Buying Tips
When purchasing a forklift, there are numerous factors to take into account since this decision could impact a lot of things such as production, operating expenses, machine downtime, and even employee morale.
Below is a short list of things to think about when deciding on a new or second-hand lift truck. There are actually some particular questions the sales consultant must address in order to help you select the best alternative which is best for your company.
Step 1: Identify Your Needs
Making the time to identify your requirements will help ensure that you could find a capable equipment. What size are your average loads? Are they 3,000 pounds to 35,000 pounds or even heavier? How many hours every day would you be utilizing this equipment? Will you be running the equipment indoors or outdoors or potentially both? How wide are your narrowest aisles to go through? Answering these questions accurately will ensure you are happy with the model you choose.
Step2: New Vs. Second-hand Lift Trucks
You may want to buy a brand new unit of lift truck if you are planning to utilize your forklift for more than 4 hours a day. The warranty benefits alone will come in handy. A used alternative would more than likely be adequate for light duty and infrequent applications.
Step 3: Fuel Options
The large electric lift truck batteries would allow the forklift to run for approximately 8 hours. These specific power sources make forklifts uniquely suited for indoor use as they produce no harmful emissions. Even if electric units are generally more expensive compared to other units, they have lower operating costs. Electric forklifts are much quieter to run and do not have fuel storage requirements to think about. Also, these machinery have less moving components so they have a longer life span since they have less components to get worn down.
The electric lift truck is not without its disadvantages however. These machines need recharging stations which can take as much as 8 hours th charge. There is an additional 8 hours required for cooling. Recent innovations have made their way onto the market so as to considerably reduce charging time. The fast-charge technology has become a wonderful new thing.
Step 4: Tire Choice
Lift Trucks are outfitted with either pneumatic or inflated, air-filled tires or cushion tires that are made up of solid rubber. There is certainly also solid pneumatic tires which are a combination of the two. The pneumatic tire type is great to be used outdoors. Cushion tires are perfect to be used indoors and solid pneumatic tires are the perfect option for dangerous work settings where there is a risk for regular tires being popped by rough terrain or sharp objects.