It can be simple to overlook the essential tire, when it comes to the maintenance of the forklift. When you choose the wrong tire for your forklift, you can put large increases on your operating costs, and more importantly increase your safety risks. If however, you select right type of tire you could enjoy improved safety, significant cost-savings and an overall more effective operation. A correctly chosen tire could actually reduce the downtime for replacement and probably last 40 percent longer.
The lift truck tire is a somewhat complex part of the machine. It is thus, easy to select the wrong one accidentally. There are lots of different brands of tires and types, with a wide array of treads and compounds. This means you should be fully prepared with the right information when you are going shopping for tires so that you can select some safe and durable alternatives to help prolong the life of your lift truck.
The specific kind of tire selected for a forklift depends on the kind of surface you will be using the machine on. Like for instance, smoother surfaces and indoor applications usually utilize tires which are made from rubber and that are a smaller size. On the contrary, outdoor applications require pneumatic tires. Pneumatic tires are filled with compressed air and have a rubber tread. These characteristics give them a good grip on uneven and rough surfaces.
Lift Truck Tire Safety
Each year, there are roughly 200 people killed in accidents related for lift truck use. Ensuring lift truck safety, like proper inspection practices, could all contribute in to avoiding these dangerous and horrible mishaps from occurring.
Pre-Work Inspection
The tires of the forklift needs to be inspected prior to each and every shift. Tires must ideally have the right air pressure, that is set by the manufacturer of the tire. This is very essential because if the tire pressure is very low, the machinery could inadvertently tip over when a load is being lifted.
Types
The tires utilized on indoor forklifts will be made out of solid rubber.
Other factors
The OHSA or Occupational Health and Safety Administration require that lift trucks used on a continual basis need to be checked at the completion of each shift. The driver should inspect the equipment for any mechanical problems and the tires must be looked over for cuts, excessive wear or obvious damage to the tires. Any issues that are detected have to be dealt with as soon as possible to maintain safety.