I know that Hyster is an excellent forklift manufacturer and everybody highly recommends their stuff. They're an American brand, so that kind of puts the US at the top. Toyota also has good stuff, so that means Japanese manufacturers are also a good option. To say the truth, I never heard much about german forklifts and that means something when you've been working in this area for over ten years. I know that https://anguslifttrucks.co.uk/forklift-training-leicester/ has a list of some of the best forklifts you can buy in 2022, and I think you might find it fascinating. I hope I helped you!

Yes all lift trucks have one thing in common, They have tried to idiot proof them to keep them compliant with safety/ emission issues. Totally agree with Candy fu. I am not partial to any one brand of lift but i do like the older raymond as they were well built and seemed to run forever. The less moving parts on a unit / the less to go wrong.

No matter what kind of forklift, it needs oil analysis equipment to detect the status of the forklift. This can prevent the forklift from malfunctioning, which may affect normal operation. www.yateks.com

imo...

german = too complex, tempermental by design.
Japanese = complex, perform well but cost is high.
American = does america actually build a pure american built truck anymore?
Assembled in america does not mean what it used to anymore. Made in America just means it was assembled here. Well yes i am being harsh because there are some mfg's that still do build their trucks in america but also do the same in other countries as well in a global setting for convenience.
But i can't say american units are any better or worse than any other...
All forklifts these days have become so complex and bloated with electronic fluff it's rediculous and has driven up costs dramatically and require specialized training to even service most of them. Of course specialized training has always been a thing but these days you can't do much without a handset or laptop anymore.
But with all that said, if i had to pick between the 3, i'd lean towards japanese built trucks, they are built better and give less trouble.

German forklift.
Lifting a load requires many valves, cylinders, blow off valves, hydraulic valves and solenoids, computers, switches, solenoids, many hoses, cushions, stabilizers,
proprietary software, encoders, limit switches, pumps controlled by other computers, and numerous other parts too confusing to explain

American forklift:
up/down valve, lift cyls, pump and hoses...Bob's your uncle :)

Japanese: copy Americans

Chinese: Copy everyone, but badly

hi there.

about the HYSTER diesel, do you think the series FT is as good as the old ones from the 80's era? I hear they have issues with their electronics. is it true?

i am about to get a new one in a demanding environment with salty water and humidity working mainly outside in open space.

Hello everyone,

I want to share with my experience. If we are speaking about an industrial application, komatsu forklifts are very reliable. That's proven by 24/7 rough operation on concrete plants in Russia. I want to repeat once again, these trucks are very reliable and easy for maintenance. Almost no electronics. A very good residual price on the market, I think, it's the best one.
Main shortcomings are high price and high price of the spare parts.

The old school Toyota, Linde, Hyster etc are very quickly realising that they are losing sales because of the electronic fitted to the machines.
That's why Hyster/Yale have got the new SIMPLE machine on the market.
The best truck in the world 20 + years ago was the Linde 351 air cooled, no ECU's, Hydrostatic transmission ETC. But I thing they lost there way.

SAS "stability system" is bad, not even close to Hyster's.
Toyota without full leveled floors they trip and fall on the sides, maintenance is a pain and very costly$$, sorry no Toyota for smart fleet operators
HYSTER number one choice, then depending on application I would go with European brands.
Cheap follows cheap, good luck forkingabout

Apart from the odd steering angle sensor failure at high hours, i dont get any issues with Toyota SAS system.

A lot of people dont seem to understand how the system works.

I have heard horror stories on the Toyota SAS system.

Hi all,

Have tried several brands, including German, Japanese, American and all, electric, internal combustion, cabin no cabin, etc. under different conditions, 24/7/365, heat above 56 degrees celsius in Mexicali , or Freezing under 30 degrees celsius in San Juanito Chihuahua, open air operations.

I mean all type of circumstances, above all brands Hyster is the best, rough, low cost, duramatch transmission, wet brakes, no maintenance suspension, no cost on brakes and never repaired a transmission with such equipment, units with more than 30,000 hours working.
VNA is alot better than Crown's, doesn't shake and provides all high tech needed, RFID, Telematics, auto guided, etc.
Toyota SAS has to be checked every 40 hours, changed at at least every 5,000 hours, to change forks or wheels you have to lift the truck or turn it sideways, Hyster doesn't need that, manual adjustment and all is done above the truck, no man under or lifting needed.

When you are working the worst that can happen is to stop what you are doing, down time is more costly than any forklift.

Linde Hydrostatic is no match for duramatch and wet brakes on Hyster, I have units everywhere, have worked in Europe, Asia and Latin America, where conditions are rough, no paved ways or flat surfaces, you name it, electric or ICE.

