Narrow Aisle Lift Trucks
The kind of electric truck that is made to operate in narrow aisles is known as a Narrow Aisle Lift Truck. Standard storage aisles are only 3.6 meters wide, enough space for a counterbalanced lift truck to turn within the aisle. Nevertheless, narrow aisles could be around 2.4 meters wide to as little as 1.8 meters. The narrow space requires specific types of lift trucks which are capable of tight turns, small, could put away loads without turning. The popular kinds of narrow-aisle trucks are order pickers, reach trucks and turret trucks.
Narrow-aisle reach trucks
Reach trucks were the first narrow-aisle lift truck to be developed for warehouse use. These small trucks can turn without difficulty in narrow aisles because their design has eliminated the need for a big counterweight. Instead, stability is 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 as the truck cannot get near enough. These types of trucks work well in a warehouse that is well lit, has even, clean floors, enough space for turning and good traffic flow.
Turret trucks
The design of a turret truck has turning forks on side of the truck. The forks turn 90 degrees and move from side to side. The load can face forward whilst the operator drives down the aisle. When stopped at the designated storage place, the truck's forks turn to the storage side and lift the load to their full extension, and next easily deposit the load prior to resuming their original position. Turret trucks can come 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.