Rough-terrain and vertical-mast lift trucks keep picking up and placing various building supplies on various jobsites even through the evolution and rise of telehandlers on the market. There are a lot of traditional-style lift trucks available in the material handling industry that lost market share to telehandlers. This happened specially when the challenger broke onto the construction scene. Since that time, sales numbers have stabilized. Vertical-mast lift trucks have re-emerged and seem to be becoming more popular once more due to their greater productivity, alteration of certain telehandler-like features and low cost.
The straight mast forklift can finish double the job as a telehandler because of their excellent maneuverability and handling in combination with their better ground speed. Interestingly enough, rental outfits are starting to charge higher rates on straight-mast units.
Rental buyers are having significant influence within the rough-terrain forklift business. More than 50 percent of all vertical-mast forklifts are presently being sold to a rental yard. These purchases are normally driven mostly by use, that is a factor closely followed by purchase price.
Within the material handling business, the telehandler has become the darling new equipment. Its popularity has improved its benefit in the rental market too. Their overall expansion has been moderated by their higher price. There is several lift truck users who feel that telehandlers are not nearly as useful compared to traditional rough-terrain forklifts for unloading and loading repetitive jobs. This means that even though competition amongst telehandler marketers has lowered their prices, a lot prefer the RT forklifts that have been working well for decades.
The telehandler is a little slower equipment in comparison to a rough terrain forklift unit. They are also ganglier to utilize and needs a higher level of skillfulness to complete the job. On the upside, they get the reach if they need it. There will continuously be a place in the industry for lift trucks though, since there are places which you would not be able to access with a telehandler.
The rough-terrain lift truck is small, compact and able to lift a heavier cargo vertically as opposed to the telehandler. Essentially, so as to utilize the best equipment for your application, you should determine what tasks precisely you will be accomplishing, the type of environment and circumstances you will be operating in and what your load capacity is. All these factors will help you decide what the right options available are.