Narrow Aisle Lift Trucks
Narrow Aisle Lift Trucks are electric trucks designed to operate within narrow aisles. A counterbalanced lift truck can turn within the aisle because typical storage aisles are 3.6 meters wide and this is adequate space. Nevertheless, narrow aisles can be 2.4 meters wide to as little as 1.8 meters. The narrow area requires specialized lift truck models that are small, capable of tight turns, and able to put away loads without turning. The common types of narrow-aisle trucks are order pickers, reach trucks and turret trucks.
Narrow-aisle reach trucks
Reach trucks were the first narrow-aisle lift truck to be developed for warehouse applications. These small trucks can easily turn in narrow aisles because their design has eliminated the requirement for a large counterweight. Stability is instead provided by outrigger arms extending in front of the truck. The downside of this design is that the outrigger arms can inhibit access to the storage rack as the truck cannot get near enough. These types of trucks work well within a warehouse that is well lit, has even, clean floors, good traffic flow and ample space for turning.
Turret trucks
The design of a turret truck has turning forks on side of the truck. The forks pivot 90 degrees and move from side to side. The load can face forward while the operator drives down the aisle. Once stopped at the designated storage location, the truck's forks turn to the storage side and raise the load to their full extension, and then easily deposit the load prior to resuming their original position. Turret trucks can come with a wire guidance system that keeps the truck on its path in really narrow aisles. In man-down trucks, operators remain at floor level.