Narrow Aisle Forklifts
There are specially made forklifts that operate in narrow warehouse aisles. These machinery are usually referred to as narrow aisle or very narrow aisle lift trucks. They can negotiate smaller aisles easily and enable you to enjoy some benefits. For instance, the increased amount of space to store stuff could really increase a company's overall available stock.
The narrow aisle forklift is manufactured to maneuver quite easily, since they are engineered particularly to work in confined spaces. Their different design has eliminated many of the things that are squished up into the main body of the conventional lift truck design.
The downside of narrow aisle forklifts is that they are very slow compared to regular lift trucks. Narrow aisle forklifts will not work if you need to transport items across long distances. In terms of speed they would not be a reliable choice. If you also have a standard lift truck, this would not be an issue. You can just utilize the narrow aisle lift truck to move the load to a central site and then hand it off to a standard forklift that could travel the bulk of the distance in an efficient and timely method. Frequently, narrow aisle forklifts cannot handle as much lifting weight; hence, outside of smaller loads they would not be very helpful.
Electric Forklifts
For indoor operations such as stores or in warehouses, conventional gas forklifts are not a suitable choice. They would not be as safe due to their fumes, or as useful or cost-efficient than an electric powered unit. Electric forklifts are usually designed to look and work a lot like gas ones, but they rely on electric batteries which must be recharged, instead of gasoline fuel.
The electrically powered lift truck has become more common and for a variety of reasons. These machinery can help businesses save costs on fuel. Electric units will initially cost more, but will ultimately save you more over time. Like for instance, when gas prices go up, you would not be affected and would save a lot of cash. Electric models tend to last somewhat a bit longer compared to gas powered models too. This is partially because of the fact they are mostly used inside and thus don't get as dirty or work in as harsh settings as the gas powered models. Electric models are healthier to utilize in badly ventilated places such as warehouses and indoor applications as they don't emit noxious fumes. It can be extremely dangerous to utilize diesel or gas lift trucks inside.
Among the major disadvantages to electric lift trucks is the fact they could normally only work for one 8 hour shift before the battery needs to be charged for another shift. Many companies get around this situation by buying an extra battery so they could continually cycle them and have less downtime. There are fast charge batteries available on the market which are also reducing the charging time.