Narrow Aisle Lift Trucks
The kind of electric truck that is designed to function in narrow aisles is known as a Narrow Aisle Lift Truck. Typical storage aisles are only 3.6 meters wide, sufficient space for a counterbalanced lift truck to pivot in the aisle. Nevertheless, narrow aisles could be around 2.4 meters wide to as little as 1.8 meters. The narrow area requires specific types of lift trucks which are small, capable of tight turns, could put away loads without turning. The popular types of narrow-aisle trucks are turret trucks, order pickers and reach trucks.
Narrow-aisle reach trucks
The first types of narrow-aisle lift trucks manufactured for warehouse applications are the reach trucks. These small trucks could easily turn in narrow aisles because their design has eliminated the requirement for a big counterweight. Stability is instead provided by outrigger arms that extend in front of the truck. The disadvantage of this particular design is that the outrigger arms could inhibit access to the storage rack as the truck cannot get close enough. These kinds of trucks truly work well in a warehouse which is well lit, has even, clean floors, good traffic flow and ample space for turning.
Turret trucks
The design of a turret truck has turning forks on side of the truck. The forks turn 90 degrees and move from side to side. The load faces forward while the operator drives down the aisle. When it stops at the designated storage location, the forks of the truck pivot to the storage side and lift the load to their full extension, and then smoothly deposit the load prior to resuming their original position. Turret trucks can come with a wire guidance system which keeps the truck on its path in very narrow aisles. In man-down trucks, operators remain at floor level.