Truck Mounted Forklifts have been around for over 40 years. It was invented by Cecil Moffett of Clontibret, Ireland and have revolutionised the logistics industry. Truck Mounted Forklift is commonly known as Moffett after its inventor and is located on a back of a lorry or trailer without taking up load space. The Truck Mounted Forklift is based on counterbalance principal but the wheels are moved forward under the load, resulting in the fulcrum being further forward, thus reducing the need for heavy counterweight.
The benefits of Truck Mounted Forklift include:
- Costs and Labour Saving – Without Truck Mounted Forklift, some of your customer will have to hire a forklift or borrow one. Either way you will still need a certified driver. With Truck Mounted Forklift, the lorry driver also operates the forklift. This saves time and money. Even if your customer has a forklift, having a Truck Mounted Forklift means that the company’s forklift can keep working on its usual job. It is estimated that for some jobs, Truck Mounted Forklift delivery compared to HIAB could be up to 70% cheaper.
- Health and Safety – With no forklift on site, the only option is to offload the lorry by hand. This could cause injury even with moderately light loads, resulting in staff taking time off work.
- Speed and Ease of Operation – Truck Mounted Forklift can be dismounted and ready to use in as little as a minute. They are easy to use and eliminate manual handling as the load can be precisely and safely positioned by the operator in almost any location. Time is money and manually handling is clearly slow. HIAB (acronym for Hydrauliska Industri AB) or Crane Loader is also slow as it takes time to unload every pallet using lifting chains. Each time lifting chains have to be attached and removed when using a HIAB, while on Truck Mounted Forklift offloading is quick and easy.
- Access and Manoeuvrability – Truck Mounted Forklift is lighter, more agile/manoeuvrable, and can be used in places where accessibility is difficult such as construction and off-road sites. For example, if you are delivering a load of bricks at a construction site which is difficult for a lorry to reach, then a HIAB can only offload the bricks by the side of the road but a Truck Mounted Forklift can take the bricks all the way to the construction site. A Truck Mounted Forklift has all wheel drive with diff locks and large diameter pneumatic tyres and hence can tackle rough terrain.
Truck Mounted Forklifts are popular in a number of sectors including:
- beverage logistics,
- recycling material transportation,
- delivery of technical and medical gases,
- agriculture
- delivery to live events,
- builder and timber merchants – delivering building materials, plasterboard, insulation & wood.
- pet food, bird seed & agricultural feed distribution,
- palletised distribution
- landscape and gardening
Drivers with Truck Mounted Forklift certification often earn more because their qualifications and skills increase productivity for their employer who can reward them accordingly.
If you planning to get HGV/LGV/lorry licence, then why not get a Truck Mounted Forklift / Moffett certification as well for a small additional cost. Contact Wallace School of Transport on 020 8453 3440 or 0800 612 8948
If you need a driver with Truck Mounted Forklift / Moffett operating skills or would like to get a Truck-Mounted Forklift qualification, or if you’ve got the qualification and are looking for work we can help. Call Wallace School of Transport – 0208 453 3440 ask for Russell
If you are a lorry driver and would like to enhance your skills and job prospects by getting Truck Mounted Forklift / Moffett certification, then Wallace Forklift Training can help you. Call Wallace Forklift Training for free on 0800 612 8948, choose option 3 or click here to email us
Wallace School of Transport is a fully accredited RTITB company with over 50 years’ experience. You can be trained either at your own work site or at Wallace Centre in Park Royal. If you have any questions, call Wallace Forklift Training for free on 0800 612 8948, choose option 3 or click here to email us.