Every organization has unique material handling requirements, so selecting the proper forklift for your needs is critical to ensuring optimal productivity and value for money. We sell a variety of forklifts for various uses at Len crow Forklifts, so we’ve put up this short guide along with a quiz to help you figure out which sort of forklift is best for your company. If you haven’t gotten there yet, these critical considerations will get the wheels in motion and lead you to your ideal forklift solution.
Indoor vs. outdoor use
One of the most essential factors that will influence what forklift you should choose for your business is whether you’ll be using your forklift inside a building or outdoors. This will determine which type of power or fuel supply is most suitable, being either diesel, LPG/petrol, or electric. As a common rule of thumb, if your forklift will be operating mainly indoors, electricity would be the power supply of choice due to its quiet operation and zero emissions. Indoor or outdoor use will also determine the size and type of wheels and tires that your forklift requires. You’ll need small, solid tires for indoor use and larger, heavy-duty ones for outdoor operations. A forklift is far better than a handlift.
Terrain types
Another factor to consider is the terrain your forklift will be running on, which is strongly related to whether you’ll be utilizing it indoors or outside. Indoor terrain is often a smooth cement floor found in most warehouses and loading bays, and this surface is suitable for an electric forklift’s compact, solid wheels. Outdoor terrain, which can be asphalt, gravel, or even bare ground, is typically less uniform than inside terrain, affecting the wheel type and power supply required by your forklift. The frequency with which your forklift will be used outdoors, as well as the hardness of the terrain, will decide how tough your forklift is.
Desired application
The type of work you’ll be doing with your forklift and the location of the work are also important considerations. Will you be using your forklift in a hostile environment such as a cool room or freezer? Will it will be performing specialized tasks at above-average heights? Will the forklift be handling heavy or difficult loads? These are all things that will determine the type of forklift you’ll need. These days forklifts are built for a variety of applications, so if your forklift is used for only one type of task, it may well be worth purchasing specialized equipment. But if you only need specific tasks performed infrequently and need a regular forklift the rest of the time, there are a range of attachments available that allow a standard forklift to perform a variety of different operations.
The kind of load
In addition to the application, you should consider the type of weight your forklift will be carrying. Depending on the type of business you run, your forklift may be required to transport pallets, wood, steel, or heavy machinery, all of which are non-standard sizes and weights that necessitate the use of a customized forklift or attachment. If you run a company that is dealing with palletized items, you’ll have a lot of options because most forklifts are intended for regular pallet handling. When deciding which forklift is best, the amount of weight it must carry will be the most important thing to consider.
Capacity
The next logical question is how much capacity you’ll require from your forklift. Forklift capacity refers to how much a forklift can lift and transport safely, and it can range from 1.5 tons to 10 tons and beyond. A forklift capable of lifting ten tones will require a powerful engine to raise and carry that much weight from point A to point B. As a general rule, most CHEP palletized items in Australia weigh less than two tonnes. Therefore a forklift with a lesser capacity is usually enough to get the job done.
