Narrow Aisle Lift Trucks
The type of electric truck that is designed to operate within narrow aisles is called a Narrow Aisle Lift Truck. Typical storage aisles are 3.6 meters wide, sufficient space for a counterbalanced lift truck to turn within the aisle. Nonetheless, narrow aisles could be around 2.4 meters wide to as little as 1.8 meters. The narrow space needs specialized types of lift trucks which are capable of tight turns, small, and able to put away loads without turning. The common types of narrow-aisle trucks are reach trucks, turret trucks and orderpickers.
Narrow-aisle reach trucks
Reach trucks were the very first narrow-aisle lift truck to be developed for warehouse applications. These small trucks can turn without difficulty within narrow aisles because their design has eliminated the requirement for a large counterweight. Stability is instead provided by outrigger arms extending in front of the truck. The downside of this particular design is that the outrigger arms could inhibit access to the storage rack as the truck cannot get close enough. These kinds of trucks really work well inside a warehouse that is well lit, has clean, even floors, enough space for turning and good traffic flow.
Turret trucks
The turret truck design consists of forks on the side which pivot. The forks pivot 90 degrees and move from side to side. The load can face forward whilst the operator drives down the aisle. Once it stops at the designated storage location, the truck's forks 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 that keeps the truck on its path in very narrow aisles. Operators remain at floor level in man-down trucks.