A counterbalance forklift carries the load outside the wheelbase, so it can take a pallet straight off a lorry — but it needs roughly 3.5 m of aisle. A reach truck keeps the load inside the base legs and works in about 2.5 m, but cannot unload a trailer without a dock leveller.
| Reach truck | ||
|---|---|---|
| Load position | Outside the wheelbase | Inside the base legs |
| Typical aisle | 3.2 – 4.0 m | 2.4 – 2.8 m |
| Lift height | Up to 6 m | Up to 10 m (triple mast) |
| Unload a lorry | Yes | No (needs a dock) |
| Outdoor use | Yes (pneumatic tyres) | Rarely |
| Racking | Single / double deep | Single / double deep |
| Best for | Loading bays, mixed indoor-outdoor | High-bay warehouses, narrow aisles |
Measure the narrowest aisle you must work in and add the load length. If the result is under 3 m, a counterbalance truck will not fit and a reach truck is the only practical option. If you are above 3.5 m, either works.
If the same machine has to unload incoming trailers, a reach truck cannot do it without a dock leveller. Many sites run a mixed fleet for exactly this reason: reach trucks inside, one counterbalance for the yard.
Reach trucks are more stable at height because the load stays within the base footprint. A counterbalance truck at 6 m with an offset load is working close to its stability limit and derates capacity quickly as load centre grows.
TSG 81—2022 — Safety Technical Regulation for Special Purpose Motor Vehicles in Plants, State Administration for Market Regulation (China)GB/T 26560 — Industrial Trucks — Vocabulary, National Technical Committee for Industrial Truck StandardisationGB/T 23794-2023 — Enterprise Credit Evaluation Indicators, National Technical Committee for Social Credit StandardisationISO 3691 series — Industrial trucks — Safety requirements and verification, ISOEN 1175:2020 — Safety of industrial trucks — Electrical requirements, CENSend us your aisle width, lift height and pallet type — we will tell you which model works and which does not.
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