Turret Trucks
Modern warehouses face a constant challenge: storing ever-increasing inventory within a limited physical footprint. As demand grows, the pressure to use every square foot of floorspace and every cubic foot of building capacity becomes increasingly critical. Specialized warehousing equipment, like a turret truck, is one way to address the challenge of maximizing warehouse storage capacity.
Turret trucks are specialized Very Narrow Aisle (VNA) vehicles designed to maximize warehouse storage density by operating in aisles as narrow as four to seven feet wide. Unlike standard forklifts, turret trucks employ a mast or fork swivel mechanism to access inventory on either side of an aisle without needing to turn within an aisle. Turret trucks also facilitate high-bay storage, reaching lift heights in excess of fifty feet.
While they offer exceptional storage efficiency, turret trucks require a significant financial investment, with initial investments of at least $60,000.
What Makes a Turret Truck Unique?
Turret trucks are engineered to operate in very narrow aisles, those less than six feet wide. To do so, unlike conventional lift vehicles, a turret truck does not turn within an aisle to access both sides of an aisle. Instead, it uses a turret rotating mechanism to access pallets on either side of an aisle. Only the forks (on a swing fork turret truck) or the entire mast (on a swing mast turret truck) "turret" (swings left or right) to access pallets.
Anatomy of a Turret Truck
A turret truck is made up of four primary components that work together to lift and move loads safely and efficiently.
a. Mast Assembly: The vertical structure that lifts the forks, and raises and lowers the load.
b. Forks: These are the appendages that swing or "turret" into position to pick up and deposit pallets.
c. Operator Cab: This is the compartment that houses the vehicle’s controls and where the human operator sits or stands to control the vehicle's movement and lifting functions.
d. Counterweight: The heavy mass integrated into the vehicle's body that stabilizes it and prevents it from tipping when handling a heavy load.
Turret Trucks Increase Pallet Storage Density
Turret trucks simultaneously maximize the utilization of floorspace and building cube, and in so doing yield very high pallet storage density. First, by operating in aisles less than six feet wide (aka Very Narrow Aisles), warehouses can install more pallet rack aisles in the same amount of floor space. Second, turret trucks can access loads in excess of fifty feet high and service racking that is five or more levels high (aka High Bay Storage), with some installations reaching seven or eight levels. The combination of Very Narrow Aisles and High Bay Storage yields very high pallet storage densities. But such a specialized capability comes with an equally specialized price tag.
The Turret Truck Trade-Off
Turret trucks require a significant upfront investment. Typical turret trucks cost in excess of $60,000, with many models running in excess of $80,000 depending on their configuration and capabilities. The financial benefits from the increase in storage density must be significant enough to provide an attractive return on this investment. Ultimately, the turret truck is a strategic investment, chosen only when the financial return from space efficiency outweighs its upfront cost.
Let’s consider an example justification for an investment in turret trucks. Imagine a scenario where three turret trucks are required, and each has an initial investment cost of $80,000.00. The total initial investment would be (3 trucks x $80,000/truck) $240,000. Let’s assume that the total floorspace savings is 10,000 square feet and that we our unit occupancy costs are $15 per square foot per year. In that case, our annual savings would be (10,000 square feet x $15 per square foot per year) $150,000 per year. We would be investing $240,000 to receive an annual savings of $150,000 per year. In that case, the payback would be ($240,000 / $150,000/yr) 1.6 years.
Turret Truck Takeaways
The single most important operational feature of a turret truck is that the vehicle itself does not turn within an aisle. This is the key characteristic that distinguishes it from conventional warehouse lift vehicles including walkie stackers, counterbalance lift trucks, and straddle trucks. Instead of turning the entire vehicle within an aisle to face pallet rack head-on, a turret truck employs a special swivel mechanism allowing either its forks or its mast to turret to face pallet racking on either side of the aisle. The vehicle remains perpendicular to the pallet rack facing, eliminating any need for a turning radius within an aisle.