Troubleshoot My Problem
We understand that lift trucks are complex pieces of machinery, and occasionally issues can arise that bewilder even the most experienced operators. From rapid tire wear to loss of power at crucial moments, problematic equipment can seriously impact productivity.
Leveraging decades of hands-on experience with all major forklift brands, our consultants can provide comprehensive troubleshooting to get to the bottom of your truck’s troubles.
As a simple example, a customer recently found themselves with premature tire wear on their 3-wheel lifts. Upon analysis, we discovered operators were making long empty return runs after dropping off their loads, which placed full counterweight pressure on a single rear tire. We’ve seen many problems like this over the years.
Rather than fight frustrating equipment problems on your own, trust Black Equipment’s professionals to help you troubleshoot root causes through examination of real-world usage data, mechanical inspection, workflow analysis, and operator interviews. We don’t give up easily when machinery acts up unexpectedly. Our priority is restoring smooth, reliable equipment functionality customized for your facility’s environment and workflows.
If your lift trucks have you puzzled, contact our team today to diagnose and resolve confounding truck troubles once and for all.
Real World Problems Solved
Tennessee
“A new customer was having issues with uptime for their shipping and receiving areas due to their batteries not lasting through multiple shifts. We installed devices on the customer’s batteries which record how the truck uses energy from the battery. This allowed us to provide the customer with a detailed analysis and recommendation of the most efficient power solution for their forklift fleet. In their case the solution was Lithium-ion batteries with high frequency fast chargers. The solution gives their production the ability to utilize one battery per truck while meeting the forklift energy demands of a multi-shift application.”
“Our customer saw their maintenance bill skyrocket due to outdated equipment. They could not afford to rent for the longevity of lead times. We went out and found them 2 brand new stock units and were able to deliver them in a couple of weeks compared to several months.”
“Our customer was having issues with forklifts entering pick-lanes that were operated by pedestrians. Due to the noise in the manufacturing site, they were concerned the pedestrians were going to step into the forklift aisles not knowing forklifts were traveling in close proximity and get injured. We went in and customized a safety solution that flashed the pick-lanes and sounded an alarm to let the pedestrians know a forklift was entering the proximity zone. Pedestrians can now work in their lanes confidently knowing when forklifts enter and exit the area.”
Nick S., Territory Manager
Indiana
“Customer was having an issue with not hearing the motion alarms on their forklifts due to high stacked material. Since the lifts could not be heard, it was dangerous with the lifts being operated in reverse and pedestrians not being able to locate them. Our solution was to add safety blue lights to the rear of the lift. It created a blue light 36 inches behind the lift. The pedestrians see the blue light and realize there is a lift coming at them. it was so successful the customer added them to the front of the lift as well.”
Mike S., Territory Manager
Kentucky
“Our customer was adding additional lines to their facility/operation, and to accommodate them, warehouse space became a premium. The area where raw materials were staged became a glaring issue for them due to them using an LP sit-down rider forklift (with fork extensions) in loading the line. The fork extensions were needed to get under the load that sat on a raised platform, and the footprint of the rider forklift was now too big to operate in the reduced space caused by the additional lines added. After I conducted a site survey, I identified an opportunity for a walk-behind forklift with a pantographic reach carriage to be utilized in this area instead of a sit-down rider forklift. The reduced footprint of the walk-behind reach truck allowed them to proceed with the plan of adding the lines without having to redesign the layout or address the staging area. The solution worked so well that their sister company purchased a walk-behind reach truck as well.”
Chad K., Territory Manager
Illinois
“By providing detailed usage and cost data, I recently helped a customer into a lease program and cycle their high-use trucks in and out.”
