Fork Lifts - What Do You Need To Know?

Mike Finley

I know absolutely nothing about forklifts. My knowledge of them comes from years of dodging them but never paying any attention to them, but I can see one in my future eventually.

Anybody explain quickly what you need to know and not know about getting one? Are they ridiculously expensive to buy or maintain? Bullet proof, last forever? Good used one would cost how much to buy and what does it take to keep one going? Any issues with how they are powered or knowledge required to run one?

firemike

What do you want to use it for Mike? Just around a warehouse/shop such as a basic Hi-Lo for loading and unloading equipment and materials, or something to use in the field, such as a rough terrain Sky Trac type.

As for operating, some places require certification (a minor issue usually) and while there is a learning curve for safe operation like any piece of heavy equipment, and does require some skill to operate, but it is mostly common sense, which you don't seem to have a problem with.

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-Mike-

Mike Finley

Eventually I want to get some warehouse space and store materials. Order things by the pallet and such and keep lumber and other materials we use all the time on hand in quantity. Be able to pull our tile orders off the delivery truck on a pallet and store them till the job starts, then move em back onto our truck for delivery to the job site when it's time.

mickeyco

I don't know a whole lot about forklifts, aside from the fact that they're real fun to drive. The girlfriends family business has a bunch of them and buy them all used and haven't had any problems, just regular maintenance. Now for some info that might actually be useful, I used to work at a place that had Big Joe, walk behind electric forklifts, and they where great. They charged over night, no propane needed, didn't take up too much space, much less maintenance and I'm guessing a lot cheaper.



http://www.bigjoemfg.com/

There's one on eBay for $2,295.00.
http://cgi.ebay.com/BIG-JOE-3000-LB-...QQcmdZViewItem

Here's another cool one on eBay for $500, only 48 minutes left, it's in Chicago.

http://cgi.ebay.com/95-Raymond-Reach...QQcmdZViewItem

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firemike

I'm with Mickey on the electric ones for your situation, whether it's a walk-behind or ride on. Quiet, no propane tanks (Murphy's Law, the propane will always run out when you are in a hurry to load for a hot job), you don't have to worry about cold weather, and they are less of a maintenance headache. They are relatively inexpensive too, I have seen some good deals on eBay, and you might want to keep an eye on local auctions, I have some really good deals on the local level, at least around here.

Once you get used to the rear steering, and proper operation, you will love it, and find more uses than just loading and offloading the trucks.

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-Mike-

mickeyco

Yeah, they're great for other things too, such as: they're great for smashing stuff real flat, forklift races if you have more than one, emergency ladder, lifting porta potties when someone is in it, changing flat tires on the car or truck real fast and the best is laying bubble wrap on the floor and driving over it with the forklift.

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Some people climb mountains. I take out the trash. But we both do it for the same reason.

dougchips

Might want to look into the power required to charge the electrical ones. They are not charged with car chargers. You will need to have someone come in and hold a class to certify you and your employee's on the forklifts. The classes take about 1-2 hours and the test is really easy. I'm not sure if OSHA requires anything other than a class and a current card.

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firemike

I didn't want to come right out and say these things, but now that you mention it....

See who can pick up a quarter with the fork the fastest, coffee cup races, and oh yeah, it can pick up pallets too! Also, if you drill/burn a hole near the end of a fork and bolt a trailer hitch ball on it, they work super for moving trailers around, a decent one will even move empty 53 foot semi trailers. Great for changing lightbulbs around the shop, hanging stuff on to paint or powerwash...

By the way, the bubble wrap thing (one of my personal favorites) sounds really cool, like you in a war zone, or downtown Detroit...

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-Mike-

BrianHay

Forklifts can be a ton of fun for sure. I worked as a forklift operator in a hay processing plant for a while when i was a teenager. I had to keep the machines fed that compressed the bales and unload trucks as they came in. Had a lot of good times.

Here is a good link for you to find used ones of all diferent types and sizes
http://www.machinerytrader.com/listi...86304F7B127A16