Lift Truck Fork Accessories

The lift truck fork is like a powerful arm. Together, the two "arms" of the forklift can perform innumerable jobs in the workplace. Aside from lifting heavy pallets in the warehouse, as long as there is space under the forks and the materials being moved are flat and bundled, the forks are all the operator needs to move just about anything. It is only when the materials being handled don't meet these criteria that problems arise.

While forklift operators and work crews find many ways to improvise in order to move odd-shaped materials, malleable goods and loose materials, this is neither the safest nor the most efficient way to get the most out of a lift truck fork. The best way is the get the right accessory for the job.

The lumber yard is a good example of this. The forklift is kept busy all day in a lumber yard. It lifts, moves and stacks lumber in high cantilever shelving units. When a bundle is broken and the lumber is sold in smaller quantities of 2X4s or whatever else the customer needs, the individual lengths of lumber are stacked on the forklift and it is driven to the pickup vehicle for quick loading.

Using the forklift in this way is perfectly safe and efficient. These are long, flat objects that can fit securely onto the forks. If the objects or goods are malleable, though, such as pre-sanded and finished timber paneling, standard forks may damage them. This is when forklift extensions and covers such as polyethylene fork blade protectors are good to have around.

Sometimes, a lumber yard uses empty cardboard or steel barrels to catch sawdust and offcuts. When they are full, a worker uses a hand cart to walk it out to the waste receptacle. In the course of a day, he may do this many times.

Aside from the risk of back injury when lifting the awkward load, all of this manual labor costs money. If there was a self dumping hopper at the saw instead of a box, the forklift operator could easily and safely do the work. Since this lift truck fork accessory can hold many times the contents of a barrel, he would only have to do the job occasionally.

By the end of the day, a lot of sawdust, dirt and debris collects on the lumber warehouse floor. It is not only unsightly, but can be dangerous, since sawdust can be slippery, especially for customers who may be wearing smooth-soled shoes. There is a lift truck fork accessory to solve this problem, too: it is the sweeper attachment. It can be attached in moments and used whenever it's needed to clear an area of debris.

A forklift can be a far more efficient tool than it already is if it has the right attachments. With a lift truck fork accessory like a self dumping hopper, a broom attachment or a telescoping boom to handle awkwardly shaped objects, it becomes even more of a workhorse than it already is.

There are dozens of other forklift attachments as well. An invaluable forklift safety attachment, for example, is a highly accurate fork level indicator that can potentially prevent serious workplace mishaps and accidents. Take your time and browse all our product categories. You just might find something you've needed for years, but didn't even know existed.



Forklift Accessories, a division of Bahrns Equipment, are the materials handling experts. This company has been selling lift truck fork accessories, new and used forklifts and thousands of other warehouse supplies for over forty years. Check out their online catalog and find what you need today.