Even after the rise and explosion of telehandlers on the material handling industry, rough terrain lift trucks and vertical mast lift trucks can be found lifting and transporting various items and supplies on jobsites around the world. There have been numerous other traditional lift trucks that lost market share to telehandlers. This happened particularly when the competition broke onto the construction scene. Ever since that time, sales numbers have stabilized. Vertical-mast forklifts have re-emerged and seem to be becoming more popular once more because of their greater production, lower cost and alteration of certain telehandler-like features.
Straight-mast equipment would complete double the job which a telehandler will do due to their maneuverability and ground speed. Fascinatingly enough, rental companies are starting to charge higher rates on straight-mast models.
In the rough-terrain forklift industry, rental buyers have been having a greater influence. Over 50 percent of all vertical-mast lift trucks are presently being sold to a rental yard. These acquisitions are usually driven mainly by use, which is a factor closely followed by purchase price.
Within the material handling business, the telehandler has become the darling new equipment. Its popularity has enhanced its advantage in the rental market as well. 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 forklifts for unloading and loading repetitive tasks. This means that although competition amongst telehandler marketers has lowered their prices, many prefer the RT lift trucks which have been working well for decades.
In comparison, the telehandler is ganglier, a little slower to operate and needs a higher level of skillfulness to complete the task. On the upside, they get the reach if they require it. There would always be a place in the industry for lift trucks however, as there are places that you would not be able to access with a telehandler.
Rough terrain forklifts are normally compact equipment, smaller but more able to carry a heavier cargo vertically as opposed to the telehandler. Basically, so as to utilize the best machinery for your application, you must determine what tasks exactly you will be completing, the kind of conditions and setting you will be operating in and what your load capacity is. All these factors would help you decide what the right alternatives available are.