Narrow Aisle Lift Trucks
Narrow Aisle Lift Trucks are electric trucks made to operate in narrow aisles. A counterbalanced lift truck can turn in the aisle since standard storage aisles are 3.6 meters wide and this is sufficient space. Nonetheless, narrow aisles can be about 2.4 meters wide to as little as 1.8 meters. The narrow area requires specific kinds of lift trucks that are capable of tight turns, small, can put away loads without pivoting. The common types 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 manufactured for warehouse applications. These small trucks could easily turn within narrow aisles since their design has eliminated the requirement for a big counterweight. Stability is instead provided by outrigger arms extending in front of the truck. The disadvantage of this design is that the outrigger arms can inhibit access to the storage rack as the truck cannot get near enough. These types of trucks really work well inside a warehouse that is well lit, has clean, even floors, good flow of traffic and enough space for turning.
Turret trucks
The design of a turret truck consists of forks on the side which turn. The forks pivot 90 degrees and move from side to side. The load could face forward while the operator drives down the aisle. Once stopped at the designated storage location, the forks of the truck turn to the storage side and raise the load to their full extension, and next smoothly deposit the load before resuming their original position. Turret trucks could 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.