Forklift Tire

Matching Forklift Tire To The Work Environment

By Ernest Jarquio

There are several tire types available on the market for

forklifts. Each type of tire has its own benefits and works well for specific facility types. Understanding the specifics of certain forklift tire help to know which one is right for you. In the industry, it is common to hear about tire referred to as cushion and pneumatic, which helps categorize the forklifts.

However, there is more to tires than just those two names. There are several tire on the market that work better in certain production environments, thus making them the choice for those production facilities.

Keeping The Floors Clean

Non-marking tire are optimal for facilities that need the floors kept clean at all times. By using non-marking tires, the cost of floor maintenance is cut down considerably. Facilities where these tire are used would include food production plants, textiles, paper mills and even bottling plants. This tire is made from natural rubber with Hi-Sil ingredients. With their low rolling resistance, these tires will extent the battery life of the forklift or lower fuel usage. Static straps should always be used with non-marking tire.

Reducing Heat Build Up

Fiberglass tire reduce heat build up under heavy loads and work great in production areas where heavy material needs to be transported around the plant. By reducing heat build up these tires are more resistant to chipping and chunking when placed under extreme load weights.

Heavy Loads

Polyurethane tire are designed to move heavy loads for short distances. They are non-marking tires that have a resistance to numerous things. These areas of resistance include chipping, chunking, cutting and chemicals. Their resistance to chemicals makes them a choice for production areas where chemical exposure could harm the tire.

Cold Operating Environment

Walnut shell tire are great for areas where extremely cold temperatures are the norm. They have improved traction that offers for a firmer grip on frozen surfaces, thus reducing the risk of the forklift sliding out of control on frozen ground.

Oil Resistant tires reduce the amount of wear and tear that other tire would see when in constant contact with oily surfaces. This forklift tire is the best choice in production areas where the chance of exposure to any types of oils or petroleum products. These oils can eat through the rubber on the tires, which can lead to accidents or be costly to replace. With oil resistant tires, these problems are reduced considerably.

Explosive Environment

Static conducting tires offers the ultimate in safety from explosions in production areas where static can cause an explosion. These production areas usually include fuel refineries, areas where gasoline is used to conduct equipment checks and other such areas where explosive vapors are in the air. The universal tire is the most widely used forklift tire on the market though. This tire holds up fairly well on most surfaces. Their durable construction with high tread wear makes the resistant to cuts and chunking. They are made from high-grade rubber along with resistant additives. These tires are used with electric forklift trucks as well as internal combustion trucks.