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Narrow aisle reach trucks- Is the lift rating based on the truck in reach mode

Milacron

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Dec 15, 2000
Location
SC, USA
and if not, how the hell do you know what it really will pick up in reach mode ? All the nameplates I see on these show the usual 24" centers rating and nothing more. Well, is that 24 inches out with the forks tucked back against the mast or is that with the forks in reach mode ?

Also I notice that apparently no one ever ordered these things new to straddle a typical pallet size*. Most seem to have about 32" between the outrigger legs. So I presume the deal is you "reach" beyond the outriggers to pick up a 42 or 48 wide pallet from the floor. And yet I never see an actual capacity printed to do that.

I even happen to have the same literature that a dealer might have had for a 2004 vintage Prime Mover 4500 lb capacity reach truck, with all the nitty gritty details....and even that doesn't have a chart showing what the capacity is at various reach positions. Which I hope is because the 4500 lb rating is at max reach with load at 24 inch centers on the forks....but that seems too good to be true. What say ye ?

reach-truck-rr5700-index.jpg


*I notice in my Prime Mover dealer price sheet that these could be ordered with outriggers from 32 to 50 inches inside distance, in one inch increments, apparently at the same price. But in looking at used reach trucks they all look pretty much the same to me, with outrigger legs about as close as you would think they could be. Admittedly, a reach truck with outrigger legs 50 inches apart would be a rather silly looking thing and defeat much of it's "tight quarters" desirability since it would then be wider at the floor than an 8,000 lb cushion tire forklift.
 
FWIW, after posting above, I called a Yale dealer and the rating does seem to be at full reach. Based on the nameplates, makes sense, but OTOH seems too good to be true for a carriage poking out that far.
 
FWIW, after posting above, I called a Yale dealer and the rating does seem to be at full reach. Based on the nameplates, makes sense, but OTOH seems too good to be true for a carriage poking out that far.

If you look at the overall length of a reach truck with the pantograph extended- it really is about as long as a counterbalanced truck and the battery is lower to the floor to get that capacity. They will downrate a truck if you get the outrigger ID shortened up as there are concerns with lateral stability at the upper heights, Also keep in mind that they make a deep reach truck that extends our further yet to get the second pallet back in the rack out. Where you space the outriggers depends on many variables in the rack layout.
 
To the best of my knowledge Cincinnati Milacron never made a forklift.

Perhaps for you 'Hyster' would be a more suitable pseudonym?
Not to worry, working on a Material Handling forum m'man. Just not as easy to add forums as it used to be due to disruptions to the banner ad page layouts such that IT has to be involved. And FWIW, my choice of name has little to do with association to any one type of machine but only the "cool sounding" nature of "Milacron" ... "Hyster" doesn't cut the mustard in that department ;)
 
Also keep in mind that they make a deep reach truck that extends our further yet to get the second pallet back in the rack out. Where you space the outriggers depends on many variables in the rack layout.
Yeah I noticed there are "double reach" trucks....hard to believe the load would be stable with what amounts to a mini scissors lift on it's side poking that far out.
 
Yeah I noticed there are "double reach" trucks....hard to believe the load would be stable with what amounts to a mini scissors lift on it's side poking that far out.

Wow, never heard or seen of the double racking technique.

How do you look up there and position the forks ?

A stock picker type, where you ride up there I could see (but never have
I seen one with the extending forks)
 
But for modern trucks, with the legal system being what it is, do you think a manufacturer would make a truck that could pick up a rated weight, raise it all the way up, extend the reach, and then the thing tips over? 60 Minutes would be on your doorstep in a heartbeat. Just sayin'...

Chip
 
Wow, never heard or seen of the double racking technique.

How do you look up there and position the forks ?

A stock picker type, where you ride up there I could see (but never have
I seen one with the extending forks)
Was just on the phone with a Hyster salesman that said he has a customer in GA with racks 32 feet high !! They use (wireless ?) cameras on the reach truck fork carriage with a color video display on the truck console.
 
