Types of forklift trucks

If you want to get your forklift operator’s certificate, then you need to know what types of forklift trucks you can operate. Almost all courses will teach you using a counterbalance forklift, but you may want to request training on other forklifts specific to the roles you’re looking for. If you encounter a forklift in your workplace that you haven’t been trained on, the Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016 say you must be given an induction and training on the machine.

The main types of forklift truck are:

• Counterbalance
• Walkie trucks
• Reach trucks
• Order pickers
• Side loader forklifts
• Off-road
• Telescopic handlers (telehandlers or teletrucks)
• Truck-mounted
• Articulated

Counterbalance

Counterbalance forklift trucks are very common. ‘Counterbalance’ refers to the large weight over the back wheels that balances the forklift from the weight carried at the front.

They are suitable for general warehouse and outdoor use where the ground is relatively flat. They are typically powered by LPG, battery or diesel. They come in a four-wheel configuration or a three-wheel configuration (although ‘3-wheel’ counterbalance forklifts might still have four wheels, as the ‘middle’ wheel at the rear is often two wheels side-by-side).

3-wheel counterbalance forklifts are highly manoeuvrable and are well suited to warehouses with narrow aisles. They are less stable than four-wheel versions and are usually electric-powered.

Walkie stackers and electric pallet jacks

Walkie stackers or walkie trucks are electric-powered small forklift trucks. The operator walks behind it. It allows for easy movement of small loads in smaller warehouses where a larger truck either wouldn’t be economically viable or wouldn’t fit.

Reach truck

Reach trucks are different from reach stackers (a reach stacker is used at a port to move containers). Reach trucks have a fork carriage that also moves away from and toward the mast.

These are helpful in warehouses with high racking. The operator either sits or stands, depending on the model.

Order pickers

These are also called stock pickers. The operator stands on a platform that they can raise so that they can pick the stock directly from the shelf. It operates on the same principles as a forklift with a forklift work platform. They are almost always electric as they are operated in closed spaces like warehouses.

Low-level order pickers do not have a mast. They are designed to move pallets at ground level and are an alternative to a walkie stacker.

Side loader forklifts

A side loader forklift is a variation of the counterbalance truck that is designed to carry long loads.

It may have a single set of forks or twin-tine forks and usually has additional supports for any loads that are being carried.

The word is often confused with sideloaders that lift containers onto trucks.

Off-road

Off-road forklifts are similar to counterbalance forklifts but with much more ground clearance and off-road tyres. Conventional forklifts are not very stable on rough ground. Off-road forklifts are useful on farms, building sites and other places where there could be rough terrain.

Telescopic handlers (telehandlers or teletrucks)

Telehandlers have a boom arm with a backrest and forks on the end of it. They are frequently used on construction sites and farms. They have reasonably high reach and can be used to stack bales on trucks, for example. While they are not technically forklift trucks, as they don’t have a mast, if they have forks, they are often treated as a forklift.

Truck-mounted

Truck-mounted forklifts are convenient for delivery drivers who take loads to places where a conventional forklift might not be able to operate, such as a building site, or where there may not be a forklift available. They can sometimes substitute for a truck-mounted crane and are more useful as they can take the load inside a warehouse.

Articulated

Articulated trucks are counterbalance trucks with articulating forks to give much more manoeuvrability in narrow aisles.