What are the best non alterrain 3 tonne forklifts

[gensetsteve]

I was looking for a tele when a couple of members on here said improve the yard and buy a normal forklift. The yard is not looking bad now but we are on a slope with scalpings . I would imagine some forklifts are better on loose surface than others. Are big wheels better than small etc ?

[IRE David H]

of course big wheels are better, but a telehandler could be sent out to sites to help load the timber into a trailer. you would still be better with an all terain as you could use it on challenging loading sites. or to keep costs down a vintage tractor, Massey David brown with loader or even a JCB digger with pallet forks much more veratile and cheaper as you dont have a tool that is very limited,

[cornish wood burner]

Our forklift gets stuck on flat hard ground against a 20 mm pebble. Well maybe not quite but you get the picture. It has pneumatic tyres but quite small so on any loose it can quickly dig a hole for itself and ground out as it has poor ground clearance, additionally it feels unstable on any slope or pothole. Ideally they belong on flat concrete but can be cheap and are very manoeuvrable so I see the attraction.

Telehandler is the best thing we have bought though, very versatile with forks, bucket and grab. With 4 wheel steer a surprisingly small turning circle.

[dent]

Drive a 2.5 ton doosan regularly big front tires and pneumatic

Will drive across any flatish surface road plannings are fine dont go nrear anything to soft and its fine

If anyone gets it stuck its because they have turned to tughtly and the rear wheels have acted as an anchor and its dug the road plannings away

 

Why not a mofit or even better a manitou equivalent have 3 wheel drive with difflock loads of different options some will drive sideways some have 3rd services the manitou is better to drive than moffets and could have buckets and log grabs fitted easily and would be cool having one on the back of a timber trailer

[woody paul]

3 ton is a big forklift. I know a lot of yards were they have tried the type you are talking about and changed it for rough terrain like a manitou, Ausa or even a JCB 926.

[dent]

Manitou TMT 320 FL truck mounted forklift telescopic Moffett mounty fork lift | eBay

[gensetsteve]

I would like this but it's lots of money

[Big J]

I have four forklifts:

 

Manitou MLA 628 LSU - plated to lift 2.8t, lifts 4.1t and it's nearly always got the grab on it for roundwood handling (except when loading lorries - it's handy as the whole lorry can be loaded from one side). Being artic steer, it's fairly maneuverable but it's big.

 

Coventry Climax - plated to lift 2.5, lifts 3.8t. Exceptional four wheel drive system on it (goes a lot further off road than the telehandler) but these days permanently has a 1.1 cube bucket on it for sawdust moving and firewood handling.

 

Nissan 2.5t lifting counterbalance (lifts 3.8t). This is the workhorse and I've had it over 4 years. Not the worlds best cold starter, but it's maneuverability is amazing and despite having worn, solid tyres, gets most places in my yard (which is fairly hard, but has some inclines and cambers). If it gets stuck, one of the other machines pulls it out.

 

Some massive old Lansing 5t plated counterbalance(not yet found anything it won't lift) but the odd massive log. Has large pneumatic tyres and goes just about everywhere.

 

Some days all four machines are used. There is no such thing as a do it all forklift and I'll always jump on the counterbalance rather than the telehandler. For rapid handling, it's much much quicker. Also, at about £2.5k, very cheap.

 

I'd say get a telehandler and a counterbalance.

[gensetsteve]

I have a 1986 525 with little wheels on the back. Getting too old and long in the tooth yard is forever getting smaller. A 751 bobcat with forks fast and wiggly but can cut things up badly. An allterrain 1 tonne lift brinkman britruck kubota engine lost its compression years ago and a pita to start from cold but does 80 % of the work in the yard. Your right there is no such thing as one forklift and you can't have too many

[richy_B]

Not a recommendation but may help eliminate- I have a linde h30 which easily lifts 3 tons but it struggles on anything other than hardsurface. There is an area of rough scalpings in our depot and you have to give it some to get over some bumps/dips even when not carrying anything.

 

I was (and still am) looking for a jcb 926 or 930. Sounds like the kind of things you'd want.