Buying Tips
There is certainly a lot of factors to take into consideration when purchasing a lift truck. Deciding on the best equipment could have a huge impact on everything from productivity to operating expenses, to equipment downtime and employee morale.
When you are thinking of choosing a brand new or used lift truck, the following is a brief list of factors to take into account. There is certainly some specific questions the sales consultant needs to deal with in order to help you select the best option that is best for your business.
Step 1: Identify Your Requirements
Identifying your requirements will ultimately help that you could find the best most capable forklift for your company. 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 machinery? Would you be running the machinery outdoors or indoors or potentially both? How wide are your narrowest aisles to go through? Answering these questions accurately would make certain that you are satisfied with the unit you pick.
Step2: Used Vs. New Lift Trucks
If you are intending to utilize your lift truck more than 4 hours per day, you would probably want to buy a new unit. The warranty benefits alone will come in handy. A used choice will probably be enough for light duty and infrequent applications.
Step 3: Fuel Options
Usually, the huge batteries which power electric forklifts could run for an 8 hour shift. The electric units are best suited for indoor applications since they produce no harmful emissions. Even if electric models are usually more expensive than other units, they have lower operating costs. Electric forklifts are a lot quieter to run and do not have fuel storage needs to think about. Moreover, these equipment have less moving components so they have a longer life span as they have fewer components to get worn down.
One of the disadvantages of the battery operated forklifts is that they require battery recharging stations and this can take roughly 8 hours. There is an added 8 hours required for cooling. Recent changes 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
Forklifts are outfitted with either pneumatic or air-filled, inflated tires or cushion tires which are made up of solid rubber. There are also solid pneumatic tires that are a combination of the two. The pneumatic tire type is perfect to be used outside. Cushion tires are best for indoor applications and solid pneumatic tires are the best choice for hazardous work settings where there is a chance for standard tires being popped by rough terrain or sharp objects.