Diesel forklift trucks are amongst the toughest workhorses in the materials handling world, being suited to a wide range of unit loads and designed to withstand the rigours of outdoor work.

Powered by a fuel that is both easy to get hold of and straightforward to use, diesel counterbalance forklifts like the DP range from Cat® Lift Trucks perform well in harsh environments like those that are wet or dirty. Typical applications include loading and unloading goods vehicles, container stuffing and moving goods into or out of external storage areas, as well as transferring items from one site location to another – for example between two different production areas.

Unlike some other lift trucks, diesel counterbalance forklifts come in a very wide range of sizes and lift capacities, which makes them capable of carrying everything from a small pallet of bulk materials to individual components weighing several tonnes. The Cat® DP range, for example, offers maximum lift capacities from 1.5 tonnes (DP15NT) up to a hefty 16.0 tonnes DP160SNL. Maximum lift heights are typically between 3m and 7m, depending on the kind of mast fitted, but while this can be useful in applications where trucks truly need to work at height – for example in outdoor racking – the emphasis in most applications will be on horizontal, rather than vertical movement.