Rough-terrain and vertical-mast forklifts keep lifting and placing various construction supplies on various jobsites even through the rise and evolution of telehandlers on the market. There are numerous conventional-style forklifts available in the material handling industry that lost market share to telehandlers. This happened specially when the challenger broke onto the construction scene. Ever since that time, sales numbers have stabilized. Vertical-mast forklifts have re-surfaced and seem to be becoming more popular once more thanks to their greater efficiency, lower cost and alteration of some telehandler-like features.
Straight-mast machines would complete double the job which a telehandler would do due to their maneuverability and ground speed. Fascinatingly enough, rental outfits are beginning to charge higher rates on straight-mast units.
Rental buyers are having major influence within the rough-terrain forklift industry. Over half of all vertical-mast lift trucks are now being sold to a rental yard. These purchases are usually driven mostly by use, which is a factor closely followed by purchase price.
The telehandler has become a very common machine within the material handling industry. Their popularity has given them a better advantage when it comes to rental utilization. Their overall expansion has been moderated by their higher price. There is several lift truck users who feel that telehandlers are not practically as useful as opposed to traditional rough-terrain lift trucks for loading and unloading repetitive tasks. This means that even though competition amongst telehandler marketers has lowered their prices, a lot prefer the RT forklifts that have been performing well for decades.
The telehandler is a little slower equipment in comparison to a rough terrain forklift unit. They are also ganglier to use and requires a higher level of skill to complete the task. On the upside, they get the reach if they require it. There will always be a place within the business for lift trucks however, because there are places which you would not be able to access with a telehandler.
Rough terrain lift trucks are normally compact equipment, smaller but more able to carry a heavier load vertically compared to the telehandler. Basically, so as to use the right machine for your application, you should determine what jobs exactly you will be completing, the type of conditions and setting you will be operating in and what your load capacity is. All these factors will help you choose what the right alternatives available are.