Common Types of Warehouse Equipment
A warehouse is a living organism, it moves and breathes, alive with the hustle and bustle of people receiving, stocking, picking, packing, and shipping raw materials or manufactured goods.
Managing this ecosystem of products flowing in and out would be impossible without specialized warehouse equipment—machinery capable of navigating narrow aisles, carrying heavy pallets, and reaching high shelves.
But what are the must-haves in a warehouse equipment fleet? Here are the more common types of warehouse equipment you can expect to see in a large depot.
#1 Order Pickers
Order pickers are a type of class II forklift used to lift people rather than pallets. Weighing approximately 1,500 to 5,000 lbs, some order pickers can reach shelves as high as 35 feet.
Its function is simple: The order picker raises the forklift operator up to the rack. Once there, the operator can either store or pick products, whether it’s a single item or an entire case.
Operationally, this equipment dramatically accelerates eCommerce order fulfillment and thus warehouse efficiency. Instead of having to unload and then load a whole pallet, you can quickly pull inventory without much hassle.
#2 Reach Trucks
A reach truck is the mechanical giraffe of the warehouse equipment kingdom. It works like a normal forklift, but it goes much higher. Weighing approximately 3,000 to 4,5000 lbs, reach trucks can carry heavy loads and lift them as high as 30 feet.
This type of truck is especially common in distribution centers that have high narrow aisles since it manages the tricky balance between maneuverability and stability.
#3 Triple Mast Forklifts
As the name implies, a 3-stage triple mast (triplex) forklift has an outer, middle, and inner mast. This is one of the most popular forklifts you’ll see in a warehouse thanks to its versatility and ability to lift loads up to 15 feet.
The forklift operator typically sits down to operate the vehicle. And they’re protected by an operator cab and overhead guard.
Many 3-stages have a container mast that allows them to safely drive inside a container or under a mezzanine floor and then lift a pallet up without hitting the roof.
#4 Cushion Tire Forklift
Various forklifts are purposefully designed to operate in a certain environment. In such cases, they often rely on certain tire treads to maneuver on the surfaces or aid specific warehouse activities.
Cushion tire forklifts are made to handle smooth terrain. While they can be used on paved outdoor surfaces, they’re most commonly used inside, especially because they lack the traction capabilities of a pneumatic tire forklift.
This forklift is made to be compact and agile, yet strong. Smaller cushion tires have a load capacity ranging from 3,000 to 6,500 lb. But more heavy-duty cushion tire machinery may be able to lift as much as eight tons.
#5 Turret Truck
Also known as a swing reach forklift, these machines are specially designed for extremely narrow aisles. Their counterbalanced design with a rotating, articulating base enables them to operate in spaces that would be too tight for a normal reach truck forklift.
They can rotate 180 degrees, making them ideal for tight space constraints and narrow aisle applications. By having a turret truck in your fleet, you can make changes to your existing warehouse footprint that maximize pallet capacity.
Value Forklifts—Browse Our Forklifts
To operate a modern warehouse at full capacity, warehouse managers must rely on an array of specialized equipment.
While there are dozens of heavy-duty machines available, order pickers, reach trucks, triple mast forklifts, cushion tire forklifts, and turret trucks are indispensable apparatus within a warehouse fleet.
If you’re searching for forklifts to increase your warehouse’s capabilities, Value Forklifts provides a large collection of reconditioned, serviced, and ready forklift trucks. Wherever you operate, we provide nationwide shipping for our high-quality warehouse equipment.
Are you interested in buying, selling, or trading a forklift? Reach out today!