Forklifts??

[lowtops]

I am in the market for a used forklift. Our flooring business is starting to take off and a forklift is inevitable. So does anyone have any knowledge or preference to any particular model?
My experience has been with propane fueled forklifts only. Are battery powered or gas lifts any better or worse?
I have operated Yale's and Toyota's (a few different examples of each)before. The Toyota lifts all handled better than the Yale's, but one Yale in particular has to be over 25 years old and still runs great. Besides those two brands who else makes a reliable lift?
Finally, where is a good place to find used lifts? I checked ebay and there seem to be some good deals but not locally. I found a government auction site, (looking for military trailers that I will post up if anyone is interested) but all of their lifts need some work.
I just need something that will be reliable and under $3000.

Thanks for your help

 

[valentine]

I see them on craigslist every once in a while.

I drove Hysters when I worked at the lumber mills, they always done excellent.

 

[Red Herring]

I drove Raymond electrics for a summer. It was strong and worked very well in tight spaces. Only one I'm familiar with. Good luck with the bizz.

 

[CruisinFJ60]

with the propane injection oil change intervals are extended much much longer due to much less deposits, burns clean and is cheap that is the way i would go. as far as brand i dont rember ive driven a few differant ones and dont rember much other than they were old and worked well.

 

[Josh83]

We have a lot of Toyota's, one Yale, one Taylor and one Combilift.

The Toyota's are pretty good. We have seven sit down propane units. They range from regular hard tire 5000lb models to flotation tire 5Klb models to flotation and hard tire 20Klb models. We have one with a dually front flotation tire model that is pretty sweet. The only problem we have out of them is flat tires on the flotation tire models. We also have 3 Toyota stand up electrics. I like the electrics are nice and all, but be ready for maintenance. The batteries have to come out to have the fluid topped off regularly and it is a 2 man job at best. Not to mention the cost of the batteries. We are having all 6 of our batteries rebuilt right now one at a time at $4K a pop.

The yale we have is a sit down propane 5Klb model. It is nice, and never really gives us any trouble. It got tipped over a while back and came away unscathed.

The Taylor is a huge beast. 40Klbs. It has been quite reliable, but it doesn't get the constant use the others all do. We used to have a Taylor 10Klb side loader that was a real piece though. It was always broken down.

The combi-lift is the biggest pile I have ever seen. It is a 5Klb propane side loader with a VW 4cylinder. It had a hydro leak the day after it was delivered and there were no parts for it in the US. Had to be sent over from Ireland(where it was made). We have had nothing but trouble with it. The mast has been bent three times and it is under a year old.

I reccomend a propane sit down model, Toyota or Yale. Electrics are a hassle.

 

[Cookiemonster]

Propane.

Driven Yale's, Hysters, Toyota's......

If your indoors & out obviously get appropriate tires etc, but as far as the lifts I would rate them as

#1 Toyota, (for obvious reason)
#2 Hyster
#3 Yale

 

[gladly]

towmotor, I think maybe a subsidiary of cat? I've run several of them, all bulletproof, used to use one in a schoolbus bodyshop for lifting body off frame, easy breezy, and it was 10-15 years old at the time, never down for maintenence, great rig, and probably old enough to be affordable.
I'm anti hyster, the local freight company has two, and it seems like every time I go to pick stuff up, they have a rented toyota filling in for one or the other.
propane nissan seems to be good, another local freight carrier has one, abuse the hell out of it, and it had one hyd. hose faliure in about a year and a hlaf, due to no maintenence and 12/365 use

 

[denis]

I have a komatsu with a toyota 4P petrol motor, starts on the first turn of the crank everytime even if I'm not using it all that often. I would definately consider replacing it but only for a toyota diesel

 

[brownbear]

I use a small Toyota 5k one at work. Real nice to use. Hard to start due to the propane tuning in the cold tho.

 

[reffug]

Driven probably every make there is available.

Been playing with em since I was 16 so thats roughly 20 years of exp.

Hyster by far and away was the best I ever had the pleasure of using. Wonderful trucks, very reliable and strong. Just make sure you school yourself on the safe operation of these beasts. I not only am an operator but also went to school to train others how to operate. These things are dangerous in the hands of someone who doesn't know there limitations or isn't paying attention to what they are doing. Don't ever fool yourself these suckers can kill, maim, and injure very quickly. That being said there also a s*** load of fun.

 

[Texx]

Buddy's had a Nissan for years, no problems. It's around 5k capacity with a 4 cyl engine.

 

[MJM]

Toyota66

We have 3 lifts now. all 5k
1 3 year old Toyota great truck no problems
2 clarks stay away from them trans issues plauge them.
We had one old Yale that was great untill it caught fire one day.
All of our trucks are LP and all have over 3,000hrs. we do the PM with the dealer and have had no trouble starting them. We do you use 24/6 that may help with running good. I have a clark for sale now cheap in OH

 

[sleeoffroad]

If you were in Colorado, I have one for sale Just this week bought a newer (rear 1980) Nissan over or 1960 Yale. The yale is getting old, but still starts every time and works, but it does not have power steering and it makes it difficult in small spaces.

Look at local auctions of businesses that go bust. Can normally be had there for less than you buy them used at a dealer, but then you also have to waste the time at auction.

www.northerntool.com also sells Toyota refurb units with free delivery. They are more than $3k though.

 

[roscoFJ73]

I dont have a preference for brand ,all the main brands are much the same in my opinion.
I would avoid electric forklifts. Once the battery goes flat ,usually because someone forgot to put it on charge,the whole day turns nasty.
Propane are ok as long as you have some spare tanks so you always have a full one.
Make sure you get one with the right options for what you do. Ive always liked forklifts with a sideways shift,very handy.

I would also have a good look at potential hazards such as overhead plumbing and electrical.
If only one person is a driver it is easier to make sure fluids are checked and it is looked after

 

[Devils Paw 80]

Interested thread. Reminds me of a recent news blurb about how popular small forklifts are for stealing cash machines.

 

[lowtops]

Guys,
Thanks for the replies. I guess I will add Hyster to my short list along with Yale and Toyota. I have always assumed that the propane would be the best bet. I am just looking for comfirmation.

Slee,
Sounds like a good excuse for me to come to Colorado. Of course after buying cruiser stuff I won't have any money left for the lift.

89gashog,
If the flooring business does not pan out I will keep your idea in mind

Thanks again

 

[Advent]

Where I used to work, we had a Lord-knows-how-old Datsun. I think it was 4500 pounds, but I could be wrong. Dead freaking reliable.

That thing was abused beyond belief. It'd get left outside at -20* and still start in the morning even though it was propane. My boss once accidently filled up the coolant with hydraulic fluid...I don't think that even got the chance to be flushed for a year. Didn't bother it any. It got shipped in a leaky connex out to Amchitka Island, where it spent a summer exposed to the salt. My boss came out one day to find a crew using it to move around 40' ATCO units because the 20k forklifts didn't have sideshift. They'd stacked concrete chunks on the back and had the forks bent way over. The forks sprung back and the only casualty was a bubbled line.

I don't think it had an oil change in 15 years, and the oil still looked clean and fresh. It had some trouble starting for a little while but a quick tune up solved that.

One thing I really liked about it was the single control lever for lifting and leaning. You could get stuff positioned much quicker without having to switch levers.

If I had to buy a forklift, I'd definately include Nissan/Datsun in the list.