Fork lift for the shop

[ArtisanFarms]

With the strong urging of one of my kids, (he's 30, so not a little guy anymore), I'm starting to think about a small fork lift for the shop. I'm going in two directions, either a ~4,000lb with semi pneumatic or pneumatic tires that I can use in the shop and on the driveway or a straddle type walkie that would be more compact and live in the shop. A single stage mast would be plenty.

For anyone who has picked up a fork truck for the shop, what has your experience been? I can see a fair amount of times where it would be handy, but am not sure if I'd use it enough to really justify it, vs smaller lifting equipment in the shop and quick tatch forks on the tractor for outside.

 

[loganb]

They're great to have...if you have the space to store and floor to support them.

What types of things could you envision picking up, and how big of space are you ok giving up for it to park. Is this more for just lifting the occasional heavy thing or more frequent lift, place, move, retrieve of pallets or items with pallet forks?

The compact units are going to basically be super hard packed rock/gravel driveway usage while preferring concrete, an outdoor rated lift would have dramatically more capability at about 5x or 10x the square footage when you're not using it...but could be parked outside easier.

If the thought is using it for lifting assistance for occasional heavy items... may have other options that could work. But if this is for even semi frequent moving of pallet type items or enables better vertical storage via pallet racks.... you'll find a forklift smokes a tractor or skidder with bucket mounted forks as should be expected for a single purpose built item vs a bolt on addition to a jack of all trades loader bucket on a tractor.

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[ihatelaramie]

As someone who works on forklifts for a living, I'll throw in my .02.. you're on the right track wanting pneumatic tires. True pneumatics would be best, but don't discount a semi-pneumatic. Avoid cushion tires unless your surface is extremely hard packed and relatively smooth. Additionally, I'd stay away from Chinese lifts at all costs. Forklift parts and service are expensive as it is. There's nothing worse than finding out that you can't get parts or somebody that knows how to work on it. Even from a DIY standpoint, resources like manuals and the like are slim pickings on the more obscure imports. If it were me in your shoes, and it will be sooner or later, I would look for Nissan, Komatsu, or Toyota, in that order.

Yale/Hyster have some quirks that can affect serviceability for a DIYer, and I've noticed basic things like wire diagrams can change from one year to the next. Clark's parts support isn't the greatest once a truck gets long in the tooth. Hyundai and Doosan have been somewhat problematic to look parts up for, IME.

As far as a stacker goes, if you were to go that route.. again, do yourself a favor and stay away from the Chinese stuff sold through Uline, Grainger, and the like. The Crown SX/ST are robust units, there are a few pattern failures (brake switches, potentiometers) but very reliable.

Just my .02

 

[milwaukeephil]

I have an old 70s or 80s 3k Clark that appears to be retrofitted to run on propane. It's been rock solid for about 4 years. I use it for everything from pulling engines out of cars to loading pallets. I have pallet racking so I've palletized my life -- I have an ice fishing pallet, a powder coating pallet, a welding pallet, etc. It makes a great adjustable height table too, for working on a snowblower or changing mower blades.

My only issue is that I have a slow leak of some sort of fluid from underneath, and I can't get under there to figure out what it is. I'm not willing to risk my life trying, either. It's painful to take pride in fixing almost anything but feeling totally helpless trying to fix a forklift. One of these days I'll have to bite the bullet and send it off for repair...

I know I've posted this pic a few times before -- a buddy of mine surprised me with a makeover shortly after I bought it.

 

[RedneckWelder]

I have an old 70s or 80s 3k Clark that appears to be retrofitted to run on propane. It's been rock solid for about 4 years. I use it for everything from pulling engines out of cars to loading pallets. I have pallet racking so I've palletized my life -- I have an ice fishing pallet, a powder coating pallet, a welding pallet, etc. It makes a great adjustable height table too, for working on a snowblower or changing mower blades.

My only issue is that I have a slow leak of some sort of fluid from underneath, and I can't get under there to figure out what it is. I'm not willing to risk my life trying, either. It's painful to take pride in fixing almost anything but feeling totally helpless trying to fix a forklift. One of these days I'll have to bite the bullet and send it off for repair...

I know I've posted this pic a few times before -- a buddy of mine surprised me with a makeover shortly after I bought it.

Try to find yourself a forklift jack used. They are made to lift a forklift for service.

 

[milwaukeephil]

Try to find yourself a forklift jack used. They are made to lift a forklift for service.

