Buying Tips
When purchasing a lift truck, there are a lot of factors to take into consideration as this decision can impact many things such as production, operating costs, equipment downtime, and even employee morale.
When you are thinking of choosing a new or second-hand forklift, the following is a short list of things to take into consideration. There are several particular questions the sales consultant must deal with in order to help you pick the best option which is right for your company.
Step 1: Identify Your Requirements
Identifying your requirements will eventually help that you could find the best most capable lift truck for your business. How big are your standard load sizes? Are they 3,000 pounds to 35,000 pounds or even heavier? How many hours each day would you be using this machine? Will you be running the machinery outdoors or indoors or possibly both? How wide are your narrowest aisles to travel through? Correctly answering these questions would ensure you are satisfied with the model you pick.
Step2: Second-hand Vs. New Forklifts
You might want to buy a brand new unit of forklift if you are planning to utilize your forklift for more than 4 hours a day. The warranty benefits alone will come in handy. A second-hand choice will probably be enough for light duty and infrequent applications.
Step 3: Fuel Options
The large electric lift truck batteries would allow the forklift to run for roughly 8 hours. These specific power sources make lift trucks uniquely suited for indoor application since they produce no harmful emissions. Even though electric units are generally more expensive than other units, they have lower operating expenses. Electric forklifts are much quieter to run and do not have fuel storage needs to think about. Moreover, these kinds of equipment have less moving parts so they have a longer life span because they have less parts to get worn down.
Among the downsides of the battery operated lift trucks is that they require battery recharging posts and this could take roughly 8 hours. There is an additional 8 hours required for cooling. Recent innovations have made their way onto the market in order to significantly lessen charging time. The fast-charge technology has become a wonderful new thing.
Step 4: Tire Choice
Common forklifts utilize cushion tires made up of solid rubber or they would be equipped with pneumatic or inflated, air-filled tires. Some lift trucks will utilize a solid pneumatic tires, which is a combination of the two kinds of tire. The pneumatic tire kind is great to be utilized outside. Cushion tires are great to be used indoors and solid pneumatic tires are the perfect choice for hazardous work environments where there is potential for regular tires being popped by rough terrain or sharp objects.