It can be simple to overlook the essential tire, when it comes to the maintenance of the forklift. When you pick the wrong tire for your lift truck, you can put large increases on your operating expenses, and more importantly increase your safety risks. If on the other hand, you choose right tire you could enjoy improved safety, substantial cost-savings and an overall more efficient operation. A correctly selected tire could really lessen the downtime for replacement and probably last 40 percent longer.
Tires are really somewhat complex parts on the equipment; hence, it is easy to select the wrong one accidentally. There are numerous different brands of tires and types, with different treads and compounds. This means you should be fully prepared with the right data when you are going shopping for tires so that you could select some safe and durable options to help prolong the life of your forklift.
The specific kind of tire chosen for a forklift depends on the type of surface you would be using the equipment on. Like for example, indoor applications and smooth surfaces normally use tires that are made from rubber and that are a smaller size. On the contrary, outdoor operations require pneumatic tires. Pneumatic tires have a rubber tread and are filled with compressed air. These characteristics give them a good grip on surfaces which are rough and uneven.
Lift Truck Tire Safety
Every year, 200 individuals are killed in lift truck or forklift related accidents each year. Ensuring lift truck safety, such as correct inspection practices, could all contribute in to preventing these terrible and dangerous accidents from occurring.
Pre-Work Inspection
The tires of the forklift needs to be inspected before each and every shift. Tires should ideally have the proper air pressure, that is set by the tire manufacturer. This is very vital because if the tire pressure is too low, the equipment can inadvertently tip over when a load is being raised.
Types
The tires used on indoor lift trucks would be made out of solid rubber.
Other factors
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration or OSHA require that lift trucks utilized on a continual basis have to be checked at the completion of each shift. The driver has to check the equipment for any type of mechanical problems and the tires should be checked for excessive wear, cuts or apparent damage to the tires. Any issues which are detected should be addressed as soon as possible to maintain safety.