In our last blog post we mentioned “Opportunity” charging, taking the time afforded by lunch breaks and other down time to charge your forklift batteries.  There are advantages to that, and to conventional charging you will want to consider before you plug in during that break. In a normal charging situation, a shift ends and your operator...

The battery in your car or truck, and the battery in your forklift are both necessary to make the vehicle go. That’s where the similarities end. The battery in your forklift serves several purposes in addition to powering the unit. We use industrial lead acid batteries in most of our forklifts, and they are much bigger and heavier than most...

Like just about anything in this world, your forklift will eventually wear out.  It’s the circle of life. So… how long should a forklift last? With proper maintenance- regular checkups according to the manufacturers recommendations, oil changes, grease applications and run-of-the-mill usage, etc- a new forklift should last about 10,000...

The Electric vs. Gas forklift debate involves a little more than which use may be best for your indoor facility. There are very real differences if you will be using your lift outdoors, as well. We’ve covered the cost difference, so let’s just talk about functionality, starting with a gas-powered lift. Gas-powered lifts can just flat-out...

  Last time we discussed how to operate your forklift safely, before you start the ignition. This time, we get to manage a load and move it from one place to another, with safety in mind. We’ve walked around the lift, we’ve dressed appropriately, climbed on board safely and checked the controls. Ok, turn that key- we’ve...

Whether you’re talking about safety at home or at the workplace, or just about any place in-between, safety and common sense have a lot in common. The same is true when it comes to operating your forklift safely.  Taking the time to think about what you are doing can not only help you work smarter, it can help you work safer. On a...

With several different mast styles to choose from, you need to know how each could make your operations more efficient.  We talked to Don Haas to shed some light on what these differences are and how one style might not be the best fit for your...

There is a little more to owning and operating a forklift than rolling it out onto the warehouse floor and moving stuff around. You must be very aware of your forklift and the loads you are expecting it to handle. What you are moving should always be considered before you select a forklift. Variables like weight, size, and height need to be...

  By itself, your forklift is a pretty simple machine. A motor, a seat, wheels and the part that does the heavy lifting. With a few bells and whistles, some must-have accessories for your forklift can turn it into a super-valuable tool in your workplace. Maybe the number one accessory is the sideshift. This allows the load your lift...

Propane can not only grill up a tasty burger on a long Summer afternoon, it can also power your forklift. No wonder Hank Hill loved propane so much. Now, there are some differences between the propane in your grill, and your propane-powered forklift. A propane-powered forklift uses Liquid Propane (LP.) It’s actually a mix of propane and butane...