Buying & Costs
Electric Pallet Truck Buying Guide: Sizing, Batteries and Where They Beat a Forklift
The electric pallet truck is the most under-specified machine in most Irish warehouses. Here is how to size one properly.
8 min read · Last updated 1 September 2026
Choose an electric pallet truck on four things: the heaviest pallet you actually move, the distance travelled per shift, whether the operator walks or rides, and how the truck is charged. Most Irish goods-in and dispatch operations are covered by a 1,500–2,000 kg pedestrian truck. Add a platform once travel distances exceed roughly 30–40 metres per move, and step up to a stacker or counterbalance the moment you need to lift above stacking height rather than simply move loads horizontally.
Sizing the truck
| Typical duty | Capacity | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Retail back-of-house, light goods-in | 1,200–1,500 kg | Pedestrian |
| General warehouse goods-in and dispatch | 1,500–2,000 kg | Pedestrian |
| Long travel, high throughput | 2,000 kg | Platform or ride-on |
| Trailer loading and unloading | 2,000 kg+ | Pedestrian with strong gradeability |
Specify capacity against the heaviest pallet you handle, not the average. A truck run permanently at its limit wears faster and gives shorter battery runtime than one with headroom.
Lithium or lead-acid?
- ›Lithium suits multi-shift work: opportunity charging during breaks, no watering, no battery change room.
- ›Lead-acid remains cost-effective for single-shift use with an overnight charge.
- ›Cold stores favour lithium, which holds capacity better at low temperature.
- ›Whichever you pick, check the charger is rated for the duty — undersized chargers are a common cause of complaints about runtime.
Count the charging points, not just the trucks
Two trucks sharing one charger in a two-shift operation is a bottleneck disguised as a battery problem.
Site factors that change the answer
- Gradients: ramps and dock levellers need gradeability and controlled descent, not just capacity.
- Floor condition: broken or uneven surfaces argue for larger wheels and a sprung castor arrangement.
- Fork length: 1,150 mm is standard for Euro pallets; longer forks are needed for double handling.
- Aisle and turning space: measure the tightest turn the truck actually has to make, loaded.
- Hygiene environments: food, pharma and cold store applications may need stainless or wash-down specification.
When a pallet truck is the wrong answer
A pallet truck moves loads horizontally. If the task is to place a pallet in racking, you need a stacker, reach truck or counterbalance. If the task is to move a very heavy wheeled load — a cage, a trolley, a machine on castors — an electric tug is usually safer and cheaper than a forklift, and needs no forklift licence to operate.
Frequently asked questions
Written by
The AWE Forklifts Team
Materials handling engineers, trainers and account managers, Rathcoole, Co. Dublin
AWE has supplied, hired, serviced and inspected materials handling equipment for Irish industry since 1985. Our guides are written by the same engineers who service the trucks, the instructors who deliver operator training, and the account managers who quote the hire rates — not by outside copywriters.
- Trading in Ireland since 1985
- Authorised Xilin forklift dealer for Ireland
- Official MasterMover electric tug distributor for Ireland
- Dublin workshop, parts store and training facility
- Nationwide mobile engineers, priority contract response
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