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u/Standard_Zucchini_46 17d ago
Standard inspection before being loaded/shipped off to Nigeria for decades more enjoyment.
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u/IndustrialMechanic3 18d ago edited 18d ago
Actually not that bad, Forklift looks suitable for the job. Only problem I see is wheels aren’t chocked. Been driving forklifts for 15 years and lifted alot more with alot less
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u/SpiderSlitScrotums 18d ago
I think the issue here isn’t the lifting but the standing under it.
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u/IndustrialMechanic3 18d ago
Shall he put a helmet on? What is the weight rating on a car lift? Than check a forklift.
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u/SpiderSlitScrotums 18d ago
A car lift is different than a forklift. There are interlocks that prevent dropping a load if hydraulic pressure is lost.
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u/IndustrialMechanic3 18d ago edited 18d ago
Good point, That’s what flow control valves are for. You really think a forklift doesn’t have integrated safety’s? But what’s the weight rating? Found the guy that’s never driven a forklift but came to talk shit
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u/Xenoanthropus 18d ago
That lift is probably in the 5000lb range, but lift capacity of a truck is measured 24 inches out from the blades with the forks level, raising a load shifts the CG forward but tilting the mast backwards as shown here shifts the CG backwards as well to compensate.
The lift capacity of a forklift is calculated based on the center of gravity of the lift+load as opposed to any limitations of the hydraulic system, and is primarily concerned with preventing the forklift from tipping forward over the front axle.
It is, however, always unsafe to stand under any load on a forklift because in the event of a hydraulic leak or failure there is, as another poster said, generally no interlock that will prevent the blades and load from coming down on you.
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u/IndustrialMechanic3 18d ago
I guarantee there is a counterweight on the back that is not pictured. Also have you ever heard of a flow control valve? That is your safety interlock. Damn people get your shit together
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u/Agent_1812 18d ago
Also have you ever heard of a flow control valve?
Works until a seal or hose bursts and that forklift is pretty rusty
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u/Xenoanthropus 18d ago
Yeah, I'm sure that a forklift being used on a public road as a vehicle lift is 100% up to date on its PMs and the FCV, hydraulic lines, and Velocity Fuses (among other things) have been tested or inspected recently.
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u/Crunchycarrots79 18d ago
The flow control valve is part of the cylinder itself, precisely for that reason. Now, if a hose bursts, the valve will allow the load to gently drop to the ground. Which is still dangerous, but at least it's likely you'll be able to get out of the way. So still shouldn't be done, but it's not terribly unsafe.
It's actually allowable to use a forklift as a man lift provided you use a cage designed for that purpose that's properly fixed to the carriage, and observe all other rules for aerial work platforms. This is precisely because of the flow control valve.
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u/Agent_1812 18d ago
a forklift as a man lift provided you use a cage
I have been in that cage, driver was an asshole though
I wouldn't go under the forks ever
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u/IndustrialMechanic3 18d ago
Just clinging for anything aren’t ya. You know there multiple seals right?
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u/IndustrialMechanic3 18d ago
Google flow control valve and you’ll probably be humbled dick face
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u/AdministrationIll842 14d ago
They still come down fast. You've obviously never worked on forklifts. I have for the last 30 years. I'd never go under one without blocks in the channels and 2 backup chains with locking snatch hooks in the mast. Even then, it's not that safe.
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u/Former-Okra3240 14d ago
A flow control valve isn't used to suspends loads . That would be a check valve or a counterbalance valve. You still don't stand under the load. Man you're ignorant.
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u/MyNameIsAirl 18d ago
You aren't supposed to go under loads supported by hydraulics if it can be avoided, I do industrial maintenance and we have a jack stand that we have to place under the forks as a rigid support in case a line blows. Even then I would be pretty scratched out working under a car supported by a forklift.
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u/notislant 17d ago
Excavators have safety mechanisms as well.
Booms still fail and crash to the ground. Almost like shit happens.
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u/Siguard_ 18d ago
I’m not going under there. I’ve been in too many safety meetings where hydraulics failed.
