Narrow Aisle Lift Trucks
The kind of electric truck that is made to function in narrow aisles is called a Narrow Aisle Lift Truck. A counterbalanced lift truck can turn in the aisle since typical storage aisles are only 3.6 meters wide and this is adequate space. Nevertheless, narrow aisles can be about 2.4 meters wide to as little as 1.8 meters. The narrow space requires specialized kinds of lift trucks which are small, capable of tight turns, can put away loads without pivoting. The common kinds of narrow-aisle trucks are turret trucks, order pickers and reach trucks.
Narrow-aisle reach trucks
Reach trucks were the very first narrow-aisle lift truck to be developed for warehouse use. These small trucks can easily turn within narrow aisles as their design has eliminated the need for a large counterweight. Stability is instead provided by outrigger arms extending in front of the truck. The disadvantage of this particular design is that the outrigger arms could inhibit access to the storage rack because the truck cannot get near enough. These kinds of trucks truly work well in a warehouse that is well lit, has even, clean floors, enough turning space and good flow of traffic.
Turret trucks
The turret truck design has pivoting forks on side of the truck. The forks turn 90 degrees and move from side to side. The load faces forward while the operator drives down the aisle. Once it stops at the designated storage location, the forks of the truck pivot to the storage side and raise the load to their full extension, and then smoothly deposit the load before resuming their original position. Turret trucks could come with a wire guidance system which keeps the truck on its path in very narrow aisles. In man-down trucks, operators remain at floor level.