As industries continue to evolve and grow, warehouse and storage spaces becomes more critical. Traditionally you may have expanded your warehouse and storage spaces laterally but with today’s economy, it has become more popular to expand upwards. Expanding your warehouse and storage spaces upward allows you to maximize the utilization of your current footprint while minimizing costs. The question then becomes, how are you going to best utilize this space for maximum productivity and efficiency? Do you have the equipment necessary to store the heavier loads in taller racking?

Reach Higher

Expanding your warehouse upwards can present challenges for your current equipment. Depending on the weight and size of your products, your existing forklifts may not be capable of lifting loads as high as you need them to. Toyota’s High-Capacity Reach Truck can assist in optimizing your warehouse so you can place goods in the most efficient storage locations. With a High-Capacity Reach Truck, you can reach heights up to 45 ft. That provides an additional 15 ft. of lift height compared to a standard Toyota Reach Truck. When reaching higher, you won’t have to sacrifice your view with a view-through carriage and overhead guard. Toyota’s High-Capacity Reach Truck is also available with an optional camera system and lift height indicators to assist with storage and retrieval accuracy at high heights.

Reach Heavier

The High-Capacity Reach Truck can lift loads as heavy as 4,500 lbs., giving you the versatility you need to optimize your warehouse. With the High-Capacity Reach Truck being able to lift 2,150 lbs. up to 42 ft., you can put those heavy loads up higher, leaving room down low for faster moving SKUs. The High-Capacity Reach Truck features a 7” touchscreen display that puts key information, programming, and diagnostics right at the operator’s fingertips. These features include a display of approximate load weight to assist in efficient moving from pick to pick.

Providing you with the versatility to store your products where they make sense instead of where you can reach, the High-Capacity Reach Truck reduces your limitations in various industry applications.

Do you find yourself needing to move tires, coils, pipes, and lumber in your operation? These are just a few of the large loads that heavy-duty attachments are capable of lifting, loading, and transporting with ease. Learn more about how these can help increase your efficiency and productivity.

Toyota Heavy-Duty Forklift Attachments

TELESCOPIC BOOM ATTACHMENT

Toyota’s High Capacity Adjustable Wheel Base features a telescopic boom and an extendable counterweight, making moving large and awkward loads much easier. An additional feature that makes the High Capacity Adjustable Wheel Base an attractive option is the remote control. There is an easy-to-use remote control option that can be added to the truck that allows the operator to control all functions of the forklift, including the counterweight extension at the touch of a button. The Remote Control option allows for easy and precise movement of large loads like industrial machinery and engines.

COIL RAM AND COIL-TAPERED FORK ATTACHMENTS

Coil Rams are similar to carpet poles but have a shorter boom with a larger diameter. This attachment is fitted with a heavy-duty backplate and a profiled end that makes the coil ram a dependable option for loading and transporting steel coils, concrete tubes, and various types of pipes. Due to its versatility, the Coil Tapered Fork Attachment often times makes for a popular alternative. Coil Tapered Fork Attachments come with the same dependable features as the Coil Ram while allowing the operator to transition between material handling needs more efficiently.

TIRE HANDLER ATTACHMENT

While regular forks can fulfill a variety of different handling needs, sometimes there is a need for a specialized attachment such as the Tire Handler. Sure, regular forks could move tires if need be; however, it may not be the most efficient method if you are moving them regularly. The tire handler attachment allows the operator to move more tires quicker, and reduce the risk of potential damage to the product. Regular forks could puncture the tires, but the Tire Handler utilizes a clamp that significantly reduces the risk of puncture damage.

Pipe Hold Down Clamp

Pipes and logs are only a couple of materials that make for easier and more secure handling with the Pipe Hold Down Clamp. This attachment features arms that are mounted on top of the carriage and then clamp down on the cargo to keep it from tipping or rolling off of the forks, and potentially damaging the cargo. Additionally, it provides excellent operator visibility that allows for easy loading and unloading. When the operator isn’t utilizing the clamp option the arms can be positioned vertically for more versatility. For tips on securely transporting cargo such as pipes, be sure to read this blog on preventing damage to heavy loads.

Paper Roll Clamp

Paper is among the most delicate products being handled, and therefore it oftentimes requires a specialized attachment such as a paper roll clamp. To help reduce the risk of damage to the product, these attachments can be outfitted with various pads to meet your material handling needs. While it’s called a Paper Roll Clamp, paper is not the only product it is capable of transporting. Various types of pipes and tubes, such as concrete pipes, can also be transported using the Paper Roll Clamp. Tilt Control, rotation, and pressure control are just a few of the available features on the Paper Roll Clamps, with some models having a handling capacity of 20,000+ pounds.

Every organization strives for operational efficiency and these attachments are just a few options that allow for increased efficiency and productivity when it comes to lifting large and heavy loads.

