The only thing it can't do is fly...

The Swiss intralogistics experts for warehouse and materials handling technology has once again proven its unrivaled know-how in special fork-lift trucks. The latest release is the compact Stöcklin EHV 800, a 4-way drawbar truck with telescopic fork.

During the design stage of the new 4-way drawbar truck various requirements of the customer had to be integrated in one single truck. On the one hand, standardized Euro pallets for rack storage had to be handled by the truck and on the other hand Euro pallets with boxes of up to 2 m length, partly stored without pallet, had to be lifted. The greatest challenge was that all functions had to be implemented for an aisle width of less than 2 m.

The truck had to fit into an existing building, transporting pallets across several levels. The height of the storeys is limited to 3 m, and there are a number of columns hampering the maneuvering of the truck. Another restriction resulted from the limited load-bearing capacity of the floor and the elevators with a maximum capacity of 2,000 kg.

In spite of Stöcklin's ample product range, none of the existing standard trucks complied with the manifold specifications. Nevertheless, the Swiss provider renowned for the development of special-purpose trucks was able to find and implement the optimum solution.

The result is the EHV 800 4-Weg, a 4-way drawbar straddle truck with telescopic forks and a capacity of 800 kg at a center of capacity at 800 mm. It must be underlined that the distance between the wheel frames has been fixed in 1,300 mm to allow the cross transport (1,200 mm) without advancing the pallets.

The truck is based mainly on the proven EH series with AC drive and the corresponding programmable drive and steering electronics. Likewise, the hydraulic system was adapted by adding 2 functions for the telescopic fork and the positioning of the support rollers. Both functions can be carried out easily by means of two levers mounted on the chassis. In order to meet all requirements, Stöcklin opted for a combination of a 4-way stacker and a hydraulic telescopic fork with a travel of 400 mm.

All the different functions are easy to handle. To adjust the four 90° offset travel directions one of the load wheels can be hydraulically turned and blocked. Accordingly, on the chassis the corresponding LED lights up so that the operator always knows in which direction the truck will drive. By also turning the drawbar 90°, the truck can be driven parallel to the shelves, with the 2^nd load wheel rotating automatically in the current travel direction. The operator may steer slightly beyond 90° in order to realize minor corrections in the current travel direction.

The telescopic forks simulate the functioning of a reach-type truck. The advantage of this truck is that only a small weight must be moved. The forks allow to pick up all pallets directly from the floor to place them into the rack. Thanks to the extremely broad load carrying devices the forks may be opened up to a width of 1,800 mm; this function is mainly to feed the cantilever racking with very long boxes. However, these boxes only may be picked up from a minimum height of about 250 mm above floor level.

The fork-lift truck has been engineered in a very compact design. In cross rides with a transversally positioned pallet the truck has a length of no more than 1,750 mm.
In order to maintain the usual Stöcklin stability and sturdiness for this special solution with a long distance from the center of gravity, a special mast and a relatively large 360-Ah battery were employed. Furthermore, in the chassis a considerable piece of lead was accommodated.

Today the customer can cover all needs with an easy-to-handle truck and is completely satisfied.

Do you also have an unusual transport problem? Stöcklin has an optimal solution also for your enterprise which can be implemented within a reasonable period of time and will have a long service life due to its robust design. The use of components from the tested Stöcklin series facilitates the maintenance of special-purpose trucks by all Stöcklin distributors.