Still scares me. Irrational, I know, since I have a car lift and stand under cars all the time, but still would rather leave it to a pro. Especially if it's a main seal or something big.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

I would love to have one. The 4,000# ones with pneumatic are slightly bigger than the solid tired ones, so a little more awkward . The solid tired ones get stuck so easy. As a millwright we used them a lot. Our latest ones, we had two in maintenance, were Cat painted Mitibushis, the pair before were Cat painted Daewoos.

 

[dr_clyde]

I have a Mitsubishi 6k lift for my shop. I consider a forklift essential and wouldn’t be without one.

I would recommend the following.

Japanese manufacturer. Mits/cat, Nissan, Toyota, Komatsu. Old American iron is getting expensive to run unless you need the capacity of the old Hyster riggers lifts or something. If you get an old lift with a manual transmission, make sure it has a WET clutch. They are designed to be feathered and last forever.

LP engine. Batteries are EXPENSIVE and can be a maintenance hog. LP is easy on an engine, just change the oil regularly if you don’t get it to temp often.

Get the longest forks you can justify. I have 5 foot forks on mine, and love it. You will want to unload a pickup truck and there is a tailgate in the way before you even get close to the load. Extensions are handy, but just having long forks is better.

Unless you’re 100% pavement or hard gravel, skip cushion tires and get pneumatics. Even with pneumatics, avoid off roading. You WILL get stuck and forklifts are a ***** to pull out.

 

[txvwnut]

I have an old 70s or 80s 3k Clark that appears to be retrofitted to run on propane. It's been rock solid for about 4 years. I use it for everything from pulling engines out of cars to loading pallets. I have pallet racking so I've palletized my life -- I have an ice fishing pallet, a powder coating pallet, a welding pallet, etc. It makes a great adjustable height table too, for working on a snowblower or changing mower blades.

My only issue is that I have a slow leak of some sort of fluid from underneath, and I can't get under there to figure out what it is. I'm not willing to risk my life trying, either. It's painful to take pride in fixing almost anything but feeling totally helpless trying to fix a forklift. One of these days I'll have to bite the bullet and send it off for repair...

I know I've posted this pic a few times before -- a buddy of mine surprised me with a makeover shortly after I bought it.

90% of forklift repairs can be done from the top side. The floor panels come just for such an occasion. But if the need arises you can make some ramps out of 2x8 or 2x10’s and drive the lift on them, you shouldn’t need to be more than three high. I did this with mine when I needed to access it from the bottom.

 

[ooba tooba]

Had a 6000 Lb Yale 3 stage lift from the 70s. It was a life saver at our shop. Also had a 10,000 Lb Towmotor from what seemed to be the 50s or 60s. Had to jump it all the time. I’d definitely recommend a newer unit you can afford. Pneumatic all the way. Think of resale value too. Would you possibly use a double mast at or place? Might be handy in the future, or easier to sell if you have more options.

 

[Yale]

Definitely go pneumatic. I have a 4K Yale from the early 50's that does what I need but it has solid tires which are worthless on anything other than smooth concrete or asphalt. It has a gas engine, which is fine for what I need but I have a propane setup that I have yet to install. I did convert it from 6v to 12v mainly to get the cranking speed up for easier starting.

As for working under them, you can usually tilt the mast all the way back and then put blocking under the front corners and tilt full forward to get it off of the wheels. Then, block under the frame or wheels. No HF jack stands here

 

[lis2323]

My shop forklift has wide solid fronts and pneumatics rear. A good trade off would semi pneumatic front and rear.




Outside of the shop in gravel areas i use rough terrain machines with pneumatics.




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[Bockscar]

As someone who works on forklifts for a living, I'll throw in my .02.. you're on the right track wanting pneumatic tires. True pneumatics would be best, but don't discount a semi-pneumatic. Avoid cushion tires unless your surface is extremely hard packed and relatively smooth. Additionally, I'd stay away from Chinese lifts at all costs. Forklift parts and service are expensive as it is. There's nothing worse than finding out that you can't get parts or somebody that knows how to work on it. Even from a DIY standpoint, resources like manuals and the like are slim pickings on the more obscure imports. If it were me in your shoes, and it will be sooner or later, I would look for Nissan, Komatsu, or Toyota, in that order.



Yale/Hyster have some quirks that can affect serviceability for a DIYer, and I've noticed basic things like wire diagrams can change from one year to the next. Clark's parts support isn't the greatest once a truck gets long in the tooth. Hyundai and Doosan have been somewhat problematic to look parts up for, IME.



As far as a stacker goes, if you were to go that route.. again, do yourself a favor and stay away from the Chinese stuff sold through Uline, Grainger, and the like. The Crown SX/ST are robust units, there are a few pattern failures (brake switches, potentiometers) but very reliable.



