Thread: Forklifts?

Learn some on hydraulics... its the expensive parts of a fork!

Look for leaks at the hydraulic seals on the rams, pump and valve blocks(part that controls, levers), hoses and solid lines can be fixed easily. Turn the steering onto full lock if you hear any loud grinding whinning or shuttering... run the other way as the pump is probably stuffed. Also check for leak down, its when the lifting rams drop, a couple mm is ok
but any more can mean problems with valve blocks or leaks.
Play in the steering, they all have some even brand new but any more than 1/8th~1/4 of a turn makes precision driving hard.
Brakes are critical(remember we're talking heavy weights) so sus out the "inching brake" its the outer left pedal, using the normal brake is not real flash for in close quarters.
The roll over protection "ROP's" needs to be in good condition.
Generally the rest is just like a car to check out.

yOU NEED AT LEAST A 2 1/2 TONNE CAPACITY FORKLIFT IF YOU ARE HANDLING PACKS OF TIMBER

Sitting on a fork is a real scary place if you overload it and it does a rear wheel stand.

Depends on your needs, I use a walk behind fork to load and unload trucks but our heaviest lift is 1200KG, I have never looked at what its capacity is but I am sure it is significantly higher. These are good things and you can park them out of the way and they are all electric thus not needing gas.

Thanks for all the advice.

Originally Posted by Harry72

Learn some on hydraulics... its the expensive parts of a fork!...

Thanks Harry72. Good stuff there.

Originally Posted by echnidna

yOU NEED AT LEAST A 2 1/2 TONNE CAPACITY FORKLIFT IF YOU ARE HANDLING PACKS OF TIMBER

I am not sure if I will be handling packs at this stage but that's something I will seriously consider. I have not seen a 2.5t forklift in my price range but it may be better to buy the higher capacity now than trading up in the near future.

Originally Posted by Mini

Depends on your needs, I use a walk behind fork to load and unload trucks but our heaviest lift is 1200KG, I have never looked at what its capacity is but I am sure it is significantly higher. These are good things and you can park them out of the way and they are all electric thus not needing gas.

They look good for my current space but I'm hoping to upgrade the shed in a couple of years and a larger ride on forklift is probably more suitable in the long term.

Space, a normal 2.5t fork needs about 3.5m minimum to 180° turn and about 4~5m to 360° depending on fork attachments, 1.1m is the minimum width... if your a good enough driver!

Hi Dylan,

I have just been through the process of buying a 'forklift' myself.

What I discovered in my travels were the following things to consider, and the available options:

Walkie-stacker or forklift. Walk behind as mentioned by Mini are usually not counterbalanced and have two protruding 'legs' out the front left and right sides that straddle the lifting forks and pallet being lifted. Sometimes these are adjustable, and sometimes fixed at about 1.2m apart. Forklifts are true counterbalanced machines and do not need these front straddle legs under the load being lifted.

Most walkie stackers are not really designed to work outside due the the small front straddle wheels being only about 75mm diameter. Outside work (especially on unmade surfaces) probably needs a forklift.

Walkie stackers don't require a license to operate.

Electric, gas or petrol. Walkie stackers are electric, forks come in all options. For indoor work I would much prefer an electric motor as there are no fumes. Also, if I were going for a $4k second hand fork, I would prefer electric instead of internal-combustion as (for me at least) diagnosing issues and rectifying them would be easier - and I suspect electric systems have less to go wrong and don't require tuning.

Lifting Capacity (weight). Really depends on what you want to lift. Maybe more capacity if you need to use it to move non-palletised loads (machinery, unmilled timber, etc.)

Lifting height. Reasonably simple to work out what you need there, but if you are working in a height restricted area sometimes (under a mezzanine or something) look for the free-lift limit. This is the height the tines can be lifted above the ground before the mast extends upwards. You would not want the mast to hit the ceiling or any other obstruction during lift or stacking.

I spent quite some time looking at eBay, there seemed to be some good forklifts listed there. Alternatively a local Hyster or Crown shop will have fully checked second hand or ex-rental units available. They will charge more but at least they won't let an unsafe or faulty unit out of their workshop.

We went for a walkie stacker for our purposes (indoor warehouse use and unloading pallets from delivery trucks), and actually struggled to get the smallest and lightest walkie stacker we could find. Most were much larger capacity than we wanted. We went for small in order to move around in tight spaces.

Another thing is whether or not to have pnuematic or solid tyres. I use a forkilft at the old boy's and we move full packs of timber (6m long, 2 ton) on rough ground. There are times that it struggles and it is a 2.5t. Side shift is a blessing especially if you are moving machinery and it needs to go just a few inches sideways.

The guys that services that forklift also said that if you are only using it sporadically than LPG is not a good idea. Apparently long-term it can cause damage to the motor but I can't remember exactly what he said.

Side shift - good point.

Another useful feature is a fork with forward reach scissor mechanism.

But I suspect these options are all going to be a lot to ask for on a $3-4k machine.

To add my 2c, I can tell you that Omega's are horrid, and Hysters are indestructible. Well.. atleast they are at my copper smelter.

Yep can validate the Hyster comment!

Hyster, the best most seem to copy them...
Nissan, old ones are crap(orange/white, new ones are very good(blue/silver)
Komatsu, only driven one type model, not bad too control but gutless and unreliable.

I've been driving these things for 13yrs now and the Hysters are super reliable and tough... but we can break them!
In my work area(lead refinery)our loadshifting is very different to say wharehouse logistics, we use them more as a tool, things like rolling up lead spills so they can be lifted by a crane or holding/anchoring lead pipes inplace while pumping the lead as they can move around greatly with the heat. They are constantly stressed to their max lifting capacity... lead is a little bit heavy
Not many forks last more than a week on the midfloor level without someone smashing it up, so about 12~24mths they are completely wrecked. I feel sorry for the rental mobs like RED's and the current mob Hazel Bro's.

Ps, tyres... soilds are best for safety.

If you were to find a 1.5T forklift for $3500, you would not want it!

Cheers

Donald