What do you look for in a forklift?

-
Righty Tighty

Righty Tighty

Blame it on the dog
FABO Gold Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2019
Messages
2,999
Reaction score
3,574
Location
Sahuarita, AZ
I'll keep it short. I've dreamed of having a forklift for quite some time, but it was always just a "want." As time passed, the "want" has grown into a "need." So, having never owned or even operated a forklift, I've decided to once again reach out to the brain trust here.

I'll use the forklift mostly for handling steel plate and tubing, but also for loading/unloading machines like lathes and mills. I think a 3,000-4,000lb. forklift would be very sufficient, and it would be a bonus to have the capability to drive through gravel and dirt.

Some things I want to learn: pros and cons over gas/propane/electric, is side shift a necessity, older models vs new?

My budget is about $3,000 and there's a decent number on the used market in that range, I just thought I'd ask around for input.

Also, what considerations should be taken when transporting the forklift?
 
Most tilt bed tow trucks will move them for you.
Remember a 4000# lift has a 4000# counter weight.The hole thing will weigh around 6000# or more.
Had a propane 1953 Tow Motor brand in the 80"s. Hard rubber tires. Did not do well in gravel/grass/dirt.
A air tire lift will handle those. Some may be jell filled instead of air and work real good.
Side shift is nice but not necessary. I worked on lifts in the 80's both propane and electric used inside for warehouse work. Batteries last as much as 10 years or more if maintained. We had Hyster,Clark,Tow Motor,Raymond to name a few.
I'm sure newer models will be much better than my old '53 but it did get the job done.
 
Any forklift with hard rubber tires will not fair well on gravel or dirt surfaces, nor will one with small diameter tires. I work with and around them every day and I have seen dozens of different machines over the years. If you expect to be able to take it off pavement it needs to have pneumatic tires, at least 16 inches in diameter and with some sort of tread. Rear tires should also have tread. It really depends on how soft the surface you will be operating on. As for electric or propane, they both work well, but price may be the deciding factor.
We do take our hard tired forklifts outside on the gravel, but as soon as we get away from the really hard packed areas, they get stuck easily.
 
I'm just gonna toss this out there.
I have an old Bobcat, basically a solid pump platform, fluid filled tires, - can add counter-weights as nec.
Often wish I had the forklift attachment for it .
 
Got 2 forklifts at work. One late 60s/early 70s toyota and a early 2000s mitsubishi.
The toyota is 2 stage and rated for 2000 lbs and it struggles as you get close to that 2000 lb mark. It has dually Pneumatic tires up front and does well in different terrain due to its wide footprint. It is gas powered and you can just fill it with a Jerry can but it's kind of a pain sometimes. The 2 stage still offers decent visibility in front of you
the mitsubishi is 3 stage and has side shift forks with solid rubber tires. That one is rated for 4000lbs but we have loaded 6000 on it by hanging an extra counter weight off the back and the hydraulic ram doesn't complain one bit. That one only has about an inch and a half of ground clearance and it feels just about every Crack in the concrete. This one is propane and the tanks last forever as well as with 2 tanks, it's less than 5 min of downtime to swap from an empty tank to a new one, as well as being cheaper to run than the gas model. The 3 stage lift makes for large blind spots in front of you and you will find yourself leaning left and right to see around them.

My point is that there are a lot of things to consider but the main thing would be to begin with how much weight capacity do you need, and how small of a footprint do you want? Maneuverability is a huge factor if you have. If you are working exclusively indoors in a closed building then you need electric. If you are going in and out of a building with a lot of air flow then it's not as important. but the propane exhaust doesn't smell nearly as bad as the gas.


P.S. The side shift is a really nice feature to have if you can get it. We use it a ton to make small adjustments of where to place material on the ground or on a truck.
 
Left/right hydraulic movement of the forks.
i did without that feature on our work forklift for thirty years.
We had a propane fueled Clark, powered by a flathead four (I honestly think it was a Mopar, could be wrong), that was there when I started, and still there thirty plus years later when I left.
 
