Even after the rise and explosion of telehandlers on the material handling business, rough terrain forklifts and vertical mast lift trucks could be found picking up and transporting different goods and supplies on jobsites all over the globe. There have been numerous other traditional lift trucks which lost market share to telehandlers. This happened especially when the challenger broke onto the construction scene. Since that time, sales numbers have stabilized. Vertical-mast lift trucks have re-emerged and seem to be becoming more popular once more because of their greater productivity, lower cost and modification of some telehandler-like features.
The straight mast forklift could finish double the work as a telehandler due to their excellent handling and maneuverability as well as their better ground speed. Interestingly enough, rental outfits are beginning to charge higher rates on straight-mast models.
Rental purchasers are having significant influence within the rough-terrain lift truck business. More than 50 percent of all vertical-mast forklifts are now being sold to a rental yard. These acquisitions are normally driven mainly by utilization, that is a factor closely followed by purchase price.
The telehandler has become a very popular machine within the material handling industry. Their popularity has given them a super advantage when it comes to rental use. Their overall expansion has been moderated by their higher price. There is several forklift users who feel that telehandlers are not nearly as productive compared to conventional rough-terrain forklifts for unloading and loading repetitive jobs. This means that even though competition amongst telehandler marketers has lowered their prices, many prefer the RT forklifts that have been performing well for decades.
In comparison, the telehandler is ganglier, a little slower to operate and requires a higher level of skill to finish the job. On the upside, they get the reach if they require it. There would always be a place in the industry for forklifts though, because there are places which you would not be able to access with a telehandler.
Rough terrain forklifts are normally compact equipment, smaller but more able to lift a heavier cargo vertically as opposed to the telehandler. Basically, in order to utilize the right machinery for your application, you will have to determine what jobs precisely you would be accomplishing, the kind of conditions and environment you would be operating in and what your load capacity is. All these factors would help you decide what the right options available are.