Tips for Choosing the Right Forklift
Chariot élévateur d’entrepôt
Warehouse forklifts are best for raising and transporting crates, pallets and other materials over short distances. As their name implies, they’re often used in warehouses for loading and unloading inventory as well as picking and stacking. They can handle heavy loads and operate on indoor surfaces or smooth outdoor surfaces.
Warehouse forklifts come in different types. If you need the ability to move loads to the side, look for a side loader or a warehouse forklift with an available side-shift attachment. A walkie stacker is a walk-behind forklift designed to move and stack pallets at greater heights than a standard pallet jack. For the highest reach, choose a quad mast forklift.
Telehandlers
For raising materials off the ground as high as 55 feet, you’ll need a telescopic handler, aka telehandler forklift or reach forklift. Unlike a traditional forklift, a telehandler has a telescopic or articulating boom for lifting materials and can be used to extend loads up and over obstacles. The boom can be fitted with various attachments, such as a crane hook attachment or material bucket. The larger 10,000-pound and 12,000-pound telehandlers have outriggers to stabilize the machine for heaver and higher lifts.
Chariots élévateurs à fourche tout-terrain
If you’ll be moving materials over uneven surfaces or rough surfaces, you may need a rough terrain forklift, popular on outdoor construction and industrial sites. These machines are suitable for use on uneven, rough, soft, sandy or muddy surfaces. For extra traction on muddy jobsites, consider renting a 4-wheel drive rough terrain forklift.
Choose a forklift with sufficient maximum capacity and make sure it can fit where you need it to go.
Think through what materials you plan to lift (single pallets? heavy containers? wood?) and the heaviest loads you’ll need to lift. It’s common for people to underestimate the capacity of the forklift they need, so when in doubt, go for a large forklift rental. In the case of forklifts with telescopic booms, consult the load chart to figure out the forklift’s load capacity.
United Rentals offers forklifts with a wide range of maximum capacities, including:
Small warehouse forklifts: A 3,000-pound warehouse forklift can handle light-duty to medium-duty jobs around a warehouse or other industrial site.
Medium warehouse forklifts: These have capacities ranging from 3 000 pounds to 15 500 pounds and are suitable for medium-duty to heavy-duty jobs. This 12,000-pound warehouse forklift can travel up to 12,1 mph under full load.
Large warehouse forklifts: With load capacities up to 55 000 pounds, large forklifts can handle heavy-duty applications.
In addition to capacity, you’ll also need to consider the forklift’s dimensions in relation to the space restrictions of the jobsite. For example, if you’re working in a warehouse, knowing the aisle width and/or common pallet dimensions will help to determine the size and type of forklift to rent. Pallet jacks and side loaders are ideal for narrow aisles.
The height to which you need to lift materials will determine what not only what type of forklift you need to rent but also the type of mast you need (straight or extending, and how many stages). Forklift masts are typically two-stage or three-stage, though some are four-stage (quad masts). Quad masts are designed for the highest stacking.
Remember to consider your overhead clearance, including doorways, and make sure the mast (or boom in the case of a telehandler) at its lowest height will fit. Four-stage masts collapse to a lower height than other masts.
If you’ll be working indoors, an electric forklift, powered by rechargeable batteries, might be a good bet. They’re quiet and produce no emissions. They cost more than other models, but they also save you a considerable amount on fuel. Of course, you’ll have to take the time to recharge the battery. A liquid propane gas (LPG) forklift can operate indoors or outdoors. Diesel forklifts are typically reserved for outdoor use, though newer machines with Tier 4 engines can be used indoors because of their low emissions.
Most forklifts are designed for a specific type of tire, so chances are, if you’re using the right forklift for the terrain, it will have the right tires.
Pneumatic tires, filled with compressed air, can handle rough terrain and uneven surfaces, including those found on construction sites and in lumberyards. Forklifts with pneumatic tires are typically intended for outdoor work, though they can also be useful in large warehouses. Cushion tires, made from solid rubber, provide less traction and lower ground clearance and are intended for indoor floors and smooth, level outdoor surfaces.