How bendy is a Bendi? The conventional wisdom is that an articulated truck should have a rotational range of 180 degrees – enabling it to make a right angle to both left and right. However, says Simon Brown of Translift Bendi, this means the initial articulation leaves the forks at a slight angle to the racking and the truck has to be manoeuvred into position.
To get around this Translift Bendi has increased the rotational range to 220 degrees making it easier to get the forks into a right angle to the racking.
This can also create opportunities. For example, if a warehouse has a conventional 3.2m aisle, it is possible to add 1,000mm racking to make it double deep. The truck will work comfortably in the new 2.2m aisle, says Brown.
Aisle-Master went over to AC electric motors last year. This has been a big benefit, says McHugh, as AC engines need no brushes and so maintenance is lower. At the same time they are more efficient so the trucks can handle gradients better and the hydraulics are faster and smoother.