Just my .02

I used to work on lift trucks years ago....a company had a couple of old Bakers took six months to get a seal kit for the engine


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[Bockscar]

Still scares me. Irrational, I know, since I have a car lift and stand under cars all the time, but still would rather leave it to a pro. Especially if it's a main seal or something big.

Fork lift jack and 4x4's....all we ever used

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[ihatelaramie]

I used to work on lift trucks years ago....a company had a couple of old Bakers took six months to get a seal kit for the engine

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And that's exactly why you stay away from weird old ****. I have a customer with a 1976 Allis Chalmers reach truck, and I keep telling em they need to replace it before it leaves them dead in the water. It's neat cause it's different,and everything works (for now) but it's gonna be a nightmare when something major goes.

 

[Bockscar]

And that's exactly why you stay away from weird old ****. I have a customer with a 1976 Allis Chalmers reach truck, and I keep telling em they need to replace it before it leaves them dead in the water. It's neat cause it's different,and everything works (for now) but it's gonna be a nightmare when something major goes.

And definitely agree on the Nissan, Komatsu and Toyota.....the Nissan engine will run forever.......not sure if they still do but the Komatsu always had a Nissan engine.....I always thought a Clark was like a grumpy old man....their older trucks from the 70's and back were solid though

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[ooba tooba]

One year my 10,000 Lb’er got stuck in about 6 or 7 inches of mud. I had to leave it overnight and of course we had an ice storm. I was amazed my Jeep Cherokee pushed that sucker out in low without a struggle.

 

[Dandy1008]

We have one of the 3 wheel forklifts at our shop. It only has a 3k lifting capacity, but it is slightly more compact than a 4 wheel and seems to have a smaller turning radius. We have been really happy with it. I feel this would be much more versatile than a walk behind picker type.

I am lucky that the shop I rent for storage and working on my cars is 3 building down from work. I took it down the road so I could use it to put my lift together. It was nice having a tight turning radius when I had to swing the ramps around.

 

[NC Fabricator25]

I’ll share my experience, as I’ve covered a bit of this ground. My list of machines that move things includes:
- Small pallet jack, I’d call it a 2/3rds normal size, but still has a 5k capacity, “forks” about 32” long
- Regular size pallet jack
- Walk behind Genie manual die lift cart, hand operated winch, 750lb capacity
- Vestil 6,000lb engine hoist/shop crane, bigger than the standard HF models
- Cat/Mitsubishi 3k solid tire propane forklift
- New Holland LS160 (about 5,000lb) skid steer with forks

The shop is 1,600sf with woodworking, metalworking, auto...it’s jam packed and has an exterior concrete pad large enough to park 4 cars. Hands down I use the small pallet jack the most, but obviously it won’t lift anything high. It’s 10x more useful than the full size one. Past that, and more to your question, I love the forklift but it’s usefulness is limited. In a larger shop setting, or a shop with more paved area around the outside it’s usefulness goes up. But, when you sell that 800lb welding table and you can simply set it in the back of the buyer’s pickup? Really nice.

Regarding the machine, mine was an “out to pasture” mid 2000’s model from a factory, got it for scrap value, over 25,000 hours (yes, the records corroborate that). It doesn’t need much, but working on it is a pain, everything is shoe horned in to the engine compartment. Engine parts are mostly interchangeable with Mitsubishi car engines of that year, which is nice. I bet it only gets 10 hours per year of run time, but I’m always glad I’ve got it when I need it.

My advice, go pneumatic tire if possible, 3k or 5k, stick to one of the Nissan/Toyota/Mitsubishi brands, and if you’re reasonably handy, don’t worry about the hours. Find an older, high hour unit, spend a couple grand and enjoy letting it do the work for you. Oh, and have a spare propane tank, you’ll run out just when you need it.

 

[ArtisanFarms]

Thanks for all of the comments. Very good food for thought as I get closer to spring and having the shop built.

 

[Montucky]

I would look for an older name brand like Clark or Toyota. I picked this up for $1200 and some trade. I did real good. It’s a gas powered Toyota. I can’t imagine life without it.

 

[LutzTD]

another option is an order picker. it is the kind you see at Home Depot where you ride up with the load. I added a man cage and I use it for high work as well as moving heavy things around. drawback is, you go up with it, so to get down you can't carry things in a sling unless you back out and drop down, some times if I cannot avoid it I will throw an 8ft ladder on the roof and use that to get down while I am working. also hard to drive through a door carrying things, but it does turn mostly on its own radius

 

[lis2323]

Make yourself a set of fork extensions when you get a forklift.


Mine are 7 footers.





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[Downwindtracker 2]

We made a boom that used both forks. With a coma-a-long we had a crane.

