Vertical-mast and rough-terrain lift trucks keep picking up and placing different building materials on different jobsites even through the rise and evolution of telehandlers on the market. There are a lot of traditional-style lift trucks offered in the material handling industry which lost market share to telehandlers. This occurred specially when the challenger broke onto the construction scene. Since that time, sales numbers have become stable. Vertical-mast lift trucks have re-surfaced and seem to be becoming more popular once more due to their greater production, modification of some telehandler-like features and low cost.
Straight-mast equipment would complete twice the job which a telehandler would do due to their ground speed and maneuverability. Fascinatingly enough, rental outfits are beginning to charge higher rates on straight-mast units.
In the rough-terrain forklift industry, rental buyers have been having a greater influence. More than half of all vertical-mast forklifts are currently being sold to a rental yard. These purchases are usually driven mostly by utilization, which is a factor closely followed by acquisition price.
The telehandler has become a very popular equipment within the material handling industry. Their popularity has given them a super advantage when it comes to rental utilization. Their overall expansion has been moderated by their higher price. There is several lift truck users who feel that telehandlers are not practically as productive compared to traditional rough-terrain lift trucks for unloading and loading repetitive tasks. This means that even though competition amongst telehandler marketers has lowered their prices, a lot prefer the RT forklifts which have been working well for decades.
The telehandler is a little slower machinery in comparison to a rough terrain forklift model. They are also ganglier to use and needs a higher level of skillfulness to finish the job. On the upside, they get the reach if they need it. There will always be a place in the business for lift trucks though, since there are locations that you can not access with a telehandler.
The rough-terrain lift truck is small, compact and could carry a heavier load vertically compared to the telehandler. Basically, so as to use the best machinery for your application, you must determine what jobs precisely you would be completing, the type of environment and conditions you will be operating in and what your load capacity is. These factors would help you decide what the best alternatives available are.