As you gather equipment for your new warehouse, you may want to spend some time looking at forklifts. You know you'll need a forklift, but you'll also need specialized versions for lifting things up high or carrying oddly shaped loads. Two options are a side loader forklift and a lift truck. Buying both can be expensive, so will having only one of those do, or will you need to get creative with your equipment budget?
How They Differ
Side loader forklifts carry items on their side, much like a lift truck does. But the side loader is mainly for carrying very long items that wouldn't fit in normal aisles if held out in front. Lift trucks have the ability to lift items up to tall shelves. They can retrieve the items from those shelves, too.
Can One Do the Job of the Other?
Technically, a lift truck could carry some elongated items. The weight of the items and the length would both affect how easy that was to do. For example, a lift truck rated to hold up to X number of pounds would not be able to carry elongated supplies that weighed more than that. And a side loader would likely be too short to take the place of a lift truck. That's not good in warehouses with very tall shelves. But if your warehouse doesn't need height so much as it needs the ability to get through narrow aisles, then a side loader forklift alone might work.
Depending on Needs, Both May Be Good
If you can afford it and know you'll eventually need both, then buying both a side loader forklift and a lift truck may be best. You really don't want to rely on one, hoping that it will work in all circumstances. If you rarely need one, such as if you work in a warehouse where you mostly need a regular forklift and a lift truck, you could consider renting the side loader forklift. However, this depends on how much notice you get that you'll have items that require a side loader instead of a lift truck.
That so many models of forklifts are available is nice, but it does create confusion when you try to figure out what you need. You've got to have a good sense of what you need to carry and how often you need to carry it. Speak with forklift dealers to find out what individual models can do.
