Are your warehouse trucks working for you?

Need extra-flexible goods handling? Four-way reach trucks, for example, operate in four directions. These workhorses are especially suitable for long, bulky good such as boards, planks and pipes.

When it comes to picking the right warehouse truck, your choice is influenced by how much you want to lift, how high you want to lift it, how far you want to travel and how much space you have to work in. Our simple guide should help you pinpoint the truck type that best suits your needs.

Normal aisles

Pedestrian stackers are cost-effective and perfectly adequate for simple stacking tasks in an ordinary warehouse. They can happily lift loads of less than 750kg and stack to heights of around 4.5 metres. Rider stackers will lift to about 6 metres.

Reach trucks not only give you much greater load and lift capacities, but they can also come with telescopic forks - allowing you to stack pallets two deep. For extra flexible goods handling, there is a four-way reach truck (and even a multi-way), which, as the name suggests, can be driven in four directions. These are especially suitable for long, bulky goods such as boards, planks and pipes.

Counterbalance trucks, which are suitable for travelling longer distances, can also be used for stacking - and especially for block stacking, free stacking and stacking loads that weigh over 2 tonnes.

A tight squeeze

If you run a high-density storage operation then aisle space will be much narrower and the heights you will want to lift to will potentially be much greater. Man-up telescopic lift trucks operate in narrow-aisle, high-bay stores and give the driver a very good view of the stacking process. Man-up combi trucks are versatile, in that they can be used for both stacking and order picking, and can be driven in narrow aisles or throughout the warehouse.

Side stackers offer good stability for working at greater heights. Swivel reach trucks have forks that turn 180 degrees, making them suitable for narrow-aisle stacking, although again these trucks can travel all over the warehouse if necessary.

Our conclusion?

To find out whether your trucks are working for you - and your site - get in touch with a reputable supplier in your area. Their warehousing expert can arrange for a site inspection which can reveal the unlocked potential within your site. Armed with a thorough understanding of your business and its needs, they can advise on the best options available.