Even after the rise and explosion of telehandlers on the material handling business, rough terrain forklifts and vertical mast lift trucks could be found lifting and moving different products and materials on jobsites all over the globe. There have been numerous other traditional lift trucks that lost market share to telehandlers. This occurred particularly when the competition broke onto the construction scene. Ever since that time, sales numbers have become stable. Vertical-mast forklifts have re-surfaced and seem to be becoming more popular once more due to their greater production, alteration of certain telehandler-like features and low cost.
Straight-mast machines will complete twice the work which a telehandler will do because of their maneuverability and ground speed. 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. Over 50 percent of all vertical-mast lift trucks are currently being sold to a rental yard. These acquisitions are normally driven mainly by use, that is a factor closely followed by purchase price.
The telehandler has become an extremely common machine 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 practically as productive as opposed to conventional rough-terrain lift trucks for loading and unloading repetitive tasks. This means that although competition among telehandler marketers has lowered their prices, a lot 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 use and needs a higher level of skillfulness to finish the job. On the upside, they get the reach if they require it. There will always be a place within the industry for forklifts though, because there are places that you will not be able to access with a telehandler.
Rough terrain lift trucks are generally compact equipment, smaller but more able to lift a heavier cargo vertically as opposed to the telehandler. Basically, in order to use the best machinery for your application, you will have to determine what tasks precisely you will be accomplishing, the type of circumstances and environment you would be operating in and what your load capacity is. All these factors would help you decide what the best options available are.