Narrow Aisle Lift Trucks
The kind of electric truck that is made to operate within narrow aisles is called a Narrow Aisle Lift Truck. Standard storage aisles are only 3.6 meters wide, sufficient space for a counterbalanced lift truck to pivot in the aisle. Nonetheless, narrow aisles can be around 2.4 meters wide to as little as 1.8 meters. The narrow area needs specialized lift truck models that are capable of tight turns, small, can put away loads without pivoting. The common kinds of narrow-aisle trucks are turret trucks, order pickers and reach trucks.
Narrow-aisle reach trucks
The first types of narrow-aisle lift trucks manufactured for warehouse use are the reach trucks. These small trucks could turn with no trouble within narrow aisles because their design has eliminated the requirement for a large counterweight. Instead, stability is provided by outrigger arms extending in front of the truck. The downside of this particular design is that the outrigger arms could inhibit access to the storage rack since the truck cannot get close enough. These types of trucks work well in a warehouse which is well lit, has clean, even floors, ample space for turning and good flow of traffic.
Turret trucks
The turret truck design has pivoting forks on side of the truck. The forks pivot 90 degrees and move from side to side. The load could face forward whilst the operator drives down the aisle. When stopped at the designated storage location, the truck's forks pivot to the storage side and lift the load to their full extension, and next smoothly deposit the load prior to resuming their original position. Turret trucks can come with a wire guidance system which keeps the truck on its path in very narrow aisles. Operators remain at floor level in man-down trucks.