Hand pallet jacks have been a simple, reliable solution for the transportation of pallets throughout the entire supply chain. Understanding how they operate can help you be more productive, safe, and efficient when using one.

This guide will cover hand pallet jack anatomy to help give you a better understanding of the various components and how they work.

These tips do not take the place of reading the user instructions or proper operator training, but they reinforce some of the basic principles for operating a hand pallet jack. Please reference your Operator’s Manual for more information on required training and knowledge needed prior to operation.

Hand Pallet Jack Anatomy

Each part of the pallet jack is essential to its efficient operation.

Starting from the top of the pallet jack, there is the handle and control lever. These are used for manual moving, lifting, and lowering of the pallet jack.

The handle can be rotated left and right to adjust the direction of the steer wheels, changing the direction of travel. It can also be rotated downward, allowing you to pull the pallet jack comfortably.

The control lever is located on the inside of the handle on the right-hand side. It has two different positions, which are used to lift and lower the forks.

• Control Lever Operation (Raised Position) – Squeezing in the control lever causes the lift cylinder to lower, which also lowers the forks. The lowering is proportional, so the more you squeeze, the faster the forks will lower.
• Control Lever Operation (Lowered Position) – Pushing forward on the control lever puts it in the lowered position. When in this position, pulling down on the handle raises the forks proportionally with each motion.

The steer wheels and hydraulic pump are at the base of the unit and are operated using the handle and control lever. There are two different types of wheels available for manual hand pallet jacks: nylon and polyurethane.  Read more about these two types of wheels here.

Next, the steel frames comprised of two forks that are connected together at the base. Most hand pallet jacks are designed to handle a standard 40” x 48” pallet. This is due to the dimensions of the forks and the load wheel placement.

The load wheels are located at the end of each fork and are necessary for travel and supporting the load. Just like the steer wheels, there are different types of load wheel compounds available. The load wheels are connected to lift linkages that run the length of the forks.  When the handle is used to raise the forks, the lift cylinder extends, causing the linkages to articulate and the load wheels to raise. It’s always important to note the load wheel’s placement before lifting a pallet or other type of load.

Hand pallet jacks have been a simple, reliable solution for the transportation of pallets throughout the entire supply chain. Understanding how they operate can help you be more productive, safe, and efficient when using one.

This guide will cover hand pallet jack anatomy to help give you a better understanding of the various components and how they work.

These tips do not take the place of reading the user instructions or proper operator training, but they reinforce some of the basic principles for operating a hand pallet jack. Please reference your Operator’s Manual for more information on required training and knowledge needed prior to operation.

Hand Pallet Jack Anatomy

Each part of the pallet jack is essential to its efficient operation.

Starting from the top of the pallet jack, there is the handle and control lever. These are used for manual moving, lifting, and lowering of the pallet jack.

The handle can be rotated left and right to adjust the direction of the steer wheels, changing the direction of travel. It can also be rotated downward, allowing you to pull the pallet jack comfortably.

The control lever is located on the inside of the handle on the right-hand side. It has two different positions, which are used to lift and lower the forks.

• Control Lever Operation (Raised Position) – Squeezing in the control lever causes the lift cylinder to lower, which also lowers the forks. The lowering is proportional, so the more you squeeze, the faster the forks will lower.
• Control Lever Operation (Lowered Position) – Pushing forward on the control lever puts it in the lowered position. When in this position, pulling down on the handle raises the forks proportionally with each motion.

The steer wheels and hydraulic pump are at the base of the unit and are operated using the handle and control lever. There are two different types of wheels available for manual hand pallet jacks: nylon and polyurethane.  Read more about these two types of wheels here.

Next, the steel frames comprised of two forks that are connected together at the base. Most hand pallet jacks are designed to handle a standard 40” x 48” pallet. This is due to the dimensions of the forks and the load wheel placement.

