It could really be simple to neglect the important tire, when it comes to the maintenance of the forklift. When you select the wrong tire for your lift truck, you could put large increases on your operating expenses, and more significantly increase your safety risks. If on the other hand, you pick right kind of tire you could enjoy significant cost-savings, improved safety and an overall more effective operation. A properly chosen tire can actually lessen the downtime for replacement and probably last 40 percent longer.
The lift truck tire is a quite complex component of the machine. It is therefore, easy to choose the wrong one accidentally. There are numerous different types of tires and brands, with a huge variety of compounds and treads. This means you need to be totally prepared with the correct information when you are buying tires so that you can select some durable and safe options to help extend the life of your lift truck.
The specific kind of tire selected for a forklift depends on the kind of surface you would be utilizing the equipment on. Like for instance, indoor applications and smooth surfaces generally use tires which are made from rubber and that are a smaller size. On the other hand, outdoor operations need pneumatic tires. Pneumatic tires have a rubber tread and are filled with compressed air. These characteristics give them a good grip on rough and uneven surfaces.
Lift Truck Tire Safety
Each year, 200 people are killed in lift truck or forklift related accidents each year. Ensuring forklift safety, like for instance proper inspection practices, could all contribute in to avoiding these terrible and dangerous accidents from happening.
Pre-Work Check
Prior to each shift, the lift truck's tires need to be checked. Ideally, they should have the right air pressure, as set forth by the manufacturer. This is very vital because if the tire pressure is too low, the equipment can accidentally tip over when a load is being raised.
Types
The tires used on indoor lift trucks would be made out of solid rubber.
Other Considerations
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration or OSHA require that forklifts used on a continual basis have to be inspected at the completion of each and every shift. The driver should check the machinery for any mechanical issues and the tires should be looked over for excessive wear, cuts or obvious tire damage. Any issues that are detected should be dealt with as soon as possible to maintain safety.