Hats off to you Budman. I too work for a Crown dealer but I do a lot of Raymond work. To the one that stated Raymond was the " unquestionable leader", maybe in your town. But as for the rest of the country - it's a Crown/Raymond split. Yes I'm partial to Crown, but I wouldn't say it's the perfect truck for every application, and neither is Raymond. I do realize it the ' salesman in you talking' so we forgive you!
Seriously, like others have said, check the dealers rep in your area, check what the full maintenance package is, check on a parts consignment cabinet availability. AND make sure the dealers are comparing apples to apples. So many times I have seen a customer go with one brand on price only to find what was compared, was not what was ordered.

I work for a Cat/ Mitsu/ Crown Dealer. But I suggest that you be sure to compare apples to apples & oranges to oranges on the lifts. Then compare all of the different dealers in your area. See how long they've been in business. Visit their facilities. Get referals from other manufacturers in the area. Anyone that works for a certain Mnf. will be a little prejudiced towards their brand. Just because their considered a great dealer in New York or Ohio or where ever they are, doesn't mean that the dealer in your area has the longevity or competence that they have. That many machines is a large investment & it's your job to do your home work, not just listen to the propaganda.

just for my 2 cents..look at clark..new units are amazing for the price.

Batman sound like good advice dont know about hte two dealers in one building thing Iv seen that go wrong but all else solid.

My suggestion is this:

1. Read your full maintenance agreement VERY carefully. Some dealerships will try to sell you full maintenance when their full maintenance only covers PM's and most breakdowns are on your dime.

2. Make sure you have an out on the maintenance part. If the dealer starts to cry abuse because they underbid to get the contract you can stop paying the maintenance portion and get in another company.

3. I would try to split the contract between two companies. Here's why: If you do have an abuse claim, which is very likely and the dealer tries to make up some lost profits you can get a competitive quote from someone that you already have a business relationship with. Sort of keep everyone honest.

4. Forklifts are mechanical and will break, no matter what the salesperson tells you. Make sure you research the servicing dealers reputation including response time and check out their training regiment for their techs.

5. Last, get comparable parts pricing. Say, some major parts like controllers, handle assy, forks, drive tires, and also smaller items like casters, bearings, fuses, switches, etc. Maybe 20 common parts and let each dealer know if they get the contract you will make them stick with the pricing.

I'd suggest Raymond primarily because you could use the same size battery in both. The Raymond orderpickers seem better than Crowns currently. I would certainly agree with previous folks who stated that the product is only as good as the local dealer, and that Raymond and Crown are the best choices. I have found that the same size battery is a great feature for times you find you need more batteries for one typee of equipment or the other.

I am partial to Yale products and would suggest you DEMO a lift, but also feel the product is only as good as the dealer you choose, the sweet taste of a new product goes sour if the dealer "JACKS" you around everytime there is a problem and the Parts dept. has POOR inventory , ask around in your area other busineses like yourself and see who they use and get their input. I would also suggest what ever brand you choose, SPEC your machine correctly for the products you handle and the enviroment they will be operated in ,You can have the best on the market, but if it is not what you need you will not be happy.

Ill second that question

Raymond by all means. They are the unquestioned leader in Class II. You cannot make a mistake going with the best. Best product, best service, best aftermarket support.

I don't know where in Tennessee you are, but the Crown and Raymond dealers are the leaders in most of the state. I have worked for both Crown and Raymond, and have found Crown has a slight edge currently on the best truck. They offer A/C drive and lift. They may have been slower in coming out with the A/C units but they just waited for the dust to settle before picking the best controls and motor combinations. They let the competition make all the mistakes. The Raymond dealer in Tenn. is very thin with skilled techs. I haven't talked to the Crown people reciently. They had highly skilled people too. Check the dealers response time for service calls. They may have the best times but poorest techs, or the worst times and best techs. Do your homework. You won't go wrong with Raymond or Crown for narrow aisle in Tenn.
I don't work in Tenn. any more.

For a lease just make sure that when you sign they dont have some mocked up way of making up price like paint up to par and lift up to par.Get a service contract with who ever you get trucks from and if they are not up to spec tell them well your guys serviced them.Check dealer out and try to stay local that way your not out travel to and from customer.Ask for refrence of who they have serviced and chech with them ,see if they will tell you who they lease to for more than one term.Homework pays off

Dear Mr. lcoo123:
Firstly,Thank you for your reply.
Secondly, toyota bought Raymond, it depend on the marketing. Take Nokia for example, the products of the Nokia, it devide series products. Top grade , and cheapest.
they wanna do it , just wanna hold the quotient of the marketing.
TOYOTA develop a model to expanding the class II, however, the quality can not make sure. Maybe, take mearsuing, buy class II company to hold the company, it is a good way.

Thing change, mean. in the future, class II into class I. And the difference is little.

It is just personal opinion.

thanks for lcoo123 reply again.

B.RGS
Moon

Yes, conditions and equipment in the market change constantly. You could argue that since Toyota bought Raymond, you might as well buy Toyota class II products. BUT....Toyota doesn't use the current Raymond models for class II. Just depends on how you look at things. Yale/Hyster has made some strides with their reaches and pickers but they just aren't up to par with the top tier manufacturers. SO, say what you want about change but Crown and Raymond still account for around 60% or more of the class II business in North America.

Dear Mr.scott_s:
I admit Jungheinrich is no 1 in the world.
I hold one opinion that you can not use one products for 10 years. New models would be design and develop. And the safty and performance would be better. If you only use 5 years ago model, efficiency is not so good. eg: north America and Europ use electric and forklift, and other place use handle pallet truck.

and with the lcoo123 opinion, with time flys, class II closes to the class I. Their products become more perfect. the competition is very high. Not only for price ,but also for the best quality. And all is becoming the same with class II. take us for example, we becoming use own designed and developed controller.

Thing will change, this is nature rule.

Look at the Crown trucks. They are heavier than any other brand. When you go up on a Crown stockpicker, they don't flex and sway like some of the other brands do. You get what you pay for.