Industrial jobs call for moving large objects in unanticipated locations. As a manager or operator, it can be frustrating when one-size fits-all heavy lifting rigging equipment fails to actually fit.

Indoor industrial jobs sometimes call for moving materials that don’t adhere to the traditional applications of cranes and other rigging apparatuses. These machines are great for lifting and setting down steel beams, heavy pieces of equipment, shipping containers, and other objects that will be primarily used outdoors or in building construction. But for indoor jobs, you might need to move objects into tight spaces. Traditionally, high-capacity, indoor jobs can be completed using a heavy duty forklift. But what happens when the object you’re moving doesn’t fit the common specifications associated with pallets, containers, or even other objects with consistent specs (like steel sheets, pipes, or lumber)? You might need to move heavy manufacturing equipment or heavy-duty machinery. So what do you do when that object does not comply with the lifting capacity or recommended load center for your traditional forklift or other material handling equipment?

Heavy Lifting Rigging Equipment: Finding a Forklift that Works

Luckily, the right forklift can work as heavy lifting rigging equipment if it comes equipped with a telescopic boom used to rig materials. For example, Toyota’s High-Capacity Adjustable Wheelbase comes standard with a telescopic boom that can rig materials for movement indoors. The forks can quickly be removed and replaced with the boom, meaning you’ll be able to move materials as efficiently as possible.

Once your uncommonly-shaped material is rigged, moving into tight, indoor spaces will be an easier process as a result. And for even tighter fits, having an adjustable wheelbase on the Toyota can be a major benefit, since the High-Capacity Adjustable Wheelbase allows you to extend and retract the wheelbase while also adding or removing counterweight slabs to increase and decrease load capacity. This can be a major benefit as long as the weight and shape of the material you’re moving falls within the recommendations at the specific wheelbase length and amount of counterweight slabs.

Remote control operation can also be an excellent feature when moving this type of material or manufacturing equipment, another option offered on the High-Capacity Adjustable Wheelbase. Remote capability means you can get out of the operator cab in order to ensure you have an improved view of the awkward object you’re moving and other objects in the facility (like racking or other machinery).

But why buy this expensive product for a one or two-time a year movement? Not to worry; forklifts with rigging capability like the Toyota High-Capacity Adjustable Wheelbase are prevalent in the rental market. As long as you are an operator or can employ an operator who has been trained to handle such a machine, you’ll be able to get one on site, move your object, and send it away quickly, so you can get back to doing whatever it is that you do best.

Original Post: Jake Stewart, Digital Marketing Specialist, Toyota Material Handling USA

We understand that forklifts and palletized goods go hand-in-hand. But not all loads fit onto pallets, and we understand that, too. Some loads are bulky, oddly-shaped, and far too heavy to be lifted using a regular sit-down, stand-up rider, or walkie forklift model.

Over the years, Toyota Forklifts has evolved its product line to include some of the most robust, high-capacity material handling equipment on the market. The Toyota Heavy Duty line is built for big jobs.

And big jobs come in all shapes and sizes.

We’ve got massive machines that can move fully-loaded containers. Our High-Capacity Marina Forklift can lift boats – yes, boats – in and out of the water using its unique, galvanized marina forks. These machines take on some of the heaviest, toughest jobs out there – but there is still some uniformity to the loads they move.

The Forklift Rigging Boom Attachment

Why forks and a rigging boom attachment? We’re glad you asked!

When there isn’t uniformity to the stuff you’re moving, you need a solution as unique as the loads you’re lifting. The time may come when you need to move large machinery, molds, or dies in a variety of different locations or warehouse spaces. It can be challenging to move such odd-shaped loads safely and efficiently – especially indoors, where space and maneuverability limitations make jobs unsuitable for cranes or other traditional rigging apparatuses.

Imagine a forklift that can take on the added challenge of rigging materials. That’s where the Toyota High-Capacity Adjustable Wheelbase comes into play. With its hydraulically-powered, multi-stage telescoping boom, it offers the rigging capabilities that can handle unwieldy, oddly-shaped loads that other high-capacity trucks can’t.

Your load may require just the use of the standard boom attachment, which can be easily installed or removed and can be stored on portable stands until it is needed again. Other times, you might need just the forks without the boom attachment. But some loads require the boom attachment and the added support of the truck’s forks. Whatever your high-capacity lifting need, the Adjustable Wheelbase offers the versatility to take on the task.

The Unique Counterweight of the Toyota High-Capacity Adjustable Wheelbase Rigging Forklift

When you think of large industrial equipment, “flexibility” is probably one of the last words that comes to mind. You won’t see our trucks doing cartwheels or walking a tightrope anytime soon – but that doesn’t mean we can’t be masters of flexibility, in the non-traditional sense, with the High-Capacity Adjustable Wheelbase leading the charge.

