Forklift advice -- what should a guy know before buying one?

[damae]

For some time, I've been toying with the idea to buy a forklift for moving around my mills, and generally to make a lot of around-the-shop jobs easier. So I have two kinds of questions:

1. What unexpected uses will I find if I have a forklift handy? I hear of people using their forklift to hold things in place as they weld, to lift a car and work on the underside, and of course, to move around your average family's milling machine collection.

2. What kind of features should I look for? For instance, I get the feeling that side-shift is a really handy feature when lifting odd loads like a mill. But then again, I've never driven a forklift in my life, so what do I know? =)

I just signed a purchase agreement to buy a house on 2.5 acres, on which, I eventually hope to build a shop where the forklift will live. Hey, you didn't think I was going to park the forklift on the neighborhood street where I live now, did you? Ok, I admit that it will probably sit in my driveway for a month before I get to move-in to the new house. =) I hope my neighbors don't mind. I mean, I don't complain that my neighbor parks his Corvette in his driveway.

[damae]

One more detail -- I want something used and cheap. Lots to pick from around Seattle and Portland!

[CountZero]

Working under a car lifted by a fork lift is not good pratice, lift it up yes, but use something else to keep it up..

[thkoutsidthebox]

Working under a car lifted by forklift! Thats just plain stupid, and you'd almost deserve it to drop on you!

Forklifts have a huge list of optional extras, not to mention the enormous variety of types. Powerplant is a major consideration and is dependant upon where its going to be used. The more common ones are batteries, LPG, or diesel.

You dont want to end up with the wrong type of vehicle. As in all purchases of this type of machinery its always better to 'over-spec' than to 'under-spec'.

I have a folder of info on this stuff, but its not here, and its not at home, I'll try and reply in more detail at the weekend when I can get it.

[joecnc1234]

I would defiantly get a LP or diesel engine. no batteries to worry about they last forever with low maintenance. I recently bought one at an auction for $700 it had a rotary device on the forks and one side shifts so i can clamp on and dump 55 gallon drums. really cool. but I would look for a forklift with the longest thinnest forks you can find. makes it easier to pick up machines. and I wish I had 6-8000 lbs capacity. 15k would be nice also watch your mast height. don't want to add a skylight to your garage. if your off road at all watch for tire selection take it in the dirt or gravel and see what it does. and check the clutch mine is slipping a little and the mechanic quoted me 30 hrs to change??? good luck I think if you buy a name brand you should be fine. these things are workhorses.
Joe

[RLC]

I would definitely buy one with pneumatic tires only. The solid tires suck and bounce all over the place unless you are on an ultra smooth surface. bouncing mean what ever is on the forks wont be there long.

[damae]

Thanks for the excellent advice! Today I bought an LPG powered Hyster S50 forklift. It has a 5000lb capacity, 2-stage mast, tilt, and side-shift. I'm particularly excited about the side-shift!

The only downer is that it has the "cushion" tires, which really means that they are hard rubber. Pneumatic tires were high on my wish-list, but out of my budget. I know this is going to be a limitation, but it was a very good deal and I couldn't pass it up.

After watching craigslist for months, I finally found this great deal and was the first guy to jump on it. By the time I got there, the seller had four other potential buyers lined up! For $1000, I know I can get my money back if I decide to trade-up to a fork truck with pneumatic tires later. Similar forklifts in nominal running condition are usually selling for $2500-$4000.

I'll have to replace the seat (for cosmetics) and the lockout valve (it's flaky now), but those are cheap to fix. The steering is power-assist, but needs work... I'm not sure if I will bother with this. I can steer it manually which is what the seller did after eating his wheaties.

The next challenge? Transportation! Without the pneumatic tires, it may be "interesting" getting it onto a trailer. Any recommendations? At the moment, I'm thinking of using a tilt-back equipment hauler trailer, since I can rent them for $75 a day.

So anyone want to offer some creative uses they have found for their forklift? Especially if they are related to CNC , machinery moving, and building stuff. Surely there are others who would be interested to see what ways a forklift is handy for, other than just moving pallets around!

[Mitsui Seiki]

You should get semi hard pneumatic tires.I have been a forklift truck driver for 30 years and I think those tires are so much better than anything else I have used.

[joecnc1234]

I moved my forktruck with a flatbed towtruck 50 bucks.
Joe

[damae]

Originally Posted by Mitsui Seiki You should get semi hard pneumatic tires.I have been a forklift truck driver for 30 years and I think those tires are so much better than anything else I have used.

Thanks for the advice, it will come in handy when I trade-up sometime in the future. For a short while at least, I'm stuck with the hard tires.

[Splint]

Damea,
if you've never had any experience with a forklift before, I must say one thing, operate it carefully. I did my training and got a fork license a few years back and during the training the instructor went through a few case studies of accidents involving fork lifts, some of them were pretty horrific. He went on to say that the majority of serious industrial accidents involve a fork lift.

Cheers
Splint

[damae]

I learned something today -- the value of trailer brakes! Hauling a 11,000lb trailer load with a 3/4 ton truck, without the trailer brakes makes for some scary driving!

After driving off with the forklift on the trailer, I tested the brakes to see how things responded. The trailer was equipped with electric brakes and my truck was wired for it too... until we had to use an adapter to connect the trailer and hitch. So no electric brakes. I knew it would be slower at stopping (it was), but the brake test from 20mph to stopped was reasonable, I thought. Plus I had just replaced all the brake calipers and pads, so the truck's brakes are in tip-top shape. And the load was fairly stable, with ratcheting binders and chains holding it down.

So I drove slow (slower than the speed limit, with a long line of cars behind me) and left plenty of space ahead of me, as in 800 feet. Then I got caught with a combination of:

1. Moderately steep downhill slope
2. Traffic light
3. The incredible effect of inertia!
4. Brake fade

The light changed on me -- which is the same as a stopped car suddenly appearing on the road. Before this, I was aware of the strain my 460 motor was under trying to get the train moving, but had not yet put together the idea that eventually all that stored energy (inertia) has to be dealt with.

So now I had to not only dissipate the inertia energy:

((9000lb forklift + 2000lb trailer + 6000lb truck)/2) *45mph^2

But I also had to cancel the potential energy:

(17,000lb * 80' drop in height)

And that's when the brakes got really, really hot and started to fade. I got to the RED LIGHT at about 20mph, just as the cross traffic was starting to cross the intersection. They waved at me. Emphatically.

After that, I was really really happy to be going home at 5pm, during peak rush-hour traffic. I left a 500 foot space to the next car at all times, stayed to 35mph (on the freeway!) and used the engine as a much more effective brake, leaving my real brakes in reserve for an emergency stop. My slow speed was far less noticeable amid the other slow rush-hour traffic.

So the moral of the story? You decide:

1. Yellow means "go faster"
2. Don't drive heavy loads without trailer brakes
3. CNC is one of those hobbies that just kind of sneaks up on you. One day you're saying "hey, it'd be nice to have a little benchtop mill, but I'll just keep it simple.. just one machine" and the next you're screaming out your window "I'm sorry I almost run you over with my dangerously heavy forklift-on-a-trailer! Please ignore all that smoke coming from my brakes"

What next? I predict that in 3 years I'll be building a tunnel-boring machine t tho connect all my future metal shop buildings together with underground tunnels!!

In an alternate future, I'll get this CNC bug under control. =)