Very Narrow Aisle Forklift

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Table of Contents

1. Summary
2. Advantages of narrow aisle forklifts over standard forklifts
3. Drawbacks of using a narrow aisle forklift
4. Why choose Lift Parts Warehouse to buy Forklift Parts?
5. Takeaways

Summary

Very narrow aisle forklifts are often used in warehouses for loading and unloading trucks. These forklifts can also be found in small warehouses or grocery stores. They can save space while still being able to move pallets efficiently.

They have a low-profile design that enables narrow aisle forklifts to fit through doorways while only taking up half of the 30-inch wide doorway. These forklifts are also maneuverable and can spin on their axis, minimizing wasted effort when navigating tight spaces.

Advantages of narrow aisle forklifts over standard forklifts

Compared with standard forklifts, very narrow aisle forklifts use less floor space, allow more room for picking, and improve productivity by keeping these forklifts close to the warehouse racks. They are also much more economical than very narrow aisle order pickers or very narrow aisle motorized pallet trucks, which need space between the warehouse racks and very narrow aisle order pickers to operate effectively.

They can also maneuver into tiny spaces where order pickers or motorized pallet trucks might not fit. This increases efficiency by permitting these forklifts to take back very narrow aisle orders dropped off at the loading dock faster than very narrow aisle order pickers or very narrow supermarket aisles walk behind very wide load floor scrubbers might be able to. The smaller, these forklifts consume a narrow aisle percent less floor space than motorized load trucks.

Wide motorized load trucks can be used in conjunction with very narrow aisle order pickers, but wide motorized load trucks cannot work alone because the loading bay door or dock must keep open pallets.

This requires open pallets to either remain on trucks while the back of the truck is unloaded or returned to stack in the warehouse rack area. Returning open pallet stacks to racks requires using very long conveyor systems, which are usually not feasible due to space constraints caused by narrow aisle forklifts.

As with a very wide motorized load truck, these forklifts need a straight shot to the loading bay door or dock. This requires narrow aisle forklift users to be very careful when navigating open pallets because any obstacles will impede the open pallet and prevent it from reaching its destination.

Due to their size, portability, and ease of use, narrow aisle forklifts are used in all industries, including grocery distribution centers, manufacturing facilities, warehouses, and distribution centers.

Although most companies would benefit from using narrow aisle forklifts, there are some downsides. Narrow aisle forklift and narrow aisle order pickers can use the same lanes as other very wide motorized load trucks. This means that if an open pallet is dropped off by a truck at the dock, it will still have to go through being brought back to stack in the order rack area.

Suppose an item cannot be picked up with standard warehouse equipment such as narrow aisle forklifts, narrow aisle order pickers, or wide motorized load trucks. In that case, those items must be taken out and put into shopping carts for transport throughout the facility.

They might be able to take back orders that were dropped off at the loading dock faster than order pickers or floor scrubbers. The smaller size of very narrow aisle forklifts saves percent less floor space than motorized truckload.

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Very Narrow Aisle Forklift

Drawbacks of using a narrow aisle forklift

The one major drawback of using a very narrow aisle forklift is that order pickers and very wide motorized load trucks must be careful when navigating the open pallets being transferred between them not to damage or destroy any items on the pallet. This could be less of an issue if the trucks only have a few orders on the back, but it becomes more problematic in facilities where all trucks are full because they must work together to complete their tasks successfully.

When using these forklift trucks, there is a chance that the item cannot be picked up by any warehouse equipment and must instead be taken out and put into shopping carts before it can be transferred throughout the facility. There's nothing worse than spending hours picking items off of trucks only to find that one or two items can't be picked up.

Why choose Lift Parts Warehouse to buy Forklift Parts?

Lift Parts Warehouse is a leading retailer in the forklift parts industry. We have warehouses in the United States that house over 450,000 lift truck parts and carry many hard-to-find obsolete forklift parts.

Takeaways

  • They have a low-profile design that enables these forklifts to fit through doorways while only taking up half of the 30-inch wide doorway.

  • Wide motorized load trucks can be used in conjunction with very narrow aisle order pickers, but wide motorized load trucks cannot work alone because the loading bay door or dock must keep open pallets.

  • Due to their size, portability, and ease of use, these forklifts are used in all industries, including grocery distribution centers, manufacturing facilities, warehouses, and distribution centers.