Buying Tips
There are actually a lot of factors to take into consideration when purchasing a forklift. Choosing the best equipment can have a huge impact on everything from productivity to operating expenses, to machine downtime and employee morale.
When you are thinking of choosing a new or used lift truck, the following is a brief list of things to take into account. There are actually some particular questions the sales consultant must deal with in order to help you pick the best alternative that is right for your business.
Step 1: Identify Your Needs
Making the time to identify your requirements will help ensure that you can find a capable machine. What size are your average loads? Are they 3,000 pounds to 35,000 pounds or even heavier? How many hours each day would you be utilizing this machinery? Will you be running the machine indoors or outdoors or potentially both? How wide are your narrowest aisles to travel through? Answering these questions correctly would make certain that you are happy with the model you select.
Step2: New Vs. Second-hand Lift Trucks
If you are planning to use your forklift more than 4 hours a day, you would probably want to buy a new model. The warranty benefits alone will come in handy. A used choice will probably be enough for light duty and infrequent applications.
Step 3: Fuel Options
The big electric lift truck batteries will allow the forklift to run for roughly 8 hours. These particular power sources make forklifts uniquely suited for indoor application as they generate no harmful emissions. Though electric units are usually more expensive than different other kinds of forklifts, they have less operating costs. Electric lift trucks are a lot quieter to run and do not have fuel storage needs to take into account. Moreover, these machines have less moving components so they have a longer life span because they have fewer parts to get worn down.
One of the downsides of the battery operated forklifts is that they need battery recharging stations and this can take about 8 hours. There is an additional 8 hours required for cooling. Recent innovations have made their way onto the market so as to considerably reduce charging time. The fast-charge technology has become a great new thing.
Step 4: Tire Choice
Lift Trucks are outfitted with either pneumatic or air-filled, inflated tires or cushion tires which are made up of solid rubber. There are also solid pneumatic tires that are a combination of the two. The pneumatic tire kind is perfect to be used outdoors. Cushion tires are perfect for indoor applications and solid pneumatic tires are the best option for dangerous work environments where there is a possibility for regular tires being popped by sharp objects on rough terrain.