Narrow Aisle Forklift

Narrow Aisle & Scissors Reach Forklifts

Narrow aisle

forklifts are made for use on smooth, level warehouse floors when you need to pick and stock product in very narrow aisles of racking. Aisle widths of 8.5-12 feet can be easily navigated with these lifts as they are designed to have a small turning radius. Narrow aisle forklifts usually feature a cab in which the operator stands up instead of sitting down. This is done not only to keep the forklift narrow enough to fit down small aisles, but also helps the operator to better view the product he is picking or stocking. Narrow aisle forklifts can be found with scissors reach attachments, and also with straddle arms.

A scissors reach attachment allows the forklift to reach into deep racking to pick and stock several feet in front of the actual lift truck chassis. A heavy-duty scissors reach mechanism can extend and retract at the push of a button and allow the reach truck’s operator to reach the forklift’s forks into the storage rack. Some scissors reaches can extend to as far as two-pallet loads deep making product that is set double deep easy to reach. Scissors reach trucks must either have a counterbalance or straddle arms to offset the weight of the load upon the forks, although a scissors reach mechanism can extend beyond the straddle arms’ length.

Straddle trucks are fitted with arms that extend outwards underneath the forks in order to support a load. These straddle arms have wheels that function as the load wheels while the rear wheel will swivel in place to facilitate turning the straddle truck. This type of

forklift requires room for the straddle arms at the base of the racking you are using. This clearance must be provided for the straddle truck to be able to lift a load. The arm clearance can be provided by a number of means including, a low level beam to keep bottom loads off floor, single wing pallets, or other spacer options that would keep the floor clear for the straddle arms. Straddle trucks are typically less expensive than a regular counterbalance or narrow aisle lift truck.