It is a common annoyance among companies who operate fork lift trucks the cost and downtime the vehicles need in order to stay operational. Chiefly with diesel forklift truck purchases, the vehicle requires maintenance approximately every 25 hours, due to the requirement of the regeneration cycle that works on the diesel particulate filters.

However, this frustrating and time wasting, not to mention costly process that needs to be carried out so frequently could actually be avoided by being more informed when purchasing the forklift truck. On top of this lack of information before buying a diesel forklift truck, manufacturers of the trucks are adding to the problem by remaining quiet about the availability of engines that do not require this near constant maintenance work. There are forklift trucks on the market that do not require diesel particulate filters, however it is unsurprising that the companies that lack the access to the engine technology required to manufacture them are staying quiet about the product.

Because of this silence about the vehicle options, customers are experiencing a disservice and not being properly informed about the products on the market. This has only been a problem in recent years after the new EU emissions standards that were brought in for non-road vehicles in 2014. As part of these strict regulations, all diesel engines which are over 37 kW and Stage IV for those vehicles that are over 55 kW need to have a NOx, HC and particulate material exhaust emissions reduced by 90% in comparison to the previous Stage III standards. Those who have had to purchase a new forklift that has a particulate filter fitted have grown frustrated with how often the filter needs to be changed.

This hassle could be easily avoided. However there are only three forklift truck manufacturers that produce engines that don’t need the particulate filters and comply to the Euro Stage IIIB and Stage IV standards. One of these companies is Doosan and can offer a full range of compliant products including 2.0-tonne capacity for all of their diesel powered counterbalance trucks which are available up to 25-tonnes.