Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Green is OK in Los Angeles with Pneumatic Tire Electric Forklifts

There are many unique and different uses for forklifts in Los Angeles and Orange County. The most common forklift used are Internal Combustion engine lifts but every day more and more people are switching to electric forklifts. The drive to go GREEN is making progress.
5,000 lbs Pneumatic Tire Electric Forklift

One of the least known electric forklift products is the Pneumatic Tire Electric Forklift. Hyundai Forklift of Southern California offers this type of forklift in several sizes. With large flexible tires and ample ground clearance, this is an outstanding product that has many significant applications for use in industry, particularly in California. With the pneumatic tires, this lift is better prepared to go outdoors and on rough and unfinished surfaces. This factor added to the fact that it has zero carbon monoxide emissions, makes it great for use in the floral industry. It is also great for use in many other agricultural environments.

There are also many environments where the use of an internal combustion engine is not safe. Many chemical companies and manufacturing business need explosion proof equipment. Only an electric will work in these environments and if the forklift must traverse uneven surfaces or loose ground, pneumatic tires are a must.

These are working situations where an electric forklift is the only solution. But the Pneumatic Tire Electric Forklifts will work anywhere an IC pneumatic forklift  will. With the ever rising cost of fuel, the use of an electric lift will save you money in the long run. How you ask? See our earlier post on how to calculate the cost savings of going green.

The latest models of Hyundai Electric Forklifts are all fully AC, improving battery use and reducing maintenance costs. For more information on this product, contact a sales person at Hyundai Forklift of Southern California

Friday, July 15, 2011

Changing Forklift Tires Ain't Easy

If you own a forklift in Los Angeles, Orange County or Riverside county, than you should know Carl Furdge, Parts Manager at Hyundai Forklift of Southern California.  Carl is the go-to-guy for Forklift Tires and in this video, he will explain why changing your forklift tires is not an easy task.


If you want to spare your self the agony of defeat
and instead feel the thrill of victory,
call Carl.
Carl will make changing your forklift tires safe and easy.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

OSHA Required Forklift Safety Equipment - Strobe Lights and Backup Alarms

 Many people ask us whether a strobe light and backup alarm are required equipment on a forklift. The answer is not always clear on this one. The answer is it depends on the environment you are working in. What does this mean? Let’s look at each piece of equipment.

Strobe Lights


A strobe light sometimes referred to as a beacon light or a flashing light is required by OSHA but only in environments where the light is visible. What does this mean? It means if you can’t see the light, it has no utility and therefore OSHA would look for one. As an example, in a warehouse where is less light, the light emitted from a strobe light is visible to pedestrians and other drivers and therefore has the ability to make the work area more safe. It is in these situations, that OSHA would expect a forklift to be equipped with a strobe light. If you only use your forklift outside during daylight hours, chances are pedestrians and other equipment would not be able to see the light emitted from your strobe light. Here a strobe light would have little utility.

Backup Alarm

The same issue is applicable with a backup alarm or beeping alarm. There are some situations where work areas are very loud due to machinery or processing machines being in use. In a work area like this, it is unlikely that pedestrians or other equipment operators would be unable to hear and alarm and subsequently an alarm would be of no help to make the work area safe.

The one catch here is that if your equipment works in a variety of environments and this safety equipment might provide other equipment operators or pedestrians with a safer work area, than we would suggest that you have them on your equipment. That is why, when you purchase a Hyundai forklift from Hyundai Forklift of Southern California, these two safety items come as standard equipment and at no added cost.  Contact our parts department if you need to install or replace inoperative lights or alarms.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

The Mystery of the Third Pedal

Do you own an automatic transmission forklift? Ever ask yourself why your forklift has a third pedal on the floor? Well, believe it or not, this is a very frequently asked question.

To begin with, every forklift comes equipped with an accelerator and a brake pedal. That is standard. But what is that third pedal used for? Hopefully, this explanation will help clear up the mystery of that third PEDAL.
That third pedal is called an Inching Brake. Its function is twofold. It initially acts as a brake and secondly disengages the transmission, allowing the engine speed to increase or decrease without affecting the drive of the forklift. This process allows the forklift to be slowed or stopped while at the same time allowing the engine speed to be raised. Henceforth, this is how the, "Inching" came to be.

