Has a longer run time compared to what? Raymond doesn't have a longer run time when it comes to AC. It may be able to move the same amount of pallets in a shorter amount of time THAN A DC POWERED TRUCK but it will also take more juice to do so. That's why you will often see a ACR powered 7400 with a 18-125-15 battery size instead of the standard 18-125-13 or 11 plate battery.
How is the side stance hard on your employees? The "universal" stance is a terrible design. Most fore/aft stance oriented trucks have the operators contorted into a semi side stance anyway with their arms behind their bodies operating the truck.

actually the raymond has a longer run time , it pulls aprox 170 less amps per lift working out to 2 extra hours as far as quality its great overbuilt but the side stance is hard on my employees , the universal stance has less stress on my employees.

Crown had AC technology in the early 90's. They found out that it wasnt measurably more effecient than a DC powered truck. There is NOTHING new about it. Simply put, only in certain sitations with short shuttling cycles will an AC truck provide you with more productivity- NOT longer run time. In the reach truck market, there is no truck (AC or DC) that has the effeciency of the RR5200 series Crowns.

Accellerations rates for an AC truck are quicker. This can be a big factor in product moved per hour IF you have short shuttle type cycles that dont require long runs.

Brush maintenance is minimal if you simply blow the truck out on a PM and make sure you blow the motors out. Brushes are cheap to boot.

Crown Reach trucks have one line contactor and if equipped, a 2nd speed lift contactor. Thats it. Same goes for the 3 wheel sit down SC4000, and now coming this fall, the stock pickers will have the same arrangement. No directional contacts, just line and pump.

Ac power is an option on the Crown Reach Trucks. AC doesnt help the lift systems as the advantage of quicker accelleration rates is not relavent to the lift. Crowns lift motors although DC are still more effecient. 2 Smaller motors, one for low speed and one for high speed, have proven to be more effecient than one AC motor.

If Crown had it in 1992, dont you think they would have put it in their trucks as standard by now if there was a distinct advantage? Perhaps it was folly not to considering how the competition has hyped it up. They couldnt beat the Crowns head to head so they went to the side.

That being said, AC will become the standard when (IF) it becomes measurably more effecient than DC in terms of run time. It has alot of potential.

Oil brakes were supposed to be the way of the future too. :)

Check the Crown web site for Austraila for their Gas/LP/Diesel trucks. They arent sold stateside.

Yes, that is the contactor I was referring to. And there is a possibility that any contactor can go bad after several years of operation, mostly due to very low voltages, as you stated above.

Crown utilizes PWM technology in it's new designs for many reasons. There is a definite advantage with this technology.

And, yes, Crown also has fully sealed control modules, whether they be DC or AC modules. Crown electric trucks can also be run outside in the rain and push pallets just as well as any competitor.

I cannot speak on Crown's behalf for your question. I would venture to guess, though, that it is because (like any new technology) all the new AC technology isn't fully explored and does not offer a major performance advantage over DC at this time. I do realize that AC technology is gaining ground, but there is not a huge advantage at this time. Also, I would venture to guess that it has something to do with the lack of a high demand for this. If the demand for the AC option grows, I'm sure Crown will make that standard.

We could debate for hours on the advantages of AC, but the simple truth is that, in all brands of trucks, manufacturers are bundling other new technologies into their trucks in order to claim a big advantage with AC. The full gains of AC over DC are yet to be realized in the coming years. At this point (and I've seen the numbers), the main advantage is lack of motor brushes on an AC truck. The motor brushes aren't a big concern for most, but that is up to the individual. Dependability is still the #1 goal for Crown.

Well, that makes sense that you get 14 hours of run time, you have an 80 volt truck. If someone has the infrastructure (charging system) in their warehouse to accommodate an 80 volt system, then this may be a consideration for them. For smaller operations or warehouses that have lower voltage chargers, they must determine whether it is of value for them to switch to this larger voltage. You will definitely gain truck time with a big, high voltage battery. After all, P=E*I, so the more E you have, the more P you will have.

