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Needing a Lift?
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With the latest news on all the players in the sector and specifications of their principal models, don't buy a truckmounted forklift without reading this first.
Words: Colin Barnett The humble truck-mounted forklift (TMFL) is a familiar sight on British roads, with the UK said to be the third largest market in the world at 600 units per year. Here we assess the current offerings from Moffett, Palfinger Crayler, Manitou and LoadMac. • "Moffett 1111W011111.11
Now part of the Finnish Cargotec Corporation, Moffett shares family links with such well-known products as Hiab, Jonsered, Kalmar, Multilift and Zepro, but many UK operators will still think of it as Irish. It's the clear leader in the UK market, with a 70% share.
Although the Moffett range runs to some 650 derivatives, decoding is relatively easy The first bit, normally Ml, 4, 5, 8 or 9, is the model name, and the second part refers to the capacity and number of driven wheels. For example 20.3 means 2,000kg and three-wheel drive. Where the last digit is 4, this indicates multi-directional travel, ie sideways.
The M1 is the smallest in the range, suitable for vehicles above 7,000kg GVW, and offers single or three-wheel drive. The next and newest model, the M4, is suited to trucks from 11,000kg, and adds the option of multi-direction steering.
Moffett's mainstay is the M5, featuring a vast array of options. Among these is Load Assist, which uses a pair of independent-pressure arms to transfer weight against the side raves, increasing lift capacity for loads on the far side of the loadbed. One-side loading is made possible by the Pantograph and Reachfork options. The M8 offers similar options but in a heavier-duty configuration. Moffett claims it can operate in water and mud up to 1,300mm deep.
Created as a specialist machine for poultry transport, the M9 has since found favour with a wider audience; each new Apache helicopter is supplied with its own M9 for ground support. Moffett recently launched the Groundmount, with a radio-control add-on that enables the operator to carry out mounting and dismounting while standing alongside the machine.
Manitou
French manufacturer Manitou's Man itransit range can claim the smallest machine in our round-up, the TMD12 which manages to lift 1,200kg despite an unladen weight of just 825kg. It is also the only machine with an overhang of less than a metre.
Apart from this lightweight mast machine, Manitou specialises in a range of telescopic handlers with ratings of 2000, and 2,500kg. The heavier-rated models get 50hp of Perkins power.
All are three-wheel drive, with a mixture of semi-industrial and roughterrain configurations. The TMT 2525 is a specialist machine for the poultry transport sector.
Palfinger Crayler
The Palfinger group is probably best known to UK operators for its truck-mounted cranes, but the Austrian company has been making TMFLs for more than a decade under the Crayler brand. The UK business has been handled since 2003 by Bill Bennett Engineering of Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire. Despite the much heralded radio-controlled Crayler BM, which has steadfastly avoided buyers, by our calculations the brand currently holds second place in the UK charts. From 1 September, Palfinger will offer a three-year warranty for its forklifts on all major steel components.
The range consists of two main product lines: the compact, lightweight F3 models and the heavier-duty CR line. It goes from lightweight 1,500kg machines up to the tough off-road 2,500kg CR 253 HD with 65hp on tap. The newest Crayler product is the F3 253 4-Way forklift with scissor reach, which provides a high level of flexibility while maintaining a lifting capacity of 2.5 tonnes.
Load Mae
The latest entrant to the TMFL market, Loadmac, arrived at the beginning of 2006. It was set up by five ex-Moffett employees, under the leadership of Mark Hignett.
There are three basic machines within the range. The core product is the C-Series, a compact machine offering capacities from 1,500 to 3,000kg, with 26-45hp power outputs. The T-Series is a larger, general-purpose machine, while the 45hp, 2,500 or 3,000kg R-Series is designed for rough-terrain operation. All feature three-wheel drive, with some key models having multi-directional options.
Although its machines are built in France, Loadmac designs them specifically for the UK and Irish markets. On orders placed from 1 September, Loadmac will be providing a three-year, full endto-end warranty and the first three annual services on all of its machines.