Why do most warehouse equipment use rear-wheel drive?

Why do most storage equipment use rear-wheel drive?

There are many types of drive modes in storage equipment. Before answering this question, let’s first understand what drive modes warehouse equipment has?

Common drive modes of storage equipment can be divided into rear-wheel drive, front-wheel drive, all-wheel drive and side-wheel drive. Let’s introduce them one by one.

Rear-wheel drive is that the rear wheel is used as the driving wheel to provide the power for the vehicle to travel, and the front wheel is mainly used for steering and support. This drive mode has a relatively simple structure, low cost, and can achieve better steering control. The vehicle has good stability when fully loaded and is suitable for various ground conditions. Rear-wheel drive is common in counterbalanced forklifts, three-way stacking forklifts, electric pallet trucks, manual pallet trucks, etc.

Front-wheel drive is that the front wheel is responsible for driving and steering, and the rear wheel plays a supporting role. Front-wheel drive can make the center of gravity of the vehicle closer to the driving wheel, which can provide better controllability and flexibility when carrying light loads. It is also conducive to reducing the overall height of the vehicle and is suitable for operation in low spaces. Front-wheel drive is common in some small electric warehouse trucks, such as some electric pallet trucks, small order picker forklifts, etc.

All-wheel drive means that all four wheels of the vehicle can provide driving force. This driving mode can provide stronger traction and passability, especially suitable for storage environments with complex ground conditions, slopes or need to operate under different working conditions. It can better distribute power and improve the stability and maneuverability of the vehicle, but the structure is complex and the cost is high. In some large storage and logistics centers, heavy forklifts and off-road forklifts used for outdoor or complex terrain operations may use all-wheel drive.

Side-wheel drive means that the drive wheel is located on the side of the vehicle, usually on one side of the vehicle and the support wheel on the other side. This driving mode enables the vehicle to achieve compact steering in narrow passages, improve space utilization, and is particularly suitable for operations in narrow aisles. Side-wheel drive is common in some forklifts specially designed for narrow aisle storage operations, such as side fork forklifts.

Unlike ordinary counterbalanced forklifts, why do most storage equipment use rear-wheel drive?

In fact, there are several main reasons.

First, rear-wheel drive has good stability. When the storage equipment is transporting goods, especially when fully loaded, the center of gravity of the vehicle will be forward. Rear-wheel drive can place the drive device at the rear of the vehicle, so that the rear wheel can obtain a larger vertical load, thereby increasing the friction between the rear wheel and the ground, which is conducive to the stability of the vehicle during driving and braking, preventing the goods from falling due to the shaking of the vehicle, and improving the safety of the operation.

Secondly, rear-wheel drive can make steering more flexible. The storage environment usually has limited space and requires equipment to be able to turn flexibly. When the rear wheel is driven, the front wheel is mainly responsible for steering, and the turning radius is relatively small. It can be flexibly operated in narrow passages and warehouses, which is convenient for operators to accurately place the goods in the designated position and improve work efficiency.

Another reason is that the rear-wheel drive has a simple structure. The transmission system of the rear-wheel drive is relatively simple, usually consisting of an engine or motor, a transmission, a drive shaft and a rear-wheel drive axle. This simple structure not only reduces the manufacturing cost of the equipment, but also facilitates maintenance and maintenance, reduces the probability of failure, reduces maintenance costs and downtime, and is conducive to the continuous and stable progress of storage operations.

Finally, rear-wheel drive can make load distribution more reasonable. The design of storage equipment needs to take into account the weight distribution of goods and the carrying capacity of the vehicle. The rear-wheel drive mode can make the load of the vehicle more evenly distributed on the front and rear wheels, avoiding the front wheels from bearing too much weight, which affects the steering performance and tire wear. At the same time, it also makes full use of the carrying capacity of the rear wheels and improves the overall cargo capacity of the vehicle.