Propane cylinders are designed to take up very little space and can be kept in an outdoor facility or inside the storage area. It does take some time to switch out a propane cylinder, though, it still does needs operator training in order to be performed safely and also require knowledge of safety standards such as the OSHA or Occupational Health and Safety Administration.
Compared to the electric lift truck, IC lift trucks are easier and faster to refuel. However, the IC engine does create polluting emissions and are extremely noisy.
NARROW-AISLE FORKLIFTS
The Class 2 forklifts consists of many types of lift truck which are specially made to be used in narrow aisles. The standard storage aisles are 12 feet wide, and this easily allows a counterbalanced forklift to turn in the aisle and put a load away. Usually, the very narrow aisles are roughly 5.5 to 6 feet wide, whereas narrow aisles are 8 feet wide. These narrow aisles need specialized lift trucks which are capable of putting away cargo without any turning at all or that are small enough to turn on a tight radius.
Order pickers, reach trucks and turret trucks are 3 of the most common narrow-aisle trucks. The differences between these trucks are discussed below.
Narrow-Aisle Reach Forklifts
The original narrow-aisle forklift is considered to be the conventional reach truck. These equipment do not need a huge counterweight and are therefore, small enough to turn in narrow aisles. Instead, stability is provided by the outrigger arms that extend in front of the trucks. Nonetheless, these outrigger arms could prevent the lift trucks from getting close enough to the storage rack to retrieve and deposit cargo, depending on the storage configuration. To be able to overcome this specific situation, a pantograph was designed. The pantograph is a reach truck that is designed with a telescoping device. This enables forks to reach into storage areas easily and concisely.
The best environment for narrow aisle lift trucks is a place which has clean floors, good lighting and well maintained floor, good traffic flow, in addition to sufficient turning space.
These types of machines have changed the material handling industry. Toyota stands behind their dedication to giving very strong equipment and excellent quality. As the company changes, they continually strive to implement solutions in order to provide their diverse customer base with the best products available.