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Are rough terrain forklifts all they're
cracked up to be?
The one noticeable difference between the
basic warehouse type forklift and a rough terrain forklift is the type of wheel. Rough terrain forklifts
have ply bar lug tires or high flotation tires. The former being made for tractors and the like and the
latter, which are gauged by the ability of a tire to resist sinkage into the soil. These are also mainly
for farming vehicles, which is usually an occupation that could use a rough terrain forklift.
Another feature of any rough terrain forklift
is the vertical mast. Once, these type of forklifts were losing ground on the market but today, they are
on the rise due to lower cost, greater productivity, and adoption of some telehandler-like features. Mostly
this is because telehandlers can run upwards of $80,000 but a lot of rough terrain forklifts equipped
with this feature can be purchased for only $50,000
However, rough terrain vehicles equipped
with a straight mast lift are becoming more and more desirable because they can carry more load than a
telehandler. Both have their advantages. In terms of availability for rough terrain, vertical mast forklifts,
there are over 19 name brands and over 100 different models. Similarly, there are about 24 brands of telehandlers.
Name brands include Manitou, Load Lifter, and Tovel.
Traditional forklifts offered rear wheel
drive. Today's rough terrain telehandlers offer coordinated four wheel drive and also, a crab steering
mode which allows the vehicle to shift sideways for ease of mobility in any situation. Also, these vehicles
have the option of cab sideshifting, which would put it on either side of the mast for improved visibility.
Also, there are two types of masts: two stage and three stage. These refer to the number of rails that
make up the mast. The two stage presents fewer sight obstructions.
A Construction Equipment Universe study
proves that the sale of rough terrain forklifts has gone up, since 1995, 46%. Thus proving that these
vehicles do what they are designed to rather efficiently and are well worth the money. It seems that most
sales of this type go to rental yards so it seems alright to assume that most people simply rent this
equipment for the task at hand, for rough terrain work or otherwise.
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