Which Type of Pallet Truck Should You Choose?

Increasing warehouse productivity is simple with the right material handling equipment. Transporting pallets of products around your facility calls for dependable pallet trucks to streamline the operations process.

Industrial pallet trucks make your heavy lifting tasks easier and more productive. You’ll lift more products faster and safer than you would with only manual power.

Companies should know how to choose a pallet truck that meets their operations needs. Learn about the various types of pallet trucks and their functions to choose the right equipment for your company.

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What Is a Pallet Truck?

A pallet truck is a type of material handling equipment that transports product-laden pallets throughout a work site. The material handling process involves hard work from team members and a structured operations procedure to ensure your supplies move efficiently. Using pallet trucks to move items throughout your facility is an easy way to boost your warehouse operations.

Companies will notice numerous benefits from pallet trucks once they incorporate them into their process. Here are four of the top benefits you’ll experience from using a pallet truck in the warehouse:

Decrease risk of injuries: Safety is a top priority in a warehouse. With the proper training in handling pallet trucks, moving product through out a facility will take place with a greatly reduced chance of injury. For example, manually lifting and transporting product for extended distances and extended periods of time is a certainty for wear and tear on the body. Pallet trucks will bear the load that your body was not meant to.
Low costs: Operating an electric pallet jack in your facility can reduce costs at your warehouse. In contrast to forklift trucks which require an extra outlay for upkeep and propane tanks, electric pallet trucks are relatively easy to maintain and have a much lower overhead.
Improve employee productivity: Heavy lifting jobs can not only be stressful and exhausting for employees, but also yield low productivity in the long run. With the use of manual and/or electric pallet trucks more work will be done in less time. When it is all said and done pallet trucks will yield great return on investments for your company.
Works for numerous applications: Different types of pallet jacks are available to tackle practically any job at your facility. Pallet trucks come in numerous shapes and sizes and can include different attachments to for your company’s specific projects. They can move various materials like container, coils, rolls, and various sized industrial pallets.

Different Types of Pallet Trucks

Companies can choose from five main types of pallet trucks for their material handling jobs. Here are some ideas to consider that may help you decide on which pallet truck makes the most sense in your facility:

Your workspace: Are you inside of a warehouse or outside in a yard? Maybe you split time between both. Are you in a normal warehouse setting or are you in a food area with strict sanitation requirements? The type of pallet jack you purchase should be conducive to your workspace environment.
Jobs to complete: Find the pallet truck that will complete all the tasks you need to accomplish. Do you need to handle many heavy loads throughout the day, or do you only need to use the equipment for part of the day? Do you work with standard 40″ X 48″ pallets or do you work with other dimensions?
Capacity: Consider the maximum weight capacity you need your pallet truck to handle. This is crucial because equipment handling loads over the capacity limit is a safety hazard and can lead to potential product damage and an inoperable pallet truck.

Your company or organization may have additional requirements for a pallet truck that you’ll need to consider. Overall, it’s important to create a checklist of all of the specifications your pallet truck must include before your purchase.

Learn about all the types of pallet trucks and see which one will fit your operation goals the best.

Manual Pallet Truck

If you’re looking for a cost-effective equipment option for your warehouse, a manual pallet truck can be a wonderful solution for your company. This equipment is one of the best options for indoor facilities and offers lift capacities that can tackle your fundamental material handling tasks.

You can improve your warehouse’s operation quality with a new manual pallet mover machine. A pallet truck can make your employee’s jobs more efficient and improve the material handling process. Let’s review some of the benefits a manual pallet jack can bring to your facility:

Warehouse safety: You can achieve a safe warehouse environment by following government safety regulations, implementing clear operations plans and providing equipment to help relieve the stress from your employees. Heavy lifting can become dangerous, but with an affordable equipment option like a manual pallet truck, you make your warehouse more efficient and safer for your team.
Boosts productivity: Moving heavy materials by hand is time-consuming and difficult. A manual pallet truck helps employees move heavy pallets across your warehouse more quickly thereby improving productivity.
Durable and reliable: Manual pallet trucks are strong and can maneuver through tight spaces in your warehouse. It’s helpful to have reliable equipment at your facility, and a quality made manual pallet truck will deliver on that request.
Convenient size: Manual pallet trucks are sleek in design and very robust for tackling tough jobs. Their compact sizes allow them to move through narrow aisles, and they can lift a range of weight capacities depending on the make and model of the pallet truck.
Affordable: A perk of purchasing a manual pallet truck is the upfront cost is significantly lower than powered pallet trucks. This can mean more pallet trucks will be available for the workstations in your facility that need them.
Simple training: A manual pallet truck is manufactured with a basic design, making the model relatively easy to operate. Training employees on how to operate manual pallet jacks will require very little time.
Low-maintenance: Manual pallet trucks are fairly straightforward to maintain and also require little service. Maintenance costs for manual pallet trucks are relatively low as well.

Manual pallet trucks that are strategically placed throughout your facility provide a conveniently accessible means for transporting product throughout your facility. It especially comes in handy during times when forklift drivers are occupied and your product needs to be transported to a designated location by a certain time.

Electric Pallet Truck

Electric pallet trucks function throughout a warehouse with the power of an electric motor. The power of the motor controls both the pallet trucks lifting ability and its movability.

