​The Five Common Types of Forklift Attachments

19th Jul 2021

One of the best ways to get the best out of your forklift is to add some attachments to it so that it is able to perform functions unique to your operations. Well, even though there are different attachments that you can add to your forklift we are going to focus on five of the most common ones and their benefits.

1. Side Shifters

They are normally attached on the forks of the forklift and give the forks the ability to move sideways. Since they require very little movement from the forklift operator they are very efficient when it comes to loading and unloading trailers. For instance, little forklift movements mean less fuel consumption and reduced operational costs for you. In the process, you will also end up experiencing very little damage to your products and reduced loading times which is good for boosting productivity.

2. Carton Clamps

A much simpler way to transport fragile goods without the need of pallets is the use of the Carton clamps. They usually come designed to hold the goods on the sides either vertically or horizontally and they reduce the time needed to pick load by a great margin. If you regularly handle square or rectangular goods you can exclusively use them in your operations eliminating the need for purchase of pallets. Doing this means you also get the opportunity to save on space used for keeping pallets.

3. Extended Forks

Transportation of specialized goods that come in much larger dimensions can sometimes be a headache if you have to use the normal forks and this is where the extended forks come in. First, they will save you a lot of time as they can pick numerous pallets at once making your operations much faster and efficient. They also prove helpful during storage and retrieval of load kept in hard to reach places. Space saving is also one of their strong points as they enable double deep racking.

4. Paper Roll Clamps

Is your prime business handling paper rolls? Then the forklift attachment you will find very useful is the Paper Roll Clamp. Apart from it having the ability to rotate by 360-degrees, it usually comes with a pressure control feature that enables you to apply the right amount of pressure on the paper rolls to avoid damaging them. Since they take the shape of the paper roll they will reduce the amount of time you need to handle such load by over 50%. They are also less likely to cause damage to the paper rolls which is good for your profitability.

5. Single Double Pallet Handler

In very busy warehouses where the movement of a large volume of goods has to be done in a very short time, the single double pallet handler comes in handy. It derives its name from the fact that it can handle a single a pallet and double pallets side by side when the need arises. This is an advantage if you are moving fragile loads as they minimize the chances of damage in fast operations. In an environment of intense operation, this means you will use less fuel and your forklift will endure much less damage on a daily basis.

As I mentioned earlier these are not the only attachments you can add to your forklift but the most common ones. As we have seen most of these attachments serve to make your operations much more efficient by boosting productivity, reducing operating costs, saving on storage and limiting damage on goods. However, make sure you use the right parts recommended for your forklift otherwise it will be counter-productive. 

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