No sure which fork width & length to choose?
There are many sizes of hand pallet truck forks, but only three main widths across forks are used. These are 450mm, 540mm and 680mm (or very near to these, eg. 470mm, 520mm, 685mm)
Standard UK type pallets (also called GKN, CHEP or Blue pallets) measure 1000 x 1200mm (40" x 48") and a pallet truck ideal for these will be 680mm wide. You can then choose 1000, 1150 or 1200mm long forks. 1000mm is the most popular length as it makes the truck most manoeuvrable and forks never stick out the other side of the pallet. 1220mm forks are used if you only enter the pallet from 1000mm side only and/or when pallets are quite heavy and you need to support their full depth to avoid sagging. A truck with 1150mm long forks is the compromise between the two.
Standard Europallets measure 800 x 1200mm (31.5" x 48") and pallet trucks with 540mm wide forks are best suited for these. Pallet trucks with 680mm wide forks will NOT fit into the narrow sides of a Europallet.
If you use both UK and Europallets and only want to buy one pallet truck, choose a 540 x 1150mm fork size. This is the most universal and will work with both types.
Note: If your pallets are US made it is likely that they will be lower than UK or Europallets and you may need a semi-low profile pallet truck (75mm lowered forks rather then 85mm). Please measure your pallet and call us to discuss.
There are many smaller sized pallets - for example pallets used in the printing industry. These are usually approx half the size of a Europallet and often require narrower forks still. 450mm width across x 1000mm long forks is the most common size for these, but lengths from 500 to 1220mm are often used.
We can offer special widths from 160 to 1540mm and lengths from 500 to 4000mm and offer an exclusive range of adjustable pallet trucks. So if you cannot get a 'standard' truck to fit, give us a call and we will find or make the right pallet truck for you.