Did you know that a stolen forklift has been used to attempt an ATM theft?

While it makes for a comedic story, forklifts are not best used for stealing ATMs. However, forklifts handle a variety of products, from agricultural products, recycling, to retail food and beverages.

This means drivers often have to use attachments to alter the way the forklift operates. There’s a variety of attachments, but which should you consider purchasing for smoother operations?

Below is a collection of some of the most common forklift attachments!

Single-Double Pallet Handler

This type of attachment uses hydraulics to spread the forks wide enough to carry one or two pallets. This can significantly increase productivity, as loading and unloading times will decrease. However, they do not increase the load capacity of the forklift.

Carton Clamp Attachments

Carton clamps are great for large square objects that don’t require a pallet to be lifted. Without the need for pallets, the cost of shipping goes down. Carton clamps can also use an automatic pressure-sensing system to transport more delicate and fragile products.

Forklift Positioners

Forklift positioners use hydraulic technology to shift the forks closer or further together. This is helpful when a driver needs to handle pallets of different sizes.

Forklift positioners eliminate labor as well and speed up the process. The driver no longer has to manually adjust the forks.

Rotators

Rotators are perfect for handling things such as recycling or waste. Rotators allow drivers to turn the forks a full 360°. This makes them great for dumping loads when you need a clean disposal of the product. Many rotator models also have a side shift feature.

Push-Pull Forklift Attachments

Push-pull attachments eliminate the needs for pallets. Instead, an inexpensive slip sheet can be used. The use of slip sheets also means that packaging will be lighter.

Even better, the forks don’t need to be removed to attach or detach the push-pull attachment. This type of attachment is perfect for packaged food and beverages.

Paper Roll Clamps

Paper roll clamps are used to handle paper industry products. For this reason, they have to be gentle enough to not crush the products. Many are ordered with automatic pressure controls to ensure the products aren’t handled with too much force and damaged.

Fork Extensions

These forklift attachments allow you to extend the forks for larger loads. They also increase the stability of the forks and allow for safe handling.

Sideshifters

Sideshifters are a very common forklift attachment and allow for faster loading of pallets. Shideshifters allow forks to move from side to side in order to align with the pallet without having to shift the entire machine.

Increased Efficiency

The goal of all forklift attachments is to increase efficiency, lower the need for labor, and decrease costs. Different attachments will be useful for different operations, but having a few on hand for your operational needs will make your forklift handling much smoother.

For more information on forklifts, check out the rest of our website!