Narrow Aisle Lift Trucks
The kind of electric truck that is designed to function within narrow aisles is called a Narrow Aisle Lift Truck. Standard storage aisles are only 3.6 meters wide, adequate space for a counterbalanced lift truck to pivot in the aisle. Nonetheless, narrow aisles could be 2.4 meters wide to as little as 1.8 meters. The narrow area requires specific lift truck models that are capable of tight turns, small, and able to put away loads without pivoting. The popular types of narrow-aisle trucks are turret trucks, order pickers and reach trucks.
Narrow-aisle reach trucks
The first types of narrow-aisle lift trucks manufactured for warehouse use are the reach trucks. These small trucks can easily turn 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 design is that the outrigger arms could inhibit access to the storage rack since the truck cannot get close enough. These trucks work well inside a warehouse which is well lit, has even, clean floors, enough space for turning and good flow of traffic.
Turret trucks
The turret truck design has pivoting forks on side of the truck. The forks pivot 90 degrees and move from side to side. The load can face forward whilst the operator drives down the aisle. Once stopped at the designated storage place, the truck's forks pivot to the storage side and raise the load to their full extension, and then easily deposit the load before resuming their original position. Turret trucks can come with a wire guidance system which keeps the truck on its path in really narrow aisles. Operators remain at floor level in man-down trucks.