Buying Tips
When buying a forklift, there are numerous things to take into consideration since this decision may impact a lot of things such as productivity, operating costs, machine downtime, and even worker morale.
When you are thinking of choosing a brand new or used lift truck, the following is a brief list of things to take into consideration. There can be several particular questions the sales consultant needs to deal with to be able to help you select the best option which is right for your business.
Step 1: Identify Your Needs
Making the time to identify your requirements would help ensure that you could find a capable machinery. 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 possibly both? How wide are your narrowest aisles to travel through? Answering these questions correctly will make sure that you are satisfied with the model you pick.
Step2: Used Vs. Brand new Lift Trucks
If you are intending to utilize your lift truck more than 4 hours per day, you would probably want to buy a new model. The warranty benefits alone would truly be handy. A second-hand choice will more than likely be adequate for light duty and infrequent applications.
Step 3: Fuel Options
Typically, the big batteries which power electric forklifts can run for an 8 hour shift. The electric units are best suited for indoor use since they produce no harmful emissions. Although electric units are usually more expensive compared to different other types of lift trucks, they have less operating costs. Electric lift trucks are much quieter to run and do not have fuel storage requirements to consider. What's more, these types of machinery have fewer moving components so they have a longer life span as they have fewer components to get worn down.
Among the disadvantages of the battery operated forklifts is that they require battery recharging stations and this could take around 8 hours. There is an additional 8 hours needed for cooling. Recent innovations have made their way onto the market so as to significantly lessen charging time. The fast-charge technology has become a wonderful new thing.
Step 4: Tire Choice
Forklifts are equipped with either pneumatic or inflated, air-filled tires or cushion tires that are made up of solid rubber. There are also solid pneumatic tires which are a combination of the two. The pneumatic tire style is great for outside applications. Cushion tires are great for indoor applications and solid pneumatic tires are the best choice for dangerous work environments where there is a risk for regular tires being popped by sharp objects on rough terrain.