Are you thinking of Forklift Hire in Melbourne, but struggling to make a choice? Well, not anymore. Whether, it's moving a bundle of woods, lifting heavy stone at construction sites, retrieving pallets at the warehouse or loading & unloading cargos. Forklifts are the best option and are considered most efficient for heavy lifting.
However, there are many varieties of forklift available in the market. Choosing the right forklift for your business become difficult. Following are a few points that should be considered for before hiring or buying a forklift:
Make sure the forklift is suitable for your application: You need to raise a few questions before directly renting out forklift truck such as-
- Is your requirement for regular purpose or occasional?
- Whether required for indoor, outdoor or both?
- Type of the task it will be performing?
- How much weight load it will be carrying?
- Any environments considerations such as -noise or emissions?
- Amount of space available for the truck to manoeuvre?
- Is mast height enough to reach the highest shelf or lowest beneath the doors?
If you get answered to all the questions mentioned above, you are good to go with the selected choice.
Proper inspection: Proper visual inspection becomes necessary to get a thorough overview. A reputable company will allow you to inspect the truck before renting. Inspect for any rust, underlying fault, damages such as welding repair, leaks, cracks etc. Assess the hydraulics, colour of exhaust fumes and other transmissions.
Proper inspection is important to avoid getting the wrong equipment or damaged truck. A forklift is a very complex equipment whose use is often governed by strict legislation. Inspecting for required documents is important to assure the legal angle before hiring. It helps in meeting the required safety standards and avoids any unforeseen accident. Many companies in Melbourne also offer to inspect your site for better understanding of your requirements. This allows you to get the best forklift hire in Melbourne.
Test Drive: Whether you are choosing a new forklift renting in Melbourne or an old one, taking a test drive is a must. Try to give a test drive yourself, if you can't, let the qualified operator test it.
Ensure that just like cars, the forklift is powered from the cold engine rather than warm. This is because many problems are not so apparent while running a warm engine.
The Certificate of Thorough Examination: A proper examination ensures that the forklift complies with the standard regulations. On the legal front, every forklift truck should hold a certificate of a thorough examination. If you get a doubt about the health of forklift, ask for a thorough examination before you hire.
Double check the clock readings: The working life of a forklift is assessed through its operating hours unlike mileage in cars. It is often stated that one hour use of a forklift is equivalents to using a car for 30 miles. Thus, checking down the clock readings will give an estimate of how efficiently a forklift will be. Sometimes, the clock can be tampered to alter the readings. It is advisable to check stated working hours through service history.
Mast & rating plate: Apart from checks as mentioned above, also look at the mast & rating plate. Mast assessment is important to see if it reaches the appropriate heights. The rating plate is a crucial feature of any lift truck - it tells you how much your truck can safely lift.