An electrically operated pallet truck can help make your employees’ tasks more convenient while enabling them to work more efficiently. Take a look at the benefits of an electric pallet jack:

Simple maneuverability: Electric pallet trucks are easy to move because of their electric controls. These controls allow the operator to steer the truck accurately in the direction they need to go and position loads in their proper place.
Less strain on employees: Pallet trucks, whether manual or electric, are designed to alleviate the stress of manually handling and transporting loads. An electric pallet truck, however, as opposed to a manual pallet truck is much more practical for moving heavy product throughout a facility for long distances. With the press of a button or toggle of a switch on the steering control arm employees can raise the forks up and down or move the pallet truck in the direction desired.
Simple training: Electric pallet trucks are designed to be very user friendly, ultimately reducing the learning curve so that your employees can get to safely moving product right away. Since time is money, providing a safe and user friendly equipment for your team will definitely impact your company’s bottom line.
Eliminates fumes and loud noise: Safety issues in your warehouse may include poor indoor air quality and loud noises making communication between teammates difficult. Electric pallet trucks don’t release fumes like gas- or propane-powered equipment making them more conducive in indoor facilities. These trucks also are quieter because they are electric, making communication with coworkers easier as well.
Covers more ground: An electric pallet truck lets employees cover more ground in your warehouse in a shorter amount of time, improving both efficiency and productivity. This ultimately means a better return on investment.
Quick navigation: Whether your warehouse is big or small, all spaces can benefit from the agility of an electric pallet truck. Electric pallet trucks can accomplish tight turns and maneuver through narrow aisles. For the transportation of heavy product electric pallet trucks provide the needed torque to successfully complete the task.

Battery-powered pallet trucks are an excellent means for enhancing your work operations. They can move quickly throughout your warehouse while safely transporting product from point A to point B.

Specialty Pallet Truck

Standard pallet trucks although helpful and even necessary may not successfully work with your specific application. If you have a job that a regular electric or manual pallet truck won’t accomplish, a specialty pallet truck may be the solution for your company.

Specialty pallet trucks go beyond the scope of capabilities of a typical pallet truck. This type of equipment handles jobs that demand specific design configurations, fork sizes and other unique features that a standard pallet truck doesn’t have. Here are 3 examples of specialty pallet trucks:

Single fork trucks: Moving products like vending machines, safes, ATMs and other unique items require a specialty pallet truck. A single fork pallet truck is a great solution to move products where a typical two-fork pallet truck can’t handle the job. These specialty trucks can move around a facility easily, are lightweight and offer different size fork options depending on the products you are moving.
Adjustable fork trucks: If the pallet or product you’re handling requires wider or narrower forks, an adjustable fork pallet truck will be your solution.
Roll and reel trucks: If your company handles rolls and coils of special materials, like sheet metal, carpets, paper, wire, rope, fabrics and plastic, a roll and reel pallet truck can help tackle the job. The cradle design of the roll and reel truck prevents your roll products from toppling and falling so that conveyance is both safe and efficient.

If your company handles special products or materials that a typical pallet truck can’t handle, consider purchasing a specialty pallet truck for improving your productivity.

All-Terrain Pallet Truck

Not all material handling jobs are inside of a warehouse. For companies that need to transport heavy materials outside of their facility, an all-terrain pallet truck will be an excellent solution.

All-terrain pallet trucks are built to function on uneven ground or outside terrain. For industries that tackle most of their material handling tasks in a work yard or constantly move materials inside and outside of a warehouse, this equipment is indispensable. Learn about the benefits of all-terrain pallet trucks:

Manual and gas-powered: You can purchase gas or manual all-terrain pallet trucks. Manual trucks are perfect for light to medium weight loads and are an affordable option. Gas-powered equipment is especially beneficial for heavy outdoor use over extensive distances. These trucks are powerful and provide great relief from manually pushing and pulling product over soil surfaces.
Various industries: Numerous industries can benefit from an outdoor pallet truck. Lumberyards, agriculture, specialty materials and other outdoor facilities can boost their productivity with an all-terrain pallet truck.
Efficient operator handling: All-terrain pallet trucks are user-friendly compared to larger equipment like forklift trucks. With proper training and safety courses, employees will benefit from using all-terrain trucks at your facility.

All-terrain pallet trucks are a great option if your company requires the outdoor transport of pallet loads, especially if it includes going over rough surfaces.

Custom Pallet Truck

Custom pallet trucks are the solution for a company that needs special equipment to complete distinct material handling jobs. Many companies have unique jobs that aren’t suited to standard pallet trucks. That’s where custom pallet trucks come in. For example, your pallets may require forks that have an overall width that is less than 20″ or your pallets may require that your forks be wider than 33″. This is where a custom pallet truck will be required. In other cases, your pallet truck may require shorter forks or longer forks. Tell us more about your application and let us see how we can help.

How to Use a Pallet Truck

Prior to using any newly purchased pallet trucks it is highly recommended that employees be trained in how to safely use and maintain the equipment. Training ensures your employees know how to operate the pallet trucks safely and move pallet loads properly so to avoid accidents or injuries. Pallet truck safety training will ultimately contribute to a productive warehouse.

Find Your Pallet Truck at Cherry’s Material Handling

Get expert advice from Cherry’s Material Handling on what type of pallet truck is perfect for your company. Cherry’s Material Handling offers high-quality pallet trucks that can improve your overall warehouse operations. Contact us today to learn more about our equipment and warehouse products.