shifted. If there was ever a case of think of a number and double it, this is it. The temptation of attempting to lift a load heaver than the forklift's rated weight is irresistible. And while the lower rated forklift may be cheaper, if it is used to its limit continuously, running costs will be more than with a larger capacity machine.
Restricted
Unless an operation is restricted to picking pallets off the ground and putting them on to a truck, lift height capacity and lifting speeds are important. If you need to use the space in the warehouse by stacking goods, you need to be able to do it to a reasonable height and at a reasonable speed. Four metres is about the starting point for lift heights (easily enough to load a trailer) but over 7.5m is attainable even from some low-capacity machines.
Speeds measured in under 20km/h might not sound very exciting, but they must be given some consideration when purchasing a fork truck. If the loading operation means repeatedly traversing the yard the quicker it is done, the better.
Then there is the decision on the power source.
In theory diesel has lots of attractions for truck operators but give a lot of thought to the forklift's use.
If you want to drive into the truck's body to load it instead of doing it from the ground through the side, you may only be able to use electric. The choice may be similarly limited if you want to move food or work extensively inside the warehouse.
For both these gas may be a possibility but you couldn't use a diesel. There is now a growing trend for adding catalysts to the exhaust of 1C-engined forklifts Regardless of the power source, forklifts are usually rear-wheel driven (some do offer optional front-wheel drive). With electric powered ones this can be a single wheel which gives the advantage of a superior turning circle—often down to around 3m. Up to 1.8 tonnes lifting capability, threewheelers out-sell four-wheelers by two to one.
The shortcomings of battery-powered three-wheelers are usually gradeability and traction in the wet. These can be exacerbated by the harsh cutting in and out of the electric motor(s).
Electronic control is improving to minimise these problems and some manufacturers quote laden gradeability over 20% (1:5). Also electronic control has advanced to include a degree of diagnostics. Four-wheeled forktrucks (both battery powered and IC engined) have the advantage of twin driving wheels giving much better gradeability—nearing 40% (1:2.5). However, they lose out on turning circle.
Battery power doesn't lend itself to round the clock operation—some time is needed for recharging. But problems with range and battery durability are being overcome.
Regenerative braking is becoming standard and some battery producers are now
guaranteeing traction batteries for five years.
If you're loading outside then a diesel forklift should suffice; inside, gas or electric are more eco-friendly. Depending on the intensity of
use, some operators have found that the batteries require recharging only every 16 hours. For those who can manage to use battery-powered forklifts, the running costs are substantially lower than those of ICengined counterparts.
Other considerations on IC-engined vehicles is noise and pollution. Modern machines have reduced exhaust noise levels (some quote 72dB(A) at the driver's ear), but these must be maintained throughout its working life (which can be double that of the trucks they are loading). Emissions are being reduced, in some cases by the use of catalytic converters which are not renowned for their long life. And where IC engines are used they obviously have the added complication of a clutch or torque converter system.
Advantageous
There are operations where it can be advantageous to take the forklift in the truck to offload at the customer's premises. This not only reduces time waiting for the truck to be unloaded, but also increases customer service. Loading/unloading the forklift itself tales under a minute.
Adding a forklift to the back of the vehicle is perfectly legal and feasible, but you lose payload is lost. However, even if your vehicle is at maximum length, you can still add a forklift-it is not fixed and so is deemed as part of the load, not part of the vehicle. The one proviso is that if that the brackets must not protrude and take the vehicle over length. Bracketry does vary between systems.
The truck or trailer will also have to have connections from the tail, brake, indicators and numberplate lights wired to a multi-pin socket. Having mounted the forklift, all the connections are then made with a single plug.
Another consideration is that the company receiving the delivery may not allow your driver to operate on their premises unless he/she has a specific certificate (see training article, page 36).
Probably the best known of the piggyback forklifts is the Moffett Mounty In the case of Moffett's M2403, the payload penalty is 2,250kg, but it can lift 2,400kg. Overhangs range from around 1.0 to 1.5m.
In order to reduce the overhang Wilson's Hitchfork concertinas when not in use. The four-wheel drive machine's wheelbase extends from 0.65m to 2.25m. Weighing 1.55 tonnes it can lift two tonnes and extends 1.3m behind the rear of the vehicle.
The Kooi-App range includes a lightweight machine (990kg) capable of lifting 1.2 tonnes which overhangs by 975mm. All machines in the three-wheel range are offered with single or all-wheel drive.
C by Colin Sowman