I will note that after seeing "boxcar specials" on here, I acquired an 8K boxcar special (toyota, used). Maybe the sweet spot for biggest lift in smallest total length? Also the sweet spot for "if it's bigger than that I'm going to call the riggers anyway..."
It's an automatic but has a funky "clutch brake" pedal - which I never use, I just step on the brake, shift into neutral, rev as needed.
My most favouritist EVER was a dual-wheel pnuematic front, de-facto "tricycle" rear 4K "Towmotor" short-mast, short fork, that could actually
manuever a load INSIDE of a 'nam-era GI "CONEX" container.
Lower overhead those containers had than the containers that came along to dominate, as we use globally, NOW.
We loved the combo clutch/brake instant feather-touch, fast adaptability as all-hands learned to use it expertly in short-order, and that it managed to deal with wet and greasy "laterite" soil of the gas cylinder storage area when even RT monster gummy-boot FL's got dodgy.
The mid-sized 4,000 and 6,000 "Anthony" fully-articulated Rough Terrain FL's were like having an extra long pair of arms. Or even octopus tentacles.. but it was the humble little Towmotor as moved a high multiple of those steel O@ and Acetylene cylinders, 24 X 6 or 7 X 365, and on ignorant standard forks, yet.
ONE accident, 12 months of round the clock working, it was that user-friendly.
Tired operator caught the tip of one fork under the edge of the 10-inch main storage slab, ran the load of 7-cubic meter O2 bottles up.
Fork took enough of a spring-bend, ass-end counter weight came off the ground, that when the concrete spalled it heaved a 153 lb O2 cylinder high enough and hard enough to clock a 6-footer right square in the mouth and bust two front teeth!
