Narrow Aisle Lift Trucks
Narrow Aisle Lift Trucks are electric trucks made to operate within narrow aisles. A counterbalanced lift truck could turn within the aisle since standard storage aisles are only 3.6 meters wide and this is sufficient space. However, narrow aisles can be 2.4 meters wide to as little as 1.8 meters. The narrow area needs specialized kinds of lift trucks that are capable of tight turns, small, could put away loads without pivoting. The popular types of narrow-aisle trucks are turret trucks, order pickers and reach trucks.
Narrow-aisle reach trucks
The first types of narrow-aisle lift trucks manufactured for warehouse applications are the reach trucks. These small trucks could turn with no trouble within narrow aisles as their design has eliminated the requirement for a big counterweight. Stability is instead provided by outrigger arms that extend in front of the truck. The downside of this particular design is that the outrigger arms could inhibit access to the storage rack since the truck cannot get close enough. These trucks work well in a warehouse which is well lit, has clean, even floors, ample space for turning and good traffic flow.
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 while the operator drives down the aisle. When stopped at the designated storage location, the truck's forks turn to the storage side and raise the load to their full extension, and then smoothly deposit the load before resuming their original position. Turret trucks could come with a wire guidance system that keeps the truck on its path in very narrow aisles. In man-down trucks, operators remain at floor level.