The load wheels are located at the end of each fork and are necessary for travel and supporting the load. Just like the steer wheels, there are different types of load wheel compounds available. The load wheels are connected to lift linkages that run the length of the forks.  When the handle is used to raise the forks, the lift cylinder extends, causing the linkages to articulate and the load wheels to raise. It’s always important to note the load wheel’s placement before lifting a pallet or other type of load.

Toyota’s full line of equipment ranges from the small but sturdy hand pallet truck to the colossal beasts that make up our line of container handlers. Oftentimes, load capacity and application needs will determine the best type of material handling equipment you’ll need. But sometimes the decision may be a bit more subtle.

A Toyota Hand Pallet Truck (HPT) may be exactly what you need to get the job done for smaller applications – but a Toyota Electric Walkie Pallet Jack might work just as well. The load capacities between these two products aren’t much different. The HPT’s capacity weighs in at 5,500 pounds while the Electric Walkie maxes out at 4,500. How do you decide between the two?

Electric Pallet Jack vs. Manual Pallet Jack — Using a Toyota Hand Pallet Truck

While the HPT can lift a higher capacity than the Electric Walkie, heavier loads mean more exertion from the operator, making it better suited for shorter run times and quick material handling jobs. It’s an economical option whose size makes it highly versatile and ergonomic without any of the complexities of electrical wiring or battery maintenance. It’s a great fit for retail, cold storage, and general warehousing industries!

Electric Pallet Jack vs. Manual Pallet Jack — Using a Toyota Electric Walkie

The Electric Walkie takes the strain off the operator, making it ideal for mid-distance runs and ease of operation when working on trailers, dock plates, and ramps or slopes. An electric disc brake comes in handy when working on a grade where you may need to stop, and the anti-rollback system conveniently assists in keeping a load stationary during a transition from braking to moving. The HPT doesn’t have a similar system, meaning that the operator must maintain the stability of the load through physical exertion or sitting the load down. On a grade, the momentum can make this difficult.

A bit bigger than an HPT, this walkie is still a great fit for efficiently moving products through a warehouse and is designed with convenience in mind. Its drive motor makes it easier to navigate over dock plates and to both pull and raise loads, ideal for higher cycle applications.

Sometimes it’s the small things that make a big difference. If you’re not sure which product is the best match for your operation, feel free to reach out to Dillon Toyota Lift for more information.  

Original Post: Anastasia Sistevaris, Communications Copywriter, Toyota Material Handling, USA

If you’ve been at your business for a while, you can usually predict when busy seasons are going to strike. Advancements in supply chain forecasting measures have made it easier than ever to plan ahead for seasonality.

And while you may feel prepared to meet demands, all businesses are subject to conditions and circumstances beyond their control. Say you didn’t anticipate the popularity of a new product that was released. You may not have ever needed to handle this new volume of orders for this particular product. On the other hand, say you released a product during a holiday that turned out to have an incredibly high return rate. You’re now unprepared for the stress on the reverse supply chain when orders are returned in larger volumes than predicted. And while both of these situations can happen and can mess with your inventory projections and needs, you also have to consider the possibility of equipment breakdown. On deadline in the peak seasons, having an important piece of pallet moving equipment go down can be devastating to delivering products to customers in line with your promises.

I actually recommend you keep some backup equipment on hand to combat these possibilities. But whatever the circumstances, these unexpected turns can leave you in a position where you simply don’t have enough equipment available in your warehouse or distribution center to keep the products moving. You need additional material handling equipment that you can get quickly and without hassle.

As you begin to explore your options, you might find that the benefits of a Hand Pallet Truck (HPT) are precisely what you need. It is a small but reliable piece of equipment that can take on heavy loads – perfect for short-term influxes of product. Ordering a Toyota HPT directly from the ToyotaForklift.com Store makes the process even smoother.  Buy Now

Original Post:  Jake Stewart, Digital Copywriter, Toyota Material Handling, USA