Forklift trucks have been used in the transport sector for many years. With developments in the industry, forklifts have also become increasingly diverse in order to operate as efficiently as possible in a particular environment. You will find used forklift trucks for every application.
Suitable forklift trucks for every environment
The environment in which you want to use a forklift largely determines what type you need.
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Truck-mounted forklifts
Compact lift trucks that you can attach to the back of a trailer. On location you disconnect the forklift and unload the goods. A truck-mounted forklift has a load capacity of approximately 2 tons.
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Forklift trucks
Forklift trucks are available for both indoor and outdoor use. The difference is in the size of the wheels and the drive. Indoor forklifts are battery powered while outdoor forklifts usually have a diesel engine.
A forklift truck, also known as a forklift or lift truck, is powered by an electric motor or a combustion engine, mainly for the transport of goods placed on a pallet, for example in a warehouse or on a company site. Forklift trucks with electric drive are best suited for use in the warehouse. For loading and unloading, there are larger forklift trucks, up to 18 tons, which can lift 10 tons.
Lease or buy a forklift
Lease a forklift (translated to Dutch: heftruck leasen) if you don’t want to invest that much money in the start of your company. Do you want to lease a tractor (translated to Dutch: tractor leasen) for your company? The agricultural sector requires a lot of investment. If you want to purchase a new tractor, it is recommended to lease.
The forklift trucks equipped with a combustion engine have a diesel engine or an LPG engine. Diesel is often used in Belgium, LPG is much more common in the Netherlands and France. Petrol engines are hardly used anymore because of the high fuel costs. Due to the harmful emissions, no machines with diesel engines may be used in industrial halls, but with LPG engines.
The energy of forklift trucks equipped with an electric motor is stored in a traction battery, which also serves as a counterweight. The battery of an average forklift truck weighs about 1500 kg, so unlike forklift trucks with combustion engines, they need a smaller counterweight.
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Rough terrain forklifts
Equipped with coarse tread tires for extra traction on rough terrain. At the front, the lift truck often has double wheels for more stability when lifting the load.
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Narrow aisle forklifts
With narrow aisles you have room for more goods in the warehouse. Special narrow aisle forklifts can easily maneuver between these narrow racks.
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Side loader forklifts
A separate version where the load is loaded from the side. Because the wheels are on the outer corners, these forklifts are a lot more stable and can move loads up to 15 tons.
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Four-way forklifts
Where a regular forklift has to make turns, a four-way forklift can drive forward, backward and sideways. This saves a lot of space in the warehouse and makes the risk of collisions with racks nil.
Do you find that lift trucks do not have sufficient height for your needs? Then look for a reach truck. These machines reach a height of 10 to 15 meters.
Interesting related article: “What is Warehousing?“