Fork lift loading for small box trucks with a lift gate.
- Thread starter Van2017
- Start date
Not with that type of lift gate. Yes lift gate will interfere.
It can be legally operated as a vehicle over 10K lbs ...
My question was about forklift loading not the legality. 3,000 lbs was hypothetical number. What if the load is 2,000 lbs and lift gate is rated for 1500?
You have the advantage that you can adjust the liftgate to dock height, if you encounter a place with no ramp. However, the only way you’re gonna load that truck is with a pump-type pallet jack. That truck is great for local work, but over the road, where ya need to accommodate a bed, etc? I don’t knooow....
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I think he's asking if a fork lift will load the truck at ground level with the gate down as shown in the picture........
Then you are overloading the rated weight capacity of the lift-gate by 500 lbs.
When the lift-gate is lowered as pictured, can the deck be lifted vertically against the rear of the truck to allow a forklift to load from the ground. Could the truck be backed up to a dock with the deck in that position? Regardless, get yourself a pallet jack. Either have freight loaded or unloaded at ground level onto the lift gate or back up to a dock with the gate in the horizontal position and freight loaded onto the gate.
I wouldn't allow a forklift to drive onto the deck with it on the ground as pictured. I sure it would get crushed.
To answer the question you are actually asking, no. If you were to be able to back up to a dock, and the lift were to drive in with 3,000lbs of freight, plus the lift, your suspension would squash, no longer leaving you at dock height, and the forklift unable to get back on the dock, trust me on this, I have been a witness to it. I do not let forklifts enter my Expedite trucks, even with the landing gear down. Some forklift drivers are just plain stupid, and will damage your floor, or sidewalls, because they load trailers all day, and they are built for that type of abuse. Have the forklift bring the pallet to the back of your truck at the loading dock, and use a pallet jack to manually move it to where you want. It will be a bit of work, but if you damage your truck for the convenience of being loaded, and your down for days for repairs, because shops work on their schedules, not yours, it will cost you more money than its worth in effort to pallet jack the load in your truck. That is just my 2 cents worth....