Diesel forklift trucks are amongst the toughest workhorses in the materials handling world. Suited to a wide range of unit loads, they’re also designed to withstand the rigours of outdoor work.

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

Unlike some other lift trucks, diesel counterbalance forklifts come in a very wide range of sizes and lift capacities. This makes them capable of carrying everything from a small pallet of bulk material to an individual component weighing several tonnes. The Cat® DP range, for instance, offers maximum lift capacities from 1.5 tonnes (DP15PT) up to a hefty 16.0 tonnes DP160SNL. Maximum lift heights are typically between 3m and 7m, depending on the kind of mast fitted. This can be useful in applications where trucks truly need to work at height – for example in outdoor racking.

However, the emphasis in most applications will be on horizontal rather than vertical movement.pplications 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.