It can be simple to overlook the essential tire, when it comes to the maintenance of the lift truck. When you select the wrong tire for your lift truck, you could put huge increases on your operating expenses, and more importantly increase your safety risks. If however, you choose correct type of tire you could enjoy improved safety, substantial cost-savings and an overall more effective operation. A correctly selected tire can actually reduce the downtime for replacement and potentially last 40 percent longer.
The forklift tire is a quite complex component of the machinery. It is thus, easy to select the wrong one accidentally. There are so many different kinds of tires and brands, with various treads and compounds. This means you need to be totally prepared with the right information when you are going shopping for tires so that you could select some safe and tough alternatives to help prolong the life of your forklift.
The specific kind of tire chosen for a forklift depends on the kind of surface you will be using the equipment on. Like for example, smoother surfaces and indoor applications generally use tires that are made from rubber and that are smaller in size. On the other hand, outdoor applications require pneumatic tires. Pneumatic tires are filled with compressed air and have a rubber tread. These characteristics give them a great grip on surfaces that are rough and uneven.
Forklift Tire Safety
Each year, there are approximately 200 people killed in accidents related for lift truck use. Ensuring forklift safety, like for example correct inspection practices, can all contribute in to avoiding these dangerous and horrible accidents from taking place.
Pre-Work Check
Prior to each and every shift, the forklift's tires need to be checked. Ideally, they must have the right air pressure, as set forth by the manufacturer. This is really important because if the tire pressure is too low, the equipment can accidentally tip over when a load is being lifted.
Types
The tires used on indoor forklifts will be made out of solid rubber.
Other factors
The OHSA or Occupational Health and Safety Administration require that lift trucks utilized on a continual basis have to be checked at the completion of each and every shift. The driver must inspect the equipment for any mechanical problems and the tires should be inspected for excessive wear, cuts or apparent damage to the tires. Any issues that are detected should be dealt with as soon as possible to maintain safety.