Stair-climbing Industrial Trucks
When a lift or freight lift is not available to carry large items to another floor, there are basically two types of industrial trucks purpose built to move the items up or down a flight of stairs. The trucks are known as ’stair-climbers’ and there are two types, powered or manual.
The manual stair-climber generally only has a light load-bearing capacity. The reason for this is that its motion and braking is governed by its user. The manual stair-climber sack trucks are fitted with a tri-wheel arrangement, two wheels at its front and one further back to rest on the next step up while the user moves further up the stairs.
Sacks or boxes need to be firmly strapped to the frame of the stair climber as a shift of weight to either side will alter the centre of gravity and possibly cause an accident.
The other industrial trucks purpose built for this kind of job is the powered stair-climber which, typically, will have two wheels at its front and an axle and two smaller wheels at its rear connected to the motor by steel bars. The bars are mounted on another axle in the motor which enable it to pull the climber and its load onto the next step. This particular climber is ideal for the movement of heavy safes, cabinets or vending machines. Purchasing this type ensures that whatever you need to transport – even smaller products, such as shelving or racking units – can be done more safely.
Both manual and powered stair-climbers have various load-bearing capacities and these stated capacities should be strictly adhered to. As with the manual stair climber, the load must be firmly secured to its frame.
Tags: industrial trucks, racking, shelving, stair climbers, warehouse trucks