Ok, here is the story. Several years ago, I needed a way to lift heavy pallets onto pallet racking so I went out and looked for a forklift. What did I know, I never worked in a warehouse or on a dock before. I called the local Crown and Hyster dealers and asked questions about buying a forklift. All I wanted was to lift a 2000 pound pallet to a height of 10 feet. The dealers were quoting me prices of $10,000, $20,000 and even $30,000 for a forklift.....I passed out. That was more money than I started my first business with.
Well it turned out, I was asking for the wrong piece of material handling equipment, I really wanted a pallet stacker. I wouldn't know the difference if I tripped over these.
I looked at several material handling association websites, OSHA, and manufacturers, but I couldn't find any real definitions. So I made my own up.
- A forklift (sometimes incorrectly spelled as fork lift) is a lift truck used in warehouses, factories and loading docks which the operator sits down and drives. They are typically powered by either gasoline, diesel, propane or electricity.
- A pallet stacker is also a lift truck with many of the same uses as a forklift, but the operator walks behind or rides on a platform while standing up.
