Even after the rise and explosion of telehandlers on the material handling business, rough terrain lift trucks and vertical mast forklifts could be found lifting and moving various products and supplies on jobsites all over the globe. There have been many other standard lift trucks that lost market share to telehandlers. This occurred especially when the competition broke onto the construction scene. Ever since that time, sales numbers have become stable. Vertical-mast lift trucks have re-emerged and seem to be becoming more popular again because of their greater production, lower cost and modification of certain telehandler-like features.
The straight mast lift truck could finish two times the job as a telehandler because of their superior handling and maneuverability in combination with their better ground speed. Fascinatingly enough, rental outfits are starting to charge higher rates on straight-mast models.
Rental purchasers are having significant influence in the rough-terrain forklift industry. More than 50 percent of all vertical-mast forklifts are now being sold to a rental yard. These acquisitions are usually driven mainly by use, which is a factor closely followed by acquisition price.
The telehandler has become an extremely common machine in the material handling business. Their popularity has given them a better advantage when it comes to rental use. Their overall expansion has been moderated by their higher price. There is some forklift users who feel that telehandlers are not nearly as useful compared to traditional rough-terrain lift trucks for loading and unloading repetitive tasks. This means that even though competition among telehandler marketers has lowered their prices, many choose the RT forklifts which have been working well for decades.
The telehandler is a bit slower machinery in comparison to a rough terrain lift truck unit. They are also ganglier to utilize and requires a higher level of skillfulness to complete 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 however, because there are places which you can not access with a telehandler.
The rough-terrain forklift is compact, small and can lift a heavier cargo vertically compared to the telehandler. Basically, in order to use the right machine for your application, you must determine what tasks exactly you would be completing, the kind of circumstances and environment you will be operating in and what your load capacity is. All these factors would help you decide what the best alternatives available are.