Buying Tips
When buying a forklift, there is certainly lots of factors to take into account since this decision can impact many things like production, operating costs, machine downtime, and even employee morale.
When you are thinking of choosing a brand new or used lift truck, the following is a short list of things to take into account. There are actually some specific questions the sales consultant should address in order to help you choose the best alternative that is best for your company.
Step 1: Identify Your Needs
Taking the time to identify your requirements will help ensure that you could find a capable equipment. What size are your typical loads? Are they 3,000 pounds to 35,000 pounds or even heavier? How many hours each day would you be using this equipment? Would you be running the machine indoors or outdoors or possibly both? How wide are your narrowest aisles to go through? Correctly answering these questions would ensure you are satisfied with the unit you choose.
Step2: Brand new Vs. Used Forklifts
You may want to buy a new model of lift truck if you are planning to use your lift truck for more than 4 hours a day. The warranty benefits alone would truly be handy. A used choice will probably be adequate for light duty and infrequent applications.
Step 3: Fuel Options
The huge electric forklift batteries will allow the forklift to run for around 8 hours. These particular power sources make forklifts uniquely suited for indoor application because they generate no harmful emissions. Even if electric units are normally more pricey compared to various other kinds of forklifts, they have lower operating expenses. Electric forklifts are much quieter to run and do not have fuel storage needs to take into account. As well, these kinds of machines have fewer moving components so they have a longer life span as they have less components to get worn down.
Among the disadvantages of the battery operated forklifts is that they need battery recharging posts and this can take approximately 8 hours. There is an additional 8 hours needed 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
Forklifts are outfitted with either pneumatic or air-filled, inflated tires or cushion tires that are made up of solid rubber. There are actually also solid pneumatic tires which are a combination of the two. The pneumatic tire kind is great for outside applications. Cushion tires are great for indoor use and solid pneumatic tires are the best option for dangerous work settings where there is a risk for regular tires being popped by rough terrain or sharp objects.