We know that facilities are growing increasingly tried for storage space, and big trucks that lift several tons aren’t known for being small. But the Adjustable Wheelbase gives you the best of both worlds. With a horizontally-adjustable counterweight that extends with just the push of a button, this truck allows for load capacities up to 80,000 pounds. Then, retract the counterweight with another click of the button to move through tight spaces and store the forklift compactly when not in use.

The High-Capacity Adjustable Wheelbase models are also equipped with removable counterweight slabs, which can be great for rental companies that need to move this truck from place to place. Removing these slabs reduces the overall truck weight, giving you more transportation options.

A Rigging Forklift with Remote-Control Access

Did you ever play with a remote-control car growing up? Well, imagine using a remote control on this rigging forklift beast.

It’s not quite the same as steering a small car around your living room floor, but it can control functions such as lifting and lowering, traveling, and extending the forklift’s counterweight.

This control is built with operator comfort in mind and equipped with a waist/shoulder strap for added comfort so that your operators are focused on the task at hand: ensuring each load is lifted properly and transported safely.

A High-Capacity Rigging Forklift with Today’s Technology

Taking the Toyota High-Capacity model lineup to the next level meant equipping our products with the latest forklift technology. The MD4 seven-inch touch screen display provides advanced diagnostics, performance details, and other vital forklift information right at your fingertips.
With the extendable counterweight of High-Capacity Adjustable Wheelbase, you’ll have more control over capacity options, and the MD4 display is right there with you, calculating the truck’s estimated lifting capacity at each configuration.

Some additional features of the MD4 Display include:

• In-house programming capabilities
• A pre-operation checklist
• Customizable features such as auto-engine shutdown times and password protection
• Onboard diagnostics and wiring diagrams
• Operator and service manuals

A Specialized High-Capacity Rigging Forklift Built with the Toyota Promise

Not all Toyota Forklifts products are – well, forklifts. As a full-line material handling solutions provider, we build specialized equipment for a variety of lifting and material transportation needs. Extend your reach with AICHI E-Series Scissor Lifts, maneuver around airplanes with one of our tow tractors, or add automation to your facility with a Toyota Automated Guided Vehicle.

This rigging machine is one of many unique Toyota products, and it is proudly assembled in the United States to take on tough challenges. And because this is a Toyota, you’re promised a product produced with innovative design, a commitment to safety, and attention to detail.

Plus, when you invest in Toyota, you’re promised the top-of-the-line support and product expertise from the largest North American dealer network, in the industry. Toyota Certified Technicians always come prepared with Toyota Genuine Parts that will keep this high-capacity rigging forklift up and running.

For more information about the High-Capacity Adjustable Wheelbase forklift and our other product offerings for unique applications, contact us or request a quote!

Shipping containers are typically used to store and transport goods. However, they’ve gotten a second life lately as low-cost housing, retail building, and even swimming pools. As shipping container use continues to increase, you might see more of them in your city, far away from the ports where you expect to see them. Let’s explore the history and specifics of shipping containers, and the innovative ways people are using them today.

Who invented the shipping container?

The first shipping container was invented and patented in 1956 by a man from North Carolina named Malcolm McLean.

What is a shipping container?

Shipping containers are often called “The Box.” Most of them are made of steel with hinged doors and are typically used to store goods and stack on container ships for transport.

What are the measurements of a shipping container?

The standard measurement for a shipping container is called TEU. It stands for twenty-foot, equivalent unit. In other words, a twenty-foot container is one TEU. A forty-foot container is two TEUs. The width of a shipping container is always eight feet, although their heights can vary.

How much do they weigh?

Per ISO standards, shipping containers can weigh up to 11,000 pounds when empty and up to 68,000 pounds when loaded.

Where do you usually find shipping containers?

Many companies use shipping containers, but typically you see them at ports, rail yards, offsite storage facilities and manufacturing plants.

How has the expansion of the Panama Canal changed cargo transport?

With the completion of the expansion of the Panama Canal, ships capable of holding over 12,000 TEUs can now make the passage. That’s almost triple the previous capacity!

The completion of the expansion is expected to increase the number of TEUs being handled by approximately 5 percent per year, with the majority of the growth occurring on the East Coast.

The increase in ship size will drastically reduce the shipping time and cost from Asia to the East Coast and the growth will require more equipment to handle the increased volume. It will also improve business for the railroads and other support industries like storage yards.

What other ways do people use shipping containers?

Beyond housing, retail building and swimming pools, people use shipping containers as indoor gardens, saunas, portable toilets, fire training facilities, schools, and emergency hospitals.

 Original Post: Samantha Horton, Content and Communications Consultant, Toyota Material Handling USA