Last edited:
Understand that a forklift's rated capacity is based on a 24" load center, the center of a 48" pallet with the forks fully inserted in the pallet. That may be an important consideration if you plan on lifting loads with a load center farther out than 24". Adding counterweight to a forklift that is not designed to accept more counterweight is in violation of OSHA 1910(q)(6), and is unsafe. Having said that, you can lift a load farther out than 24", but the capacity is reduced. Let's say the data plate states a capacity of 4,000 lbs. @ 24" load center, 4,000 x 24 = 96,000. 96,000 divided by 36 = 2,666 lbs., so your 4,000 lb capacity forklift is now reduced to 2,666 lbs @ 36" load center. The most common forklift type is the class 5 counterbalanced pneumatic (air) tire type. They can be used indoors and outdoors on concrete, asphalt and packed gravel, but not rough terrain, it may get stuck in dirt. A solid tire (class 4) also called a cushion tire lift, can be used outdoors on level concrete and maybe asphalt, but they can sink in if the asphalt is hot. Solid tire forklifts also have a lower ground clearance and don't do well on ramps or uneven surfaces, they can high center and be very difficult to move once stuck. Electric forklifts are fine, most are solid (cushion) tire, but don't do well outdoors. The battery can be very expensive to replace, in the $1,000s of dollars, and you need a 240VAC charger or you will be waiting 24 to 48 hours to charge at 120VAC. I'd stick with an LPG type, pneumatic tire, 4,000 - 5,000 lb capacity. I've been involved with forklifts for over 40 years, have trained over 5,000 operators, and 1100 instructors. I'm now semi retired and only do forklift expert witness work.
 
Last edited:
slantsixdan said:
1. Get a forklift with a Slant-6 engine

2. Watch this hi-larious German (because of course it is) movie:

Click to expand...

Well then. I was hoping to use the forks as a makeshift amusement ride for side cash, but it appears the video advises against such activities.

Great video!
Darter6 said:
Most tilt bed tow trucks will move them for you.
Remember a 4000# lift has a 4000# counter weight.The hole thing will weigh around 6000# or more.
Had a propane 1953 Tow Motor brand in the 80"s. Hard rubber tires. Did not do well in gravel/grass/dirt.
A air tire lift will handle those. Some may be jell filled instead of air and work real good.
Side shift is nice but not necessary. I worked on lifts in the 80's both propane and electric used inside for warehouse work. Batteries last as much as 10 years or more if maintained. We had Hyster,Clark,Tow Motor,Raymond to name a few.
I'm sure newer models will be much better than my old '53 but it did get the job done.
Click to expand...
The transport question was more for when I want to take it somewhere to do work, then bring it back. I have a car hauler, but the angle of the ramps is too great for a forklift. I'm thinking of converting it to a dovetail. So, if I follow -- the rating of the machine will have the same weight counterbalance so it won't tip?
missing linc said:
Any forklift with hard rubber tires will not fair well on gravel or dirt surfaces, nor will one with small diameter tires. I work with and around them every day and I have seen dozens of different machines over the years. If you expect to be able to take it off pavement it needs to have pneumatic tires, at least 16 inches in diameter and with some sort of tread. Rear tires should also have tread. It really depends on how soft the surface you will be operating on. As for electric or propane, they both work well, but price may be the deciding factor.
We do take our hard tired forklifts outside on the gravel, but as soon as we get away from the really hard packed areas, they get stuck easily.
Click to expand...
Thanks. My shop has about a 10 foot strip of hard pack/gravel between the pavement and concrete slab. If I can, I'd like to be able to leave my trailer on the pavement and use the forklift for unloading, but that would mean traversing the unpaved section.
Inertia said:
I'm just gonna toss this out there.
I have an old Bobcat, basically a solid pump platform, fluid filled tires, - can add counter-weights as nec.
Often wish I had the forklift attachment for it .
Click to expand...
I've thought about a skid steer for a long time, can't seem to find a decent one around here for less than $7k. Unfortunately, that's not in the budget.
Projectile Dart said:
Got 2 forklifts at work. One late 60s/early 70s toyota and a early 2000s mitsubishi.
The toyota is 2 stage and rated for 2000 lbs and it struggles as you get close to that 2000 lb mark. It has dually Pneumatic tires up front and does well in different terrain due to its wide footprint. It is gas powered and you can just fill it with a Jerry can but it's kind of a pain sometimes. The 2 stage still offers decent visibility in front of you
the mitsubishi is 3 stage and has side shift forks with solid rubber tires. That one is rated for 4000lbs but we have loaded 6000 on it by hanging an extra counter weight off the back and the hydraulic ram doesn't complain one bit. That one only has about an inch and a half of ground clearance and it feels just about every Crack in the concrete. This one is propane and the tanks last forever as well as with 2 tanks, it's less than 5 min of downtime to swap from an empty tank to a new one, as well as being cheaper to run than the gas model. The 3 stage lift makes for large blind spots in front of you and you will find yourself leaning left and right to see around them.

My point is that there are a lot of things to consider but the main thing would be to begin with how much weight capacity do you need, and how small of a footprint do you want? Maneuverability is a huge factor if you have. If you are working exclusively indoors in a closed building then you need electric. If you are going in and out of a building with a lot of air flow then it's not as important. but the propane exhaust doesn't smell nearly as bad as the gas.