Why would you need this feature?  Inching is used when maneuvering the forklift and simultaneously lifting the forks. To accomplish this, the Inching pedal partially disengages the transmission at the same time the lift truck brakes are being slightly applied and is similar to "slipping the clutch" in a manual transmission   Inching allows slow controlled movement of the forklift truck and is accomplished by simultaneous operation of the inch/brake pedal and the accelerator

In today's lift trucks, this overlap of transmission and brake is controlled by a single inch/brake pedal.  Slight application of the inch/brake pedal allows for inching of the fork lift.  Further application of the inch/brake pedal will completely disengage the transmission, fully apply the brakes, and bring he forklift to a complete stop

Source:  George Espinoza - Customer Service Manager of Hyundai Forklift of Southern California

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

We Want YOUR Forklift Trade-Ins

Give us your weak, your tired, your huddled masses longing to be free..." but most importantly, give us your used forklifts. We need your Trade-in, so if you've been thinking about trading up to a newer or bigger forklift, or just getting rid of your extra lift, now is the best time to do it.


WE WANT YOUR TRADE-INS

Think you can sell it yourself in the paper? No way. Want strangers calling you all day long or disrupting your business? Financing hassles? Low-ball offers?

Forget everything you think you know about used forklift trade-in values: Hyundai Forklift of Southern California in Commerce, CA pays the best prices for used propane forklifts, used pneumatic forklifts and used electric forklifts, whether you buy your next forklift from us or not!

No forklift dealer or non-forklift dealer appreciates your forklift like we do. In 30 minutes or less, our friendly staff will appraise your forklift and give you a no-hassle quote in writing with our guaranteed best price for your used forklift. Use the money to buy a new or used forklift from Hyundai Forklift of Southern California, from another dealer, or for whatever else you want. It’s that easy! We need trade-ins!.  So don't hesitate, click the button below to get started.


Monday, July 4, 2011

Why buy a Toyota Forklift when you can own a Hyundai Forklift

Looking to purchase a Toyota forklift? Well you picked a good one. Toyota Forklifts have been the number one selling forklift for a long time. They make a quality product that is dependable and high quality, two great reasons to own one.

But there are other options that may be better for you. Have you ever considered owning a new Hyundai Forklift? Hyundai is a Korean word chosen for its English translation: “modern”. With their commitment to quality and user comfort, it is easy to see how the company name serves as an inspiration to their designs. Produced by Hyundai Heavy industries, a division of the mammoth worldwide Hyundai Corporation, Hyundai has been producing high-quality products for some of the World's most demanding operations. For decades Hyundai has quietly crept up the charts and is positioning itself to be a dominant force in materials handling industry. A recent Wall Street Journal article highlights how the focus and drive of Hyundai Auto has been paying off in the auto industry, where Hyundai is now the fifth largest auto manufacturer in the world. According to the same article, Hyundai’s auto products have been so successful that Hyundai has needed to double its production output over the past ten years. During this same time period, Toyota and Volkswagen have grown their auto production by only 40%. The chart below from the WSJ, shows how demand for Hyundai Sonata has grown dramatically, compared to Toyota and Honda.

So how do Hyundai Forklifts stack up against the competition, like Toyota? On paper the product is much better. To begin with, you can purchase a 5,000 lbs Cushion Tire Hyundai for $3,000 - $4,000 less. Then you must consider the fact that Hyundai sells all of their lifts with a manufacturer’s warranty of three years. This is three times as long as anyone else in the industry. How can they do this? When you make a quality product, you are not afraid to stand behind it.

Lastly, but definitely not least important, is what you get for the money. The Hyundai 25LC-7A forklift, which is Hyundai’s 5,000 lbs lift, utilizes the same engine they have put in their Sonata automobiles.  This engine has 20% more power than the competitions and is Tier IV compliant.  Last year Hyundai updated the Sonata,  which has resulted in comparisons with the Mercedes Clk, a car that sells for four times the price.   This year, Sonata Sales are up 35%.

Reputation and track records are important. They don’t come easily and the competition needs to work hard to provide a product that will outperform them. Hyundai is doing that and the result is something you should look into. Detroit is aware of the competition that Hyundai is becoming. "In terms of momentum, [Hyundai] is a bigger threat right now than anyone else," says Bob Lutz, former vice chairman of GM, who still consults for the Detroit car maker. "I worry about them a lot.

Sources:  WSJ