Price??? change it by life cycle cost, they save more fuel (up to 10% better than Toyota, CAT, Hyundai, Unicarrier and Linde) make your numbers, downtime comparing all my units on all brands and I go for Hyster, all range of units under the same brand, the others , do not have all range from manual forklift up to 50 T.

Regards to all, hope it helps

Customer's decision is always the right one! Toyota's resale value is very good.
You can contact Troy from Eureka Forklifts in Geebung for your old Yale if you wish.
All the best with your new forklift

Hi Fredi
Thanks for the reply.
Today I signed up for the Toyota before reading your post.
The reason for the choice came down to a couple or few things viz:
The rep offered a new 2015 plated unit for a k less and a peer in Sydney with a nursery operation said he ran all toyotas for reliability and resale. Wasn't overly impressed with Toyota's finance rate which was 1.1% more than a broker's rate tho.
I told the rep that Hyster was 4K cheaper but he didn't seem to care and actually invited me to buy it if price was the important purchase point for me!!
I guess the other reason I went Toyota was good name and resale value also notwithstanding Hyster is well respected too.
Now it remains to move my 1 tonne Yale with its fork positioners on to its next owner! Unfortunately Toyota also wanted another 4K for positioners but this was outside my budget so will adjust manually.
Thanks once again Fredi
Cheers
Nick

Hi Mate, I am in QLD too and selling forklift. Wont start trying to sell you something, not working for any of these two brands but I used to work for Hyster while in NZ and the 2.5t they are offering in Oceania is a Sumitomo unit. It is produced in Japan, they have a joint venture Nacco-Sumitomo. It is a good product and if there is $4k difference between the two I would jump on the Hyster. Nothing can justify the price difference unless service back up. And that's where Hyster is struggling... Toyota used to be real good on this point, but they are now only interested in their big fleet customer, rushing for the marketshare. I still think you should go for the Hyster or show your Toyota rep the Hyster quote to see if he would match it :-) Both units keep good re sale value. Good luck with your purchase

Hi
Just looking at a new forklift and considering either Hyster or Toyota in 2.5 tonne counterbalance diesel models with a 4.5 m mast for my production nursery in Queensland Australia.
Toyota is about AUD4,000 dearer. Both seem to have a good reputation so can anyone comment on whether the extra cost of Toyota is value for money?
Cheers
Nick

Toyota rear axles are weak !!! In the the 20-35 8's
Almost on par with the old komatsu-11e 's !!

There's one more aspect to this dilemma.

In Europe 40 to 80% (depending to the country) of the new trucks on the market are sold with LTR or Full Service contracts.
Because the forklift bussiness floats in the "deeply red ocean", the operational costs and the market value of the second hand machines (remember the residual value of the machines calculated in LTR contracts) are highly significant.

That's why the European brands (at least the leading ones, like Linde, Jung, or Still) are designed to have the reduced maintenance costs.
Other words - the basic inspections (oil and filter replacements) on Linde or Still trucks should be done every 1000 hours or once in a year. Hydraulics and cam belts and rollers - every 3000 hours, hydraulic oil - every 6000 hours.
In comparision - the Japanese or Korean trucks require the inspections and replacement ~ twice as often.
It means that the operational costs of European brands are significantly lower.

Burtkwok, you hit the nail on the head.

Folks are being to generic, i've bought Linde trucks for a long time now in the UK, they've always been a class leading product and speaking to our operators, they would never drive a torque converter truck, but that is just looking at counter balance.
The thing is i am buying PPT, riders, reach and VNA, so cannot hang everything on one truck preference, you have to take a balanced view of what your site needs and at some point in the process you have to make a compromise on one product that is less important if the benefit of the other product far outweighs it.
The key thing picked up by others in the forklift world is service, i always say to our directors, that in 3 years, no one will remember what we paid for the trucks, but they will be on the phone moaning about downtime and despite what people say about price, the big companies will negotiate, you just have to tell THEM the spec you want, rather than let the manufacturers dictate spec to you, it really isn't that difficult in my eyes.
I've just recently done a deal with Crown, as the VNA (which i think is the best VNA on the market) was the main driver of the complete fleet proposal, the rest of the kit was supplemental (i.e. everyone can do the small stuff ok, but the productivity of the VNA will override what the C5 is doing in the yard.
I'd say in the last 2 - 3 years Linde have gone down in my estimation, the service structure in a small country like the UK is chaotic, too many people too regionalised and you can't always get to the right person who can make a decision, and the product quality is falling if you ask me, too much plastic, too easily damaged.
The Crown's are built to last, they'll take a knock, have some innovative ideas, infolink is by far and away 1 to 2 years ahead of what anyone else has got, although not a popular product in the UK, their structure seems strong, rental availability not so good, but i can live with that.
I'd say Crown are making all the right noises right now, if they get into the hydrostatic market with the C5 at some point, they will clean up.
But, that's just my opinion.