 

[American Locomotive]

My buddy has a "Big Joe" ~1500 pound push-around electric stacker for his small shop. Does everything he's ever needed it to. Works fine in his paved driveway as well.

The nice thing is that when he's not using it, the forks and front rollers slide neatly under the shelves in his shop, so it takes hardly any space.

 

[ArtisanFarms]

I received a lot of good advice on this thread to help me in my search for a forklift and being a guy, managed to ignore almost all of it when it came time to make a purchase.

For the price of a used canoe, granted, it was a nice canoe, here is what I ended up with, a Trac Lift with box rotator and 42" forks on the mast. The Trac Lift is almost 50 years old and is built on an IH 140 chassis. The IH has a nice open layout and should be a lot easier to work on than a standard forklift.

My son is posed behind it for scale.

 

[matt_i]

Interesting, its basically a 4th generation Farmall A (Super A, 130, 140).

What's its capacity, around 2000-3000 lbs?

I missed the original thread, I'm working with a Clark 3k and a Hyster 7k. Long forks are my preference but can get to be a problem inside the shop where spaces are tight.

My machines are 1980s vintage, everything leaks eventually, have rebuilt almost all of the hydraulic cylinders on them and replaced all of the hydraulic hoses on the Clark. The Hyster seemed built to a better standard as far as the hoses. I usually park them on cardboard to avoid turning the concrete into a weeping oil area.

Really good to have manuals at least for parts, when working with old machines. The tractor-based parts of the machine should be very common.

I keep my lifts on battery minders otherwise its a constant game of jumper cables and killing batteries which are $$$ these days.

Best thing I did for my Farmall tractors was to goto an electronic ignition and ditch the 6 volt breakerpoint setup. Start instantly and no more scraping green crud out of the distributor cap poles to get it to start and run...

 

[IndyGarage]

I'm going to offer different advice than some above.

I currently own 4 forklifts - 2 Nissan Electrics, a TCM propane with a Nissan engine and a Mitsubishi propane with Mitsubishi engine - and have had about 10-12 of them total.

These days I cannot imagine not having one in the shop - I use them to move skids, move trailers, pull engines, move cars, move machinery, bend metal, straighten metal and everything else I can think of.

Back in January, I bought my latest - an early 90's Mitsubishi 4000 lb propane lift. It had a bad flywheel ring gear and a leaking transmission seal behind the torque converter. I pulled the engine and fixed both and it runs like a new lift. It came with a service manual and a parts book and I had no problem finding the parts I needed easily.

I've had three different lifts with that transmission torque converter seal gone bad - it's a pain in the rear to fix, and people practically give the lifts away when they need one. (To the person with the Clark lift with the slow leak - I'm guessing that's your problem)

One thing you may not know is that there is a lot of branding going on with forklifts - Mitsubishi is the same as Caterpillar. I'm pretty sure a Nissan electric is the same as several others.

I second the opinion of buying an older Japanese brand. Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi, TCM are all pretty good. I've had a couple old Clarks, and they are pretty simple with an old continental flathead engine.

I would not buy a really old forklift - anything before about 1990 is unnecessarily old - you can find a 1990's lift cheap and it can still run close to a new one - I would not buy anything without power steering. Side shift is nice too.

Personally I like electric trucks. I've had about 5 Nissan 4000-6000 electrics. They are very quiet running, they work with greater precision than the gas/propane trucks, and I personally hate the propane cans - They smell and they have leaks in them. Gas smells even worse indoors. Contrary to most people's knowledge, a forklift battery lasts about 20 years. The only maintenance is adding water to them. The downside to electric is they are heavy - my batteries weigh between 3,000 and 3,500 lbs. That makes a very heavy, compact forklift.

I also prefer shorter forks rather than longer. I've had a couple with 48 inch forks and the rest with 42 inch. The 48 inch fork trucks are harder to maneuver in tight spaces. You would not believe how often you run a forklift within inches of other equipment - constantly. You can always use extensions if you need longer forks.

 

[IndyGarage]

My only issue is that I have a slow leak of some sort of fluid from underneath, and I can't get under there to figure out what it is. I'm not willing to risk my life trying, either. It's painful to take pride in fixing almost anything but feeling totally helpless trying to fix a forklift. One of these days I'll have to bite the bullet and send it off for repair...

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My low profile Napa jack will get under a forklift and it lifts 3.5 tons, so it has no problem lifting a forklift. I generally jack one side, then the other, then the back where the counterweight is - I will usually block it up a little bit at a time until I can get 2 layers of 4x6 or 6x6 underneath it. That means it's 7 - 10 inches off the ground. Most everything comes out from the top, so you only need access from underneath to remove some bolts.