Rough-terrain and vertical-mast forklifts keep picking up and positioning different building supplies on various jobsites even through the evolution and rise of telehandlers on the market. There are many conventional-style lift trucks existing within the material handling business that lost market share to telehandlers. This occurred particularly when the challenger broke onto the construction scene. Since that time, sales numbers have stabilized. Vertical-mast forklifts have re-surfaced and seem to be becoming more popular once more because of their greater production, lower cost and alteration of certain telehandler-like features.
The straight mast lift truck can complete double the work as a telehandler because of their superior handling and maneuverability along with their better ground speed. Interestingly enough, rental companies are starting to charge higher rates on straight-mast units.
Within the rough-terrain forklift industry, rental buyers have been having a greater influence. More than half of all vertical-mast lift trucks are currently being sold to a rental yard. These purchases are usually driven mostly by use, that is a factor closely followed by purchase price.
In the material handling industry, the telehandler has become the darling new machine. Its popularity has improved its benefit in the rental market too. Their overall expansion has been moderated by their higher price. There is several lift truck users who feel that telehandlers are not nearly as productive as opposed to traditional rough-terrain forklifts for loading and unloading repetitive jobs. This means that even though competition among telehandler marketers has lowered their prices, many prefer the RT lift trucks that have been performing well for decades.
In comparison, the telehandler is ganglier, a little slower to operate and requires a higher level of skillfulness to complete the task. On the upside, they get the reach if they need it. There would always be a place in the business for forklifts however, because there are places which you can not access with a telehandler.
Rough terrain lift trucks are normally compact machinery, smaller but more able to carry a heavier cargo vertically compared to the telehandler. Essentially, in order to use the best equipment for your application, you would need to determine what tasks exactly you would be completing, the kind of conditions and environment you will be operating in and what your load capacity is. These factors will help you decide what the best options available are.