Buying Tips
There are actually numerous things to take into consideration when purchasing a lift truck. Deciding on the right machinery can have a huge effect on everything from productivity to operating costs, to equipment downtime and employee morale.
When you are thinking of choosing a new or used forklift, the following is a brief list of things to take into account. There are actually several specific questions the sales consultant should deal with in order to help you pick the best alternative that is right for your business.
Step 1: Identify Your Requirements
Identifying your requirements will ultimately help that you could find the best most capable lift truck 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 will you be using this machine? Will you be running the machinery indoors or outdoors or potentially both? How wide are your narrowest aisles to go through? Accurately answering these questions will make sure that you are satisfied with the model you select.
Step2: Second-hand Vs. New Forklifts
You may want to purchase a new unit of forklift if you are intending to use your lift truck for more than 4 hours a day. The warranty benefits alone will really be handy. A second-hand alternative will more than likely be adequate for infrequent applications and light duty.
Step 3: Fuel Options
The huge electric lift truck batteries will allow the lift truck to run for around 8 hours. These particular power sources make forklifts uniquely suited for indoor use because they produce no harmful emissions. Even though electric units are normally more expensive compared to different other kinds of lift trucks, they have lower operating expenses. Electric lift trucks are much quieter to run and do not have fuel storage needs to take into account. Moreover, these kinds of machinery have less moving components so they have a longer life span since they have less parts to get worn down.
One of the disadvantages of the battery operated lift trucks is that they require battery recharging stations and this could take roughly 8 hours. There is an added 8 hours needed for cooling. Recent changes have made their way onto the market in order to significantly reduce charging time. The fast-charge technology has become a wonderful new thing.
Step 4: Tire Choice
Lift Trucks are equipped with either pneumatic or inflated, air-filled tires or cushion tires that are made up of solid rubber. There are also solid pneumatic tires that are a combination of the two. The pneumatic tire kind is great to be used outdoors. Cushion tires are perfect to be used inside and solid pneumatic tires are the best option for dangerous work environments where there is potential for regular tires being popped by sharp objects on rough terrain.