Wow, never heard or seen of the double racking technique.
I guess below is a double reach. Handy for some unintended uses as well. For example was at Home Depot on Sunday and they loaded a pallet of flooring in our SUV with one. The carriage can reach out and get under the raised rear door of the SUV, unlike a conventional forklift where the mast would run into the edge of the open door long before it got the load inside the vehicle. (unless the forklift had super long forks of course....but they never do on little electrics)
double deep reach truck.jpg
 
The Grocery Industry has been using double reach trucks for years and the operators use all kinds if tricks to get er done from match marks on the mast to denote rack beam heights to lights and cameras and some I have even forgotten about. I experienced a truck that pulled out of the rack and the weld on the outrigger just happened to break and the truck went over side ways and just happened to land on about 5 or 6 pallets of water lined up in the aisle to be put away. Needless to say they needed the scrubber to clean it up.
 
Wow...wouldn't have thought that even possible....wonder what make it was ?

Brings up a odd point.

I bought (2) scrapped old raymond aisle stackers for the mast's (to put on 3-point hitch's)
and the scrapper doing the cutting left the outriggers and wheels intact.

Day comes to get rid of them (job didn't pan out) I toss one around with the skidloader,
as it was a bit heavy to lift fully.

I dropped it.

One of those 3" sq. solid steel outrigger snapped off cleanly right in the middle, no-where near a weld.
The fracture looked much like cast iron, it was quite startling, as the wheel assembly (2 wheels on each side
with some side plates) and about 12" of that solid square arm, flew up in the air.
 
One of those 3" sq. solid steel outrigger snapped off cleanly right in the middle, no-where near a weld.
The fracture looked much like cast iron, it was quite startling, as the wheel assembly (2 wheels on each side
with some side plates) and about 12" of that solid square arm, flew up in the air.
That is interesting. Unrelated really but FWIW I have dropped a BT electric pallet jack twice from 4 to 5 feet up. The first time it ruined two fairly new size 27 deep cycle batteries (broke the plastic cases) but the second time I was really lucky in that even though the batteries fell out again the fall didn't break either one. Would have been especially depressing if it had, as those two were only a month old. Both times it didn't hurt the jack at all !

First time it happened due to putting alot of pressure on front wheels trying to change them out and not having the jack clamped to the forklift forks that were holding it up. Second time it happened due to pure stupidity and just not being careful as I knew it wasn't worth much so I wasn't careful, enough time had passed I forgot how easy that one was to tip and I forgot the batteries would fall out if the jack fell. :dopeslap:
 
The Raymond can do wonders.

We have old unit in the shop, rated at 4000 LBS and it can pick up the L&S 16, should be at about 6800 pounds, will not hold it up due to presure relief, but that is in the reach position.

Problem with the reach trucks is the drive wheel is in the back, so heavy loads reduces the traction.
 
Found it !

After much personal risk.....Man-O-Man did the prickers grow up fast (and deep)
around my stuff...

The mast is laying on it's "back" the broken piece sticking straight up
is the wheel holder which would be parallel to the ground.
 

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The Grocery Industry has been using double reach trucks for years and the operators use all kinds if tricks to get er done from match marks on the mast to denote rack beam heights to lights and cameras and some I have even forgotten about. I experienced a truck that pulled out of the rack and the weld on the outrigger just happened to break and the truck went over side ways and just happened to land on about 5 or 6 pallets of water lined up in the aisle to be put away. Needless to say they needed the scrubber to clean it up.

I'm thinking a guy who was careful with his stuff could super glue a couple cheap laser pointers on the insides or outsides of the forks that might be of some help. Part of the issue having the mast way up though is there is some slack or wobble in the whole Assembly. I have just moved the stand up scissor types around out of my way, never used one enough to get "good" with it...they would sure take some getting used to.
 








 
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