P.S. The side shift is a really nice feature to have if you can get it. We use it a ton to make small adjustments of where to place material on the ground or on a truck.
Click to expand...
Great info, thanks. I think 3,000lbs would be plenty for me, plus my shop is small, so that means a small forklift.

My main hangup with the electric units is A) the cost of batteries, and B) the limited ability to mechanically fix problems. In other words, I feel a lot better having an internal combustion engine vs an electric motor simply due to the ability to troubleshoot and fix problems on site. My shop is very well-ventilated, so exhaust isn't a concern, but is propane or gas better than the other regarding fumes?
 
Bob Jasinski said:
Understand that a forklift's rated capacity is based on a 24" load center, the center of a 48" pallet with the forks fully inserted in the pallet. That may be an important consideration if you plan on lifting loads with a load center farther out than 24". Adding counterweight to a forklift the is not designed to accept more counterweight is in violation of OSHA 1910(q)(6), and is unsafe. Having said that, you can lift a load farther out than 24", but the capacity is reduced. Let's say the data plate states a capacity of 4,000 lbs. @ 24" load center, 4,000 x 24 = 96,000. 96,000 divided by 36 = 2,666 lbs., so your 4,000 lb capacity forklift is now reduced to 2,666 lbs @ 36" load center. The most common forklift type is the class 5 counterbalanced pneumatic (air) tire type. They can be used indoors and outdoors on concrete, asphalt and packed gravel, but not rough terrain, it may get stuck in dirt. A solid tire (class 4) also called a cushion tire lift, can be used outdoors on level concrete and maybe asphalt, but they can sink in if the asphalt is hot. Solid tire forklifts also have a lower ground clearance and don't do well on ramps or uneven surfaces, they can high center and be very difficult to move once stuck. Electric forklifts are fine, most are solid (cushion) tire, but don't do well outdoors. The battery can be very expensive to replace, in the $1,000s of dollars, and you need a 240VAC charger or you will be waiting 24 to 48 hours to charge at 120VAC. I'd stick with an LPG type, pneumatic tire, 4,000 - 5,000 lb capacity. I've been involved with forklifts for over 40 years, have trained over 5,000 operators, and 1100 instructors. I'm now semi retired and only do forklift expert witness work.
Click to expand...
Thanksabunch for the detailed reply. The points you bring up make me think it might not be a bad idea to seek out a quick class locally to learn the basics. I've been leaning towards the LPG units, and have found a couple older ones. Clark and Hyster seem to be what I'm finding in my price range, usually 1970s-80s models, but the older ones are gas.
 
I had one for my old shop. 4000 pound rate, pneumatic tires, gas powered, standard shift. Did everything I needed, came in handy loading/unloading trailers, moving material on dirt(dry!) and also made putting things up in heavy duty racks a breeze. Going high in racks allowed more stuff to be accumulated! Picture of when I sold it when we downsized.

IMG_2096.jpeg
 
The problem with buying something like that is the condition and your inexperience with owning and maintaining one. Unless you buy from an auction of a going out of business sale, I would spend the coin and buy used one from a dealer and avoid the headaches of unknown repairs.
 
I paid $4500 for this one. Before this I had a Nissan. Worked on it more then I used it. This Yale works perfect and goes anywhere. Yesterday my son had it in the mud behind the new shop. Neumatic tires foam filled is the trick. Three tier, side shift , and tilt, are a necessity. Make sure you get the tank with it because they are hard to find. I can put cars on a shelf with it and load all of our machines. We also have a skid loader with forks , The fork lift is much better to work with.

ricks duster.jpg


100_0073.JPG


100_0074.JPG


100_0077.JPG
 
ch1ll said:
The problem with buying something like that is the condition and your inexperience with owning and maintaining one. Unless you buy from an auction of a going out of business sale, I would spend the coin and buy used one from a dealer and avoid the headaches of unknown repairs.
Click to expand...
Very true. There's a forklift place about a mile from the shop, and they do new, used, rentals, and service. I think I'll pop in this morning and see what they have to offer. I guess I've always just assumed they wouldn't have anything in my price range, but I'll never know until I check.
Oldmanmopar said:
Make sure you get the tank with it
Click to expand...
Pardon my ignorance -- what tank are you referring to and do all of the units have it?
 
The shop I work at had had 3 older 60s forklifts. I personally like the hysters propane powered. Little issues with them and we use them maybe 1-2 a week.
 
I'm going to look at an older Hyster this morning. It's advertised as a '97, but it's clearly a late-70s or early-80s machine, and is gasoline operated. I don't mind it being older, but the idea of gas exhaust doesn't tickle my fancy. We'll also see what the forklift place has to offer.
 
If its a rental place rent it first and see if it works for you. They may also have one they are ready to retire if you aren't going to be using it too much.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top