Choosing the Right Forklift for your Project

Choosing your Engine Type

Forklifts can be used for many different tasks in a variety of environments. Although all engine types could be used in all environments, some are better than others for indoor vs outdoor use.

Liquid Petroleum Gas vs Diesel vs Electric forklifts

• LP gas forklifts use liquid petroleum to power the engine. LP is a clean-burning fuel with low carbon monoxide output, which allows for indoor use.
• Electric forklifts don’t produce any fumes, making them eco-friendly. They do require significant charging time, which is something to consider if your factory is up and running 24 hours a day.
• Diesel forklifts must be used outside due to the carbon monoxide exhaust. They are very powerful, have the capacity to lift very heavy loads, and allow for use in rugged terrain.

Choosing your Tires

Pneumatic tires come in air pneumatic and solid pneumatic options. Pneumatic tires are great for outdoor and rugged terrain.

• Solid pneumatic tires are made of solid rubber and are extremely durable.
• Air pneumatic tires are durable, although they don’t last as long as solid tires.

Cushion tires are solid rubber bonded to a metal band or ring. They function great in factories and smooth outdoor applications. Cushion tire forklifts are the industry standard for factory, warehouse inventory, and loading docks.

Choosing the Right Weight Capacity

Getting the right forklift for your application requires a good understanding of weight capacity. If you do a lot of heavy lifting, you’ll need a higher weight capacity. If you move mostly small and light products, you could benefit from a lighter-weight capacity forklift.

It’s recommended to choose a forklift with a slightly larger weight capacity than you expect you’ll need to prevent injuries or damages to the lift.

Choosing the Right Mast

Forklift mast stages refer to the number of lifting sections on the forklift. 3-stage forklifts are the most common. 4-stage lifts can reach high heights. The larger the mast number of a forklift, the higher you’ll be able to lift.

For inventory management or warehouse jobs, it's recommended you have a forklift with a 3-stage mast or higher.

Pick a Forklift From Our Inventory

Browse our inventory of high-quality, used forklifts for you next project. When you visit our forklifts page you can sort lifts by fuel type, capacity, price, mast, and tire type.

Browse Used Forklifts