Narrow Aisle Lift Trucks
The type of electric truck that is made to function within narrow aisles is known as a Narrow Aisle Lift Truck. Typical storage aisles are only 3.6 meters wide, adequate space for a counterbalanced lift truck to pivot within the aisle. Nevertheless, narrow aisles can be around 2.4 meters wide to as little as 1.8 meters. The narrow space needs specialized lift truck models which are small, capable of tight turns, can put away loads without pivoting. The common kinds of narrow-aisle trucks are reach trucks, turret trucks and orderpickers.
Narrow-aisle reach trucks
Reach trucks were the first narrow-aisle lift truck to be manufactured for warehouse applications. These small trucks can turn without difficulty within narrow aisles because their design has eliminated the need for a huge counterweight. Stability is instead provided by outrigger arms which extend in front of the truck. The disadvantage of this particular design is that the outrigger arms could inhibit access to the storage rack since the truck cannot get near enough. These trucks really work well within a warehouse that is well lit, has even, clean floors, enough space for turning and good flow of traffic.
Turret trucks
The turret truck design has turning forks on side of the truck. The forks pivot 90 degrees and move from side to side. The load can face forward while the operator drives down the aisle. Once it stops at the designated storage location, the truck's forks pivot to the storage side and raise the load to their full extension, and then smoothly deposit the load prior to resuming their original position. Turret trucks could come with a wire guidance system which keeps the truck on its path in really narrow aisles. In man-down trucks, operators remain at floor level.