Counterbalance Forklift Trucks

The counterbalance forklift features two forks at the front and has the ability to drive up close to a load to pick it up and move it. The name comes from the counterweight in the rear of the vehicle. This is to compensate for the heavy load being lifted at the front. Counterbalance forklift trucks are versatile and can be operated both indoors and outdoors. They drive best on flat, smooth surfaces and should be used in more open spaces due to their large turning circle.

The counterbalance forklift comes in both a three and four-wheel variety and can be powered by gas, diesel and electric. They are very powerful and useful trucks for a number of different environments, lifting a variety of heavy loads.

A Weight at the Rear Acts as a “Counterbalance”: The term “counterbalance” comes from the fact that these types of forklifts are equipped with a very heavy weight at the rear of the truck that is able to off-set the load that you need to lift on the forks at the front of the truck. Without this weight, your forklift would become unbalanced and tip over from the extra weight on the forks.

Designed with Forks out Front: Counterbalance forklifts are designed with their forks protruding out at the front of the vehicle, and they don’t have any outrigging legs or arms to stabilize them. This means that you can drive your forklift right up the the precise spots where your load or racking is located. You do not require a reach facility to access and deposit your load. The rear wheels are the turning wheels on a counterbalance forklift.

Advantages of Counterbalance Forklifts

Lift a Wide Range of Weights

Counterbalance forklifts are the most common type of forklift with units designed and engineered to safely lift a wide range of weights ranging from 1.8T up to 48T.

The larger the lift capacity of the forklift the larger the size of the unit as the in-built counterbalance must be large enough to offset the weight of the loads being picked up by the tynes and prevent the units from tipping over.

Different Fuel Types

Another advantage of counterbalance forklifts is there are a variety of fuel types available to power them.

Fuel types include:

LPG

Petrol

Diesel

Battery Electric

The different fuel types available allow the unit to be customised to a particular application such as a diesel powered counterbalance forklift offers the necessary high power to lift and maneuver large heavy loads such as containers, whilst battery electric counterbalance forklifts are ideal for operating indoors where ventilation maybe a problem as they don’t emit any toxic emissions.

Increased Versatility with Added Attachments

Counterbalance forklifts add extra versatility to an operation as they can be fitted with a wide variety of attachments.

Attachments such as the examples below allow a counterbalance forklift to complete tasks it normally wouldn’t normally be able to complete thus increasing the units versatility.

Clamps such as bale or paper rolls allow counterbalance forklifts to safely pick-up and lift baled or irregular shaped loads including cotton, wool bales or rolls of paper that can’t be picked-up or lifted using standard tynes

Rotators and Bin Tippers allow counterbalance forklifts to pick-up, rotate and tip industrial bins safely and efficiently

Carpet Poles are an attachment that fits over a counterbalance forklifts standard tynes and allows for long lengths of carpet, textiles or materials to be wrapped around the central pole for easy and safe transport

Indoor and Outdoor Operation

Counterbalance forklifts can be fitted with a variety of different tyre options including non-marking, pneumatic, cushion and solid.

Depending on the application the best tyre option needs to be selected, for instance a forklift operating indoors in a warehouse may have non-marking tyres fitted so it doesn’t leave any marks on the warehouse floor during operations.

For counterbalance forklifts that operate outdoors pneumatic tyres may be fitted as they are heavy-duty, have deep treads in long lasting rubber that can withstand the harsher conditions of working outdoors across all surfaces.

Increased Maneuverability

For indoor applications such as warehousing where utilising available storage space is a priority, 3 wheel battery electric counterbalance forklifts are the ideal solution.

Owing to their smaller size and tighter turning circle 3 wheel counterbalance forklifts allow warehouse storage to be designed with narrower aisles to maximize available storage space.

Hyster 3 wheel batter electric counterbalance forklift

Electric forklifts

Industry Specific Applications

As previously highlighted battery electric counterbalance forklifts are ideally suited to indoor applications as they can negate the need for ventilation as they do not release any dangerous emissions during operations.

This feature is particularly relevant for some industry specific applications such as medicine production, food and beverage storage where any emissions from a combustion engine counterbalance forklift may spoil or damage product, food and beverage ingredients or final product.

Frequently Asked Questions About a Counterbalance Forklift

How high can a counterbalance forklift go?

Most counterbalance forklifts have a vertical lift of 10-15 feet, while four-stage mast forklifts can lift over 30-feet vertically. Meanwhile, the average high reach forklift can lift at least 30-feet, with many reaching upwards of 45 feet.

What can reduce the capacity and stability of a forklift?

Capacity may be reduced with irregularly shaped loads, unbalanced weight distribution, or if the load is not centered on the forks.

Counterbalance forklift trucks vs reach truck

Unlike counterbalance forklift trucks, reach forklifts are designed to operate indoors (such as warehouses) and can weave through narrow aisles. They’re primarily designed to lift loads that sit in high places in storage or racking and use their stabilising legs to extend their reach. The unique tilt mechanism and open overhead guard of a reach truck are designed to help the driver get a better view of their task, and they also have a camera installed so that the driver can see above their head on a video screen.