Narrow Aisle Forklifts
Some forklifts are specially made to fit down very narrow aisles in a warehouse. These units are referred to as narrow aisle lift trucks. They can easily negotiate smaller aisles and enable you to enjoy some advantages. Like for instance, the increased amount of space to store objects could significantly increase a company's overall available inventory.
Narrow aisle forklifts can maneuver easily too. These machinery have been particularly engineered to move without much space. Their unique design has eliminated a lot of the items that are squished up into the main body of the traditional lift truck design.
These lift trucks are very slow in comparison to regular lift trucks which is one of their key disadvantages. If you have to move things across large areas, the narrow aisle lift truck is not the best. In terms of speed they will not be a dependable choice. If you also have a standard lift truck, this would not be an issue. You can just use the narrow aisle forklift to transport the load to a central place and after that hand it off to a standard lift truck that can travel the bulk of the distance in an efficient and timely manner. Frequently, narrow aisle forklifts cannot handle as much lifting weight; therefore, outside of smaller loads they will not be really useful.
Electric Lift Trucks
For indoor applications such as stores or inside warehouses, traditional gas lift trucks are not a suitable choice. They would not be as safe because of their fumes, or as cost-efficient or useful than an electric powered model. Electric forklifts are usually engineered to work and look a lot like gas ones, but they utilize electric batteries which need to be recharged, instead of gasoline fuel.
The electrically powered lift truck has become more popular and for a range of reasons. These equipment could help companies save expenses on fuel. Electric units would first cost more, but would ultimately save you more over time. For instance, when gas prices go up, you will save a lot of cash because you will not be affected. Electric models tend to last somewhat a bit longer as opposed to gas powered units as well. This is partially because of the fact they are mainly used indoors and thus don't get as dirty or work in as harsh settings as the gas powered models. Electric units are healthier to use in areas which are badly ventilated such as indoor applications and warehouses since they don't emit noxious fumes. It could be extremely dangerous to use gas or diesel forklifts inside.
One of the major disadvantages to electric forklifts is the fact they could normally just work for one 8 hour shift before the battery has to be charged for another shift. A lot of companies get around this condition by buying an extra battery so they could continually cycle them and have less downtime. There are fast charge batteries available on the market that are also reducing the charging time.