Replacing Your Lift Trucks

Your lift trucks are hardy machines offering resilience and reliable heavy lifting service. Proper maintenance and servicing goes a long way in keeping their operations optimum but there comes a time you have to consider replacing them as they age with time. The challenge most people make is replacing the lift trucks late than is truly due.

A lift truck may still be able to lift loads but you have to consider its economic life rather than its useful life. This means to be able to know the difference when a machine goes from being an asset to being a liability. You need not worry about what you will do in the period you will not be having the lift truck since you can always hire an effective and performing lift truck from a forklift rental Toronto company. Here are signs which you should look out for to know when to replace your truck.

Your maintenance costs are almost going overboard

Your past maintenance records reveal the amount of money you spend annually servicing the lift trucks. Should you notice a sharp increase in the expenditure, it’s a sign that you should re-evaluate your lift trucks. Accurate maintenance records reveal details regarding each repair, replaced part and upgrade done on your truck. When you find a lift truck having undergone several and in an increasing frequency, it’s time to consider a replacement lift truck.

A change in business that requires a change in trucks

The business dynamics may call for more functionality from your lift trucks. Usually most of the changes can be easily handled by the truck even with a few modifications. However, when you have to change and keep on retrofitting and at times placing the burden of adaptation on your operators, then it is time you replaced the lift trucks. Such a step of relying on the operators may risk their safety and comfort.

When the benefits of replacement outweigh the cost of replacement

Your current lift trucks may well be performing with the possibility of being pushed ahead a few more years. However, it is likely that those years will be spent making compromises and producing at low capacity. Getting a replacement then makes more sense in such a scenario. Allowing the lift trucks to continue will result in more downtime, less capacity and lower performance. On the other hand, getting replacements mean you get to have benefits like greater reliability and capacity as well as efficiency. These advantages offset the total cost of the initial purchasing amount by the benefits they offer over the years.

The curve of economic usefulness sees the maintenance and operational costs of the lift trucks increase with time as the truck ages while the ownership costs or value decreases. In the end the lift trucks are nothing more than a liability if not replaced early enough allowing you to even make some money out of them. Replacing them early enough on the other hand is an investment for now and the future.