Narrow Aisle Forklifts
Several forklifts are especially made to fit down very narrow aisles inside a warehouse. These units are known as narrow aisle forklifts. They could easily negotiate smaller aisles and allow you to enjoy several benefits. For instance, the increased amount of space to keep objects can significantly increase the overall available inventory of a company.
Narrow aisle lift trucks can maneuver easily also. These machines have been specifically designed to move without much space. Their different design has eliminated many of the items which are squished up into the main body of the traditional forklift design.
These forklifts are really slow in comparison to standard lift trucks which is one of their major drawbacks. If you need to move items across large areas, the narrow aisle forklift is not the best. When it comes to speed they would not be a reliable option. If you also have a standard lift truck, this will not be a problem. You could simply use the narrow aisle lift truck to transport the load to a central place and then hand it off to a standard forklift which can travel the bulk of the distance in a timely and efficient method. Commonly, narrow aisle lift trucks cannot handle as much lifting weight; therefore, outside of smaller loads they are not going to be really effective.
Electric Forklifts
For indoor operations such as stores or in warehouses, conventional gas lift trucks are not a suitable choice. They will not be as safe due to their fumes, or as helpful or cost-efficient than an electric powered model. Electric forklifts are usually engineered to look and work a lot like gas ones, but they use electric batteries that should be recharged, rather than gasoline fuel.
Electric forklifts are common for a variety of reasons. For starters, they will save you a lot of money on fuel costs. At first, electric models may cost more but eventually, they make up for this in the long run. For instance, when gas prices go up, you would not be affected and would save a lot of cash. Electric units tend to last somewhat a bit longer as opposed to gas powered units too. This is partly due to the fact they are mainly used indoors and hence don't get as dirty or work in as harsh environments as the gas powered ones. Electric units are healthier to utilize in badly ventilated areas such as indoor operations and warehouses because they don't emit noxious fumes. It could be very dangerous to utilize gas or diesel lift trucks inside.
One of the main downsides to electric lift trucks is the fact they could usually only work for one 8 hour shift before the battery has to be charged for another shift. A lot of companies get around this condition by purchasing a spare battery so they could have less downtime and continually cycle them. There are fast charge batteries emerging on the market that are also reducing the charging time.