I have been working on Linde R14 reach trucks since 1996. This particular warehouse used 6 R14's and 4 old Nissans. These early Lindes were terrible and were forever breaking down. They blew hydraulic pumps every few months and power steer motor armatures packed it in at about the same rate. After replacing all the pumps twice the brand suddenly changed and there has been no trouble since. Rams and plumbing leaked regulary and the drive motors over heated because of the Mickey Mouse cooling system. The forward/reverse contactor needed it's coils replaced regulary because they were mounted lying on their side (they last forever if mounted upright). The same problem occurred with the later model except that it had a side mounted regen braking contactor as well to wear out (when will they learn?). We had one of the big steering bearings on the drive unit wear out very quickly because the factory/importer never greased it. During all this time the Nissans which are all at least twice as old as the Lindes required nothing other than routine servicing. I wo'nt even go into troubles and woes with the T20S pallet carriers. This same warehouse also has an H20 hydrostatic on LPG. Except for blowing it's controller up and a lockup because of a sticking valve, it has been reasonably reliable. We are now into the AC drive Lindes and it is too early to tell how they will go. I find the Lindes to be great machines to use and now that we have spent countless hours gettting them to be more reliable by doing the obvious things that the factory should done in the first place they are actually starting to become reliable.

Looking at what has been discussed, looks like forklifts with hydrostatic transmissions is not exactly popular. I understand that there is substantial savings from lowered fuel consumption. Wouldn't this count for deciding to use such forklifts?

Well said Justin ! lol I agree with you totally...speak to you soon...lol

We been repairing LINDE forklift for years,no doub some part required we will have to wait for imports ,but any LINDE users knows every repair cost more than any JAPANES made.Had all LINDE users ask how long is your next reparing bill comming to you after this comparing with the others made ?How much down time ou had save.

We supply Linde parts promply and competitively if you are interested

denis, couldn't agree with you more. Alot of whay I'm seeing on this post sounds like rehashing of problems experienced years ago, and nothing recently. We've been a Linde dealer for 3 years, and are selling between 100 - 150 machines per year over and above our 400 - 500 CAT machines. Parts availability is good. Again, it comes down to the dealer. We're not afraid to stock a couple million $$ in parts. Operator acceptance has been fantastic! We target the machines for our highest hour, most abusive applications, and they shine. One of my customers told me the other day, "If Linde made cars, I'd be driving one to work every day".

First you have to know and understand Linde. They make excellent machines. The Deutz is still used in the 353 series truck. As for parts not being available i disagree. Like any manufacturer parts will always be an issue. Linde has parts issues the same as Cat and the rest. The good thing is while you are messing with brakes and transmissions , the Linde is still rolling. They make the best hydrostat in the business. You cannot argue that point. The diagnostic software is going in one direction and is very accurate. The latest VW engines are very reliable and robust. I would not hesitate in bying a Linde. But thats my own choice. Have a good day.

...but in the mean time...sod the manufacture,use an independant service engineer and they'll make it work again properly for less money.

I've worked with a fair few of the 'hamburg 3's' electric machines and I'm sure it's always been evident they use the same parts.Aside from control electronics because these must generate the most revenue!.German fork-trucks are without a doubt superiour to the rest of the worlds offerings and that's coming from an english man!!!!!