tain attachments themselves.) Commonly used attachments ordered with a new truck generally are installed by
the dealer. “Typically, the customer will look to the dealer to
provide the truck and the attachment as one unit that
works together,” says J.B. Mayes, manager of product strategy for NACCO Materials Handling Group, which includes
the Hyster and Yale brand lift trucks.
Dealers also usually handle
retrofitting, but the attachment
manufacturer should install
specialized attachments when
neither the forklift manufacturer nor the dealer has experience
with the technical aspects of
that particular attachment, says
Steve Rogers, a program manager with Mitsubishi
Caterpillar Forklift America
Inc. (MCFA).
Regardless of who does what,
the experts urge users to consult with all of the parties
involved—the lift truck dealer,
the truck manufacturer, and
the attachment maker—to ensure that the attachment is
right for both the application and the vehicle. “We have a
saying: Don’t go it alone,” says Brad Vandehey, a product
manager with the attachment manufacturer Cascade Corp.
“Even though an attachment may be quite popular, there
are so many variants and nuances that we believe dealers
should not be spec’ing them alone. All it takes is to be
wrong by one inch to have a $15,000 attachment go south
on you.”
WHAT TO THINK ABOUT
So what kinds of factors should you consider when selecting a forklift attachment? There are more details than we
can cover here, but the following are some of the main
considerations:
▪ Product to be handled, and load weight and size.
Obviously, you want an attachment that can safely handle
your loads without damaging
the product. A driver operating
a clamp that was designed for a
different type of container or a
smaller load, for example, can
end up exerting so much pressure that the attachment crush-es or cuts the packages.
▪ Where the attachment will be
used. Think about the width
and height of the areas where
the attachment will be used.
Would the added depth and
width of the attachment hamper the lift truck’s mobility in
narrow or congested aisles, or
inside truck trailers and containers? Even a dock plate can add enough height to cause a
problem at the trailer’s or container’s entrance.
▪ Frequency of use. Will the attachment be used all the
time on every shift, or will it see only occasional use? If the
former, then it’s probably worthwhile to have a permanent
installation on a dedicated truck; if the latter, consider a
“quick release” version that can be put on and taken off
without special tools so you can use the truck for different
applications, says Craig Curtis, product manager for coun-
The wide world of lift truck attachments
There’s a remarkable variety of lift truck attachments on
the market today. Some are applicable to just about any
operation, while others are designed for specific products
or industries. Among the more common types are side
shifters that move the forks to the right or left; fork positioners for adjusting to different-sized loads; multi-pallet
handlers; push-pull attachments for palletless loads; and
load rotators. Examples of some of the more specialized
units include wine barrel handlers, tire clamps, layer pickers (used in the beverage industry to build mixed pallet
loads), and vacuum lifters.
Attachment manufactures will even custom-design
devices for individual customers or a particular industry.
One example is a tipping clamp designed by Cascade
Corp. for use by appliance manufacturers when loading
cartons of washers, dryers, and the like into tractor-trail-
ers. The clamp allows the forklift driver to maximize trail-
er utilization by rotating the carton 90 degrees and push-
ing it into an appropriate-sized space.
