Top 8 Forklift Attachments & Accessories to Increase the Productivity of Your Trucks

Most of the people take forklift as a boxy kind of machine for lifting pallets and having two prongs on the front side. Nowadays, most of the forklifts, available in the market, are made to serve multipurpose. If you incorporate forklift attachments and accessories into your devices, they can be greatly powered by this addition and in this way, you can increase the productivity and versatility of your forklift machines. So, it's a great idea to use these attachments to boost the performance of your truck.

Even Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA has admitted that these attachments improve the functionalities of the forklifts, but you need to operate them skillfully and properly. If you have the least idea about which forklift attachments you should use and how to use them, don't worry. I'm going to tell you eight most effective attachments and accessories for your trucks and how to use them safely.

1. Degree Rotator

With the help of degree rotator, you can make your truck swivel on its mast. It can help you to invert the loads or simply dump them. In this context, it is important to keep in your mind that a degree rotator should not be used near the fork. Since it tips either to the left or to the right, there is a risk of getting your foot crushed between any one of the two forks and the floor.

2. Hydraulic Drum Handler

Hydraulic drum handlers are exclusively made for lifting cylindrical things like drum and drum handler. This kind of attachments have a circular band that rotates to help the operator pour the contents of a drum out with the truck. You should never stand within the sphere of this band because it expands pneumatically and it might crush your legs.

3. Hydraulic Reachforks

In some cases, you need to lower or lift a load over another load to stop the forklift from getting closer to the set-down area. In such a case, you can use hydraulic reachforks to expand the reach of your forklift and maintain it properly. While using this attachment, you should always assure that the lifted load is not heavier in comparison to the counterbalance of the forklift because the reachforks place the center of gravity of the machine before its front-side wheel causing a tipping.

4. Sideshifter

Sideshifter helps the operators to reposition a load left-to-right or vice-versa without moving the truck. You can use this attachment to line up the pallets without moving the entire device. It not only saves time but also requires less labor to complete the task of lifting. So, with the help of sideshifter, you can increase the efficiency and productivity of your forklift machines.

5. Work Platform

Work platforms provide fences preventing your device from falling. Sometimes, these are used to prevent electrocution as well. You can get hurt if you ride on work platform when the truck is moving. So, please don't take it as an amusement ride. It's not!

6. Extension Slippers

Extension slippers supply extra reach and slip to the fork of your truck. These also make the forks flexible to attach and detach without any hassle. One thing you should remember that it is not like hydraulic reachforks and that is why you should not extend the extension slipper from inside the cab of a forklift. Apart from this, you should always consider the counterweight of the truck and the center of the gravity while using this extension slipper.

7. Fixed Jib

A fixed jib slips over the forks of a forklift in order to turn the truck into a crane for a basic purpose. You will find a line and hook at the end of the jib to lift a load. This forklift attachment is powered by an extension to the battery of the forklift.

8. Container Ramp

Container ramp is a forklift attachment that is used to lift large and rectangular containers or container ramps which are too large to fit between the usual shelves of the warehouse. These forklift attachments are used mainly for unloading large shipments. If you use them in a place closer to the work platforms and the degree rotator or too close to the moving ramp, you can get hurt.

A Final Takeaway

If you think that you need these forklift attachments but your budget is limited, then you can consider the refurbished attachments and accessories as well. Forklifts are of immense importance as they can maneuver into small spaces and transport loads on pallets. These machines will be more important and productive for your factory if you add the vital forklift attachments to them.

Am I missing some important forklift attachments that should be included in this list? If so, please feel free to let me know.

Drew Graham is a Automotive mechanical Engineer and has more than 10 years of experience in automotive industry. He loves to pen down his knowledge through many blogs. To solve your query contact us through his facebook and Twitter network.