Narrow Aisle Forklifts
Several forklifts are especially designed to fit down very narrow aisles inside a warehouse. These models are known as narrow aisle lift trucks. They could negotiate smaller aisles with ease and allow you to enjoy several benefits. For instance, the increased amount of area to keep stuff could significantly increase the overall available inventory of a company.
The narrow aisle lift truck is made to maneuver rather easily, because they are engineered specifically to work in confined spaces. Their different design has eliminated many of the things that are squished up into the main body of the traditional lift truck design.
The downside of narrow aisle forklifts is that they are very slow compared to regular lift trucks. Narrow aisle forklifts would not work if you need to move items across large distances. When it comes to speed they would not be a dependable choice. If you also have a regular lift truck, this would not be a problem. You could simply utilize the narrow aisle forklift to transport the load to a central site and after that hand it off to a regular lift truck which could travel the bulk of the distance in a timely and efficient way. Frequently, narrow aisle lift trucks cannot handle as much lifting weight; thus, outside of smaller loads they would not be really effective.
Electric Lift Trucks
For indoor operations such as stores or inside warehouses, traditional gas lift trucks are not a suitable alternative. They will not be as safe because of their fumes, or as cost-efficient or useful compared to an electric powered unit. Electric forklifts are often designed to function and look a lot like gas ones, but they use electric batteries that should be recharged, instead of gasoline fuel.
Electric forklifts are common for a range of reasons. For starters, they would save you a lot of money on fuel costs. Initially, electric models might cost more but eventually, they make up for this in the long run. For instance, when gas prices go up, you will not be affected and will save lots of cash. Electric units tend to last quite a bit longer as opposed to gas powered models as well. This is partly because of the fact they are mostly utilized inside and hence don't get as dirty or work in as harsh environments as the gas powered models. Electric units are healthier to utilize in places that are poorly ventilated such as indoor operations and warehouses since they don't emit noxious fumes. It can be really dangerous to utilize diesel or gas forklifts indoors.
The electric forklift does have several downsides like the fact that they could really only work for about 8 hours. Afterward the machinery will need to be charged for 8 hours and rested for another 8 hours. A lot of companies get around this condition by purchasing a spare battery so they could have less downtime and continually cycle them. There are fast charge batteries available on the market that are also reducing the charging time.