Propane cylinders take up little space and they can be kept either inside of a storage area or outside of a facility. It does take some time to switch out a propane cylinder, although, it still does requires operator training in order to be conducted safely and also require knowledge of safety standards like the OSHA or Occupational Health and Safety Administration.
Compared to the electric truck, internal combustion forklifts are easier and faster to refuel. However, the internal combustion engine does produce polluting emissions and are very noisy.
NARROW-AISLE FORKLIFTS
The ITA's Class 2 trucks consist of a large variety of electric lift trucks and these are specially designed to be utilized in narrow aisles. The regular storage aisles are 12 feet wide, and this easily enables a counterbalanced forklift to turn in the aisle and put a load away. Typically, narrow aisles are 8 feet wide, whereas the very narrow aisles are around 5.5 to 6 feet wide. These narrow aisles need specialized lift trucks that are capable of putting away cargo which are small enough to turn on a tight radius or without any turning at all.
The three most common narrow aisle lift trucks are the reach trucks, turret trucks and order pickers. The differences amongst these trucks are discussed below.
Narrow-Aisle Reach Trucks
The original narrow-aisle lift truck is considered to be the conventional reach truck. These machinery do not require a large counterweight and are thus, small enough to turn in narrow aisles. Instead, stability is provided by the outrigger arms that extend in front of the forklifts. Nevertheless, these outrigger arms can prevent the lift trucks from getting near enough to the storage rack to retrieve and deposit cargo, depending on the storage configuration. In order to overcome this situation, a pantograph was designed. The pantograph is a reach truck that is designed with a telescoping device. This allows forks to concisely and easily reach into storage areas.
The ideal environment for a narrow-aisle forklift is a place that has good lighting, is clean, and has good traffic flow, well-maintained floors, as well as an ample turning aisle.
These types of machinery have changed the material handling business. Toyota stands behind their commitment to offering exceptional quality and extremely strong machinery. As the company evolves, they continually strive to apply solutions so as to provide their diverse customer base with the best products available.