Thursday, December 11, 2008

How to shop for forklifts

Before you start looking at forklifts or even talk to Bargain Trader, it is necessary to determine exactly what needs to be done fork. Here are some questions you should answer before you start to compare prices:

  • How and what are their heavy loads of typical size?
  • How high is needed to lift the load?
  • Could it be that the use indoors, outdoors or both?
  • How much room you have to maneuver? How wide are its narrowest corridors?
  • How many hours per day will be used?

These responses will help you determine exactly what type of forklift that you need.

Capacity

Forklifts are classified according to the amount of weight they can lift, as from 3000 pounds and go up to 35,000 pounds and more. 3000 -, 5000 - and 8000-pound models make up the bulk of the market.

The typical size of your load will affect the capacity you need. Forklift capacity is usually based on a 24-inch "load center", which means that the distance from the center of gravity on the sides of the cargo is 24. "

The easiest way to think about this is that a forklift can only lift its maximum weight if the load is a four-foot cube. If your cargo is unusually long or high, the forklift will not be able to lift safely as much. Knowing the typical size and weight of your load will allow you to work with the vendor to determine the capacity it needs.

It will also take into account how much variation there is in their loads. If you consistently produce identical pallets of products, you know exactly what capacity you need. However, in a mixed environment more, or a burden when the size of the changes in time, you may want to buy a truck with more capacity than is needed now to make sure the work is done at present and in future .

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Height

A second, "How much need to lift?" is "How high is needed to lift it?" If your primary use is for forklift loading and unloading of lorries, you may not need much height at all, if your warehouse shelves has 30 'high, which is a very clear indicator of the extent of their elevator is going to need.

Unlike load capacity, its height needs are unlikely to change over time barring new construction or major renovations. Buy to the height you need now.

New and Used

Deciding whether to purchase a new or used forklift truck is a good place to start reducing their options. Here is a good rule of thumb: if you're going to be a forklift through its more than 4 hours a day, you should invest in new equipment.

Forklifts that are used by more than 4 hours per day are an important part of their operation. With this much use, operation and maintenance costs of used equipment can quickly remove the initial savings obtained.


If the forklift will be used only a couple of hours per day, you can probably benefit from the purchase of a used truck. When the dealer uses a forklift back at the end of a lease, usually refurbish with a new paint job, new tires, an engine adjustment, and any other mechanical repairs that must be made by what can feel reasonably confident in the condition of the truck. "AS IS", the trucks can save you even more money, but can have the original paint, used tires, and generally are not in the way you expect.

Many dealers offer new and used forklifts, so you can easily compare prices. Be sure to ask about the difference in service plans between new and used models

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