Forklift Facts and Useful Tips

Any height restriction ?

When you hire a forklift, it is vital you mention the heights of the doors in your buildings and any other height restrictions. Forklifts come with different types of mast and varying closed height.

Diesel Forklifts

Diesel you will have to obtain at your local filling station or have your own fuel tank in the yard

Electric Forklifts

Electric forklifts are quiet, exhaust free, slower and are mainly used inside warehouses. The forklift comes with its own battery charger which you have to connect to a 60 amp high power electricity supply similar to a cooker or water heater to charge overnight. *We can supply smaller chargers to work from a standard 13 amp socket but they do take a long time to charge the battery and are only for light use, say 1-2 hours a day.

Forklift Definition

Forklifts are mainly called forklifts in the UK but seem to be called fork trucks in the USA and abroad. Whatever they are called they are machines with forks that lift loads.

Forklifts Costs and Fuel

Forklifts in standard form cost between £10,000 and £40,000 or more. The standard pallet in the UK carries 2 tonnes or more so the standard forklift has a carrying capacity of 2.5 tonnes and can be powered by diesel, petrol (in the form of LPG gas bottle) or electric battery. The bigger the forklift the more likely it is to be diesel.

LPG Forklifts

LPG forklifts are supplied with two extra gas bottles which we can exchange when you need more fuel. *This is the easiest type of forklift to run, as the fuel is at your site. Diesel you will have to obtain at your local filling station or have your own tax free in yard tank.

Types of Mast

Most common types are duplex and triplex. Cheapest are duplex but if you have height restrictions you'll probably need a triplex with full free lift, which means the forks can go up to the top of the mast before the mast extends