“Our customer had employee injuries from changing forklift batteries. To eliminate battery changing, we proposed eliminating the wet lead acid batteries they were using and changing to lithium batteries. The result was they can charge their batteries in the forklift while charging and do not change them between shifts because the lithium batteries charge between shifts and on operator breaks.“
“As far as service calls, battery issues seem to stick out. Battery not charging or boiled water/acid out. We drafted a standard operating procedure for our customer and conducted on-site training for their operators based on our ten commandments of battery care.“
Brian K., Territory Manager
Indiana
“Local customer with a large fleet was trying to get away from watering batteries and having ventilation for the gassing of their lead acid batteries. It’s a high throughput warehouse but we were able to run a 2 week trial with a battery monitor to track the kw/hr usage finding out their needs to get through their multiple shifts. With that data, we were able to put together an ROI and eliminate safety concerns by going to our TPPL Type battery (Thin Plate Pure Lead) – which is a sealed, maintenance free battery, with lithium-like advantages with a better price point. Since replacing the batteries with the TPPL the warehouse has been able to get rid of their battery handling equipment, the new batteries get them thru multiple shifts, no ventilation needed, and no exposure to acid.“
Phillip Z., Territory Manager
Kentucky
“We had a customer that was replacing tires no less than quarterly on their Fleet of Yale ERC080 forklifts, which consisted of 54 units that ran over 3,000 hours per year. The main issue we found was they were coming out of the trailers and their steer tires were hitting dock bumpers which was causing the black rubber tires to chunk out. Other parts of their fleet were hitting pallets or other items on the floor.
What we did to rectify their issues was test three different polyurethane steer tires. Each of the poly tires had a different durometer (Harness / Softness). After finding the best tire for the application, they went from buying 1 set quarterly to replacing steer tires once per year. Saving them a considerable amount of money and reducing their down time.“
Chris G., Territory Manager
Indiana
“We had a customer with an outside loading ramp. They could not climb the ramp when it got wet from the weather. We looked at the truck and determined that they had smooth tires on the drive axle. We installed traction tires and problem solved. Happy customer.”
“Same customer. Had trouble getting operators to wear seat belts. In speaking with the warehouse manager he mentioned that it was hard to tell if they had them on during operations. We recommend orange colored seat belts to increase visibility. Customer bought and installed orange seat belts.“
Bruce M., Customer Support Rep.
Mississippi
“A new facility in Southaven, MS. I got involved early in the process and was able to source a combination of new and used equipment to reduce the lead times and help them come in under their budget. The customer was very pleased with our product and said we did an excellent job from start to finish.”
Brian S., Territory Manager
Tennessee
“The customer was in a pinch because they needed a part that was on national backorder. They weren’t happy about renting another unit for the 5 month wait, so we hunted down another lift truck and took the required part from it so we could get the customer back up quickly while saving them a lot of money.“
Steve H., Territory Manager
Kentucky
“The customer has a couple hundred forklifts at multiple locations throughout the US. These locations purchased or leased equipment from local vendors and there was no standardization across the country. We worked with their corporate offices to form a plan for all their locations. We visited their locations to perform application & equipment surveys and determined that the majority of the plants required similar types of equipment.
We created an Equipment Standardization Catalog for the customer to use across all their locations, which they loved. This enabled them to use the same equipment across the country and provided continuity of specifications – including spec updates recently mandated by the corporate office.
We further discovered that the customer had no replacement plan for these forklifts and were paying too much money maintaining old units. We put them on 5-year forklift lease plans, and so far they’ve seen their maintenance costs drop across their various locations.”
“Our customer had been buying electric pallet jacks from Toyota that had flooded lead acid batteries in them. They are in the food industry and the electric jacks are used in coolers and refrigerated delivery trucks. The temperatures were causing the lead acid batteries to not last long and the customer was spending a lot of time and money replacing batteries. We sold them a lithium pallet truck that will hold up in those temperatures and will last longer than lead acid batteries. Another perk for the customer was that the recharge time was so much quicker and also safer in the food application because they have no acid or corrosion from the battery. So far it is working great and the customer is loving their new lithium pallet truck.“
Derek T., Territory Manager
Tennessee
“I had a customer call me at 2:30 a.m. with a down forklift . We dispatched a technician and had the customer back in service and moving product in 1.5 hours.“
“Customer called in need of a rental scissor lift for building maintenance. We had this delivered same day.“
Adam F., Territory Manager