Narrow Aisle Lift Trucks
Narrow Aisle Lift Trucks are electric trucks designed to function in narrow aisles. Standard storage aisles are 3.6 meters wide, sufficient space for a counterbalanced lift truck to turn in the aisle. Then again, narrow aisles can be around 2.4 meters wide to as little as 1.8 meters. The narrow space requires specialized lift truck models that are capable of tight turns, small, could put away loads without turning. The popular kinds of narrow-aisle trucks are turret trucks, order pickers and reach trucks.
Narrow-aisle reach trucks
The first types of narrow-aisle lift trucks developed for warehouse applications are the reach trucks. These small trucks could turn without problems in narrow aisles as their design has eliminated the need for a huge counterweight. Instead, stability is provided by outrigger arms extending in front of the truck. The disadvantage of this design is that the outrigger arms could hinder access to the storage rack since the truck cannot get near enough. These kinds of trucks truly work well within a warehouse that is well lit, has even, clean floors, good flow of traffic and ample space for turning.
Turret trucks
The turret truck design has pivoting forks on side of the truck. The forks pivot 90 degrees and move from side to side. The load can face forward whilst the operator drives down the aisle. When it stops at the designated storage place, the forks of the truck pivot to the storage side and lift the load to their full extension, and then easily deposit the load prior to resuming their original position. Turret trucks can come with a wire guidance system that keeps the truck on its path in really narrow aisles. In man-down trucks, operators remain at floor level.