Even after the rise and explosion of telehandlers on the material handling market, rough terrain forklifts and vertical mast lift trucks could be found picking up and moving different products and materials on jobsites all around the globe. There have been many other conventional lift trucks that lost market share to telehandlers. This occurred particularly when the challenger broke onto the construction scene. Since that time, sales numbers have become stable. Vertical-mast forklifts have re-emerged and seem to be becoming more popular once more because of their greater production, adaptation of some telehandler-like features and low cost.
Straight-mast machinery will finish two times the job that a telehandler would do because of their maneuverability and ground speed. Interestingly enough, rental companies are starting to charge higher rates on straight-mast models.
Rental purchasers are having significant influence within the rough-terrain forklift industry. Over half of all vertical-mast forklifts are currently being sold to a rental yard. These purchases are normally driven mostly by utilization, which is a factor closely followed by acquisition price.
The telehandler has become an extremely common equipment within the material handling business. Their popularity has given them a super 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 helpful as opposed to traditional rough-terrain forklifts for loading and unloading repetitive jobs. This means that although competition among telehandler marketers has lowered their prices, many prefer the RT lift trucks which have been working well for decades.
The telehandler is a bit slower machinery in comparison to a rough terrain forklift unit. 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 within the industry for lift trucks though, since there are places which you will not be able to access with a telehandler.
The rough-terrain lift truck is compact, small and can carry a heavier load vertically as opposed to the telehandler. Essentially, in order to utilize the best equipment for your application, you will need to determine what tasks exactly you will be accomplishing, the kind of environment and circumstances you will be operating in and what your load capacity is. These factors would help you decide what the right alternatives available are.