Narrow Aisle Lift Trucks
Narrow Aisle Lift Trucks are electric trucks made to operate within narrow aisles. Typical storage aisles are just 3.6 meters wide, sufficient space for a counterbalanced lift truck to turn in the aisle. Nonetheless, narrow aisles could be 2.4 meters wide to as little as 1.8 meters. The narrow area requires specialized lift truck models that are small, capable of tight turns, can put away loads without turning. The common kinds of narrow-aisle trucks are turret trucks, order pickers and reach trucks.
Narrow-aisle reach trucks
The first kinds of narrow-aisle lift trucks developed for warehouse applications are the reach trucks. These small trucks can easily turn within narrow aisles as their design has eliminated the requirement for a huge counterweight. Stability is instead provided by outrigger arms extending in front of the truck. The disadvantage of this design is that the outrigger arms could inhibit access to the storage rack as the truck cannot get near enough. These types of trucks truly work well inside a warehouse that is well lit, has clean, even floors, ample space for turning and good flow of traffic.
Turret trucks
The turret truck design includes forks on the side that turn. The forks turn 90 degrees and move from side to side. The load can face forward whilst the operator drives down the aisle. When it stops at the designated storage location, the truck's forks turn to the storage side and lift the load to their full extension, and then easily deposit the load prior to resuming their original position. Turret trucks are available with a wire guidance system that keeps the truck on its path in very narrow aisles. Operators remain at floor level in man-down trucks.