Narrow Aisle Lift Trucks
The kind of electric truck that is designed to operate within narrow aisles is known as a Narrow Aisle Lift Truck. Standard storage aisles are just 3.6 meters wide, enough space for a counterbalanced lift truck to turn within the aisle. Nevertheless, narrow aisles could be about 2.4 meters wide to as little as 1.8 meters. The narrow space requires specific lift truck models that are capable of tight turns, small, and able to put away loads without turning. The popular types of narrow-aisle trucks are turret trucks, order pickers and reach trucks.
Narrow-aisle reach trucks
Reach trucks were the very first narrow-aisle lift truck to be manufactured for warehouse use. These small trucks could turn with no trouble within narrow aisles because their design has eliminated the need for a huge counterweight. Instead, stability is provided by outrigger arms extending in front of the truck. The downside of this design is that the outrigger arms could hinder access to the storage rack as the truck cannot get near enough. These trucks really work well within a warehouse that is well lit, has clean, even floors, enough turning space and good flow of traffic.
Turret trucks
The turret truck design includes forks on the side that turn. The forks pivot 90 degrees and move from side to side. The load faces forward whilst the operator drives down the aisle. When stopped 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 before resuming their original position. Turret trucks are available 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.