One slight clarification is that AC trucks still have contactors, just not as many. Also, they are not really high maintenance, compared to the multitude of other problems that competitor's trucks have.

I would like to know where you have found this data of a 30% longer run time. All the findings I have seen do not show that big an advantage. It's possible you achieved a much longer run time with a newer model of truck, but can that all be attributed to the AC technology. Please be careful when you are comparing items. Compare apples to apples.

One final correction.... Crown does have AC truck offerings. I know for a fact that the very successful RR truck has an AC option available. I think the ESR truck may also have an AC offering, but don't hold me to that.

I know for a fact that Crown does not produce an engine powered lift truck. They specialize in electric trucks, but have a wide range of sized and application-specific trucks.

I am also very familiar with the Crown lift trucks and can atest to the fact that they are high quality trucks that are meticulously designed with longevity in mind.

They also have been expanding their operations in the past and have continued to manufacture around 85% of all the components that make a lift truck. Their motors are high quality because they are Crown manufactured motors. Thus, they have full control over the quality of each motor that leaves the factory. This allows for quick resolution of any issues that would ever arise, plus a level of knowledge that is second to none.

I agree that Crown trucks are initially higher priced than many competitors, but also think that a cheaper truck will cost you much more in the long run. The cost of service and price of downtime will catch up with you in a hurry.

I believe that Crown dealers do sell engine powered trucks under another name, but cannot speak about those trucks because I have no experience with them.

I do not know anything about Crown's dealer and service network in Singapore, as I am only familiar with their operations in the U.S.

Just out of curiousity, are you considering any specific truck model or type of vehicle?

While I cannot speak as to Crowns engine powered lift trucks, I can comment on their electric units here in the states.

The electric units that Crown produces here are some of the best on the market. They are well designed, and relaible. Crowns in house designed drive and hydraulic motors controllers are rugged pieces, that are useable, functional and hold up well enough to have a 3 year warranty here in the states. Crowns do not normally suffer catastophic failures such as frame or structural failure. The frames are over-built, unlike some competitors who get by with the bare minumum, "get it out of warranty" building. Components are well laid out for potection and ease of access.

As far service goes, when it comes time for repairs, larger ticket items such as pumps, motors and cylinder can be rebuilt. Some other brands do not allow for major component rebuilding. Yes, thats right, when the brushes in say a hydraulic pump motor wear out on some of the "badge engineered" competitors out there, you cant buy brushes, you have to replace the motor. Oddly in some circumstances, Crown and its competitors buy electric motors from the same supplier, but the competition uses a much cheaper non-rebuildable version. This means higher costs to the customer in the long run. Crowns service manuals are well designed, and easy to decipher, once you know the simple system. The trouble shooting of their in house produced control systems is more of a rifle shot than the typical Ge Ev100 "shotgun blast". Pin point accuracy when it comes to trouble codes, or "wrench lite failures". The central distribution panels on these lifts contain test points making trouble shooting even easier. As far as the manuals go, of all the service manuals I have seen, none of them compares to Crowns. Instead of saying for a given condition, check here and hear and here, they will give you a list of possible places to begin trouble shooting, give you a wire diagram of the related area, and give you a step by step process for figuring out the problem. No need to flip around the book to look for a diagram. Also, the books have a glossary and componantry sections, telling you where a component is located, what wiring diagram to look at and what parts page you will wind it on.

All the people I have talked to, or sold to or worked for have been happy with the Crown product, the only noteable concern has been cost. Crowns are not in the same price catagory as some of the Chinese or Korean imports, but then again, these imports do not compare when it comes to quality and service. I have seen some people complain about Crowns service and treatment of dealers, but I feel on the whole, they are a minority.

Customers like Generals motors, Diamler Chrysler, Dell Computers and Walgreens cant be wrong. (just to name a few)