How to Choose Between a Rough Terrain Forklift and a Standard Forklift

Rough terrain forklifts are a type of engineering vehicle that can safely and efficiently carry out cargo loading and unloading, stacking, and handling operations on slopes and uneven ground. Like counterbalanced forklifts, they can be equipped with forks or have various attachments installed to improve operational efficiency. Rough terrain forklifts come in many structural types and have developed rapidly abroad. How do you choose a good rough terrain forklift? What is the difference between a rough terrain forklift and an ordinary forklift? (1) It has good passability and off-road performance, with all-wheel drive. There is no differential between axles, and large-diameter wide-base off-road tires are used. The vehicle's ground clearance is more than 300 mm, and the departure angle reaches more than 30°. (2) It adopts an articulated frame. The frame's swing angle generally reaches ±30°~40°. The steering system is simple and does not require an expensive steering drive axle, allowing a smaller turning radius. Operating the steering wheel causes the frame to swing horizontally, making it easier for the forks to align with the materials. For small-tonnage rough terrain forklifts, an integral frame and single-axle drive may be used, with the drive axle equipped with a differential lock. (3) All-wheel braking. Apart from small-tonnage forklifts that use expanding shoe brake structures, most use caliper disc brakes, and large-tonnage forklifts may also use wet brakes. For parking braking, hand braking is relatively common. (4) For 2 t~3 t articulated rough terrain forklifts, the front and rear axles are interchangeable. (5) The rear axle of a rough terrain forklift is fixed to the frame, while the front axle can swing vertically relative to the frame by ±8°~12°. Support hydraulic cylinders are arranged between the frame and the front axle. When the forklift is performing lifting operations, the lifting mast is kept in a laterally vertical state by operating the hydraulic cylinders; when the forklift is traveling, the oil circuits of the upper and lower chambers of the hydraulic cylinders are connected through damping orifices, which helps improve the vehicle's ride smoothness. (6) It has a relatively large wheelbase and track, increasing the forklift's lateral and longitudinal stability. (7) Good maneuverability. The vehicle speed is generally 30~40 km/h, the dynamic factor reaches more than 0.65, acceleration performance is good, and it has a gradeability of 25°~30°. (8) A relatively large mast tilt angle. This is necessary for safe operation and travel on uneven ground, generally 10°~15° forward tilt and 15° backward tilt. (9) Arrangement of the driver's seat. To ensure that the operator has a relatively good field of view during loading operations, the driver's seat is generally arranged toward the front. For articulated forklifts, it should be placed on the front frame as much as possible, and according to different operational requirements, an overhead guard-type cab with FOPS/ROPS should be installed. (10) Travel system. Similar to loaders, there are many types, including mechanical transmission (Me), hydraulic shift mechanical transmission (HyC), torque converter transmission (T/C), and hydrostatic transmission (HYD). The difference is that the full-power matching method is adopted, and its heavy-load condition is the full-load climbing condition.