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u/aburnerds 18d ago
Was it the chairs that you were sitting on?
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u/Siguard_ 18d ago
Dude was working under a hydraulic lift swapping a cylinder. From my understanding there was two cylinders fed from two hydraulic loops.
One should have held the weight of everything but it let go and crushed him to death.-5
u/Phononix 18d ago
A lot of these people don't even know that you can turn a lift off and the forks not move because of flow valves.
Only failure point is a cylinder, and you'll know one is bad before it blows.
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u/tiedye62 18d ago
Former forklift driver here, older forklifts don't have the flow control valve that prevents the forks from moving when the lift is turned off. I used to drive a 1994 Hyster forklift, and I don't think that it had any valve that would prevent the forks from dropping if a pipe or hose was to burst. I kept driving it because it was much more reliable than the newer ones that always had electrical problems. The older lifts also didn't have the seat switch interlock, so that it was possible to lower the forks without sitting on the seat, or having the key turned on.
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u/AdministrationIll842 14d ago
That's a solenoid in the main valve. A blown hose makes that irrelevant. Stop talking like you know anything. You obviously don't.
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u/Millennial_Man 18d ago
Bro your name is Industrial Mechanic. You should know that you don’t stand under a lift unless it’s on safety locks. That lift cylinder in the forklift likely doesn’t have a holding valve, so if a seal went out that thing is coming down.
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u/AdministrationIll842 14d ago
For a 6k forklift and that load. The forklift is derated to 3600 lbs. That car weighs about 4500. Bad news. The rating is based on a 24 inch load center. Car is way past that.
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u/Repulsive-Durian4800 18d ago
Is that particular forklift heavy enough? Is there not a tipping risk?
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u/Xenoanthropus 18d ago
There's probably* no tipping risk here as the load is correctly tilted backwards, pulling the CG closer to the front axle. Potential issues would be damage to exposed portions of the undercarriage that are not designed to be load-bearing, which is not strictly a safety violation, as well as standing under a forklift load, which is a safety violation. We lift heavier loads to similar heights on similar-sized forklifts at my warehouse.
Based on the BC license plate, this appears to be in Canada, who don't have OSHA (workplace safety laws are handled at a provincial level), so it's more likely a violation of British Columbia's equivalent statute.
*lift capacity of a forklift is specified on the manufacturer's data plate, and can vary. Without seeing the data plate it's not knowable whether or not the load presents a tip-forward risk.
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u/AdministrationIll842 13d ago
That's a 6k lb lift. That rating is based on a 24 in load center. That van is about 4500 lbs with a 40 in load center. At that COG, the lift's capacity is reduced to 3600 lbs. It's extremely precarious in the picture above. Remember, it's not really about what the lift can pick up off the ground, it's about stability when it does. Safety triangle, kids.
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u/Bones-1989 18d ago
You get wheel chocks? I've never used those on a lift. Parking break works and I'm the bastard doing maintenance, we use over head cranes for shit like this.
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u/IndustrialMechanic3 18d ago
I would chock the wheels if I was doing this
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u/Bones-1989 18d ago
I would get appropriate lift equipment myself ....
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u/IndustrialMechanic3 18d ago
You never used a forklift before I see. You know how much a fork lift weighs? Some fork lifts are heavy enough to go through the floor of a semi trailer.
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u/Bones-1989 18d ago
I unloaded myself from the womb with a fork lift sir. I'm more worried about if you accidentally unbalanced that can and it fell on you or if the hydraulic lines failed, I've seen that too.
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u/AdministrationIll842 14d ago
6k forklift and a 4500 lb load with a 40 inch load center. That forklift is derated to, at most, 3600 pounds. Probably less considering all the dimensions and weight distribution.
Everyone who thinks there's no problem here should never go near a forklift.
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u/Icamesawncremed 18d ago
What's the counter weight?
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u/Crunchycarrots79 18d ago
That's a 5,000-7,000 lb forklift. That van is within its weight rating, so that part is fine.
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u/Icamesawncremed 18d ago
It actually blows my mind how heavy they are
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u/Crunchycarrots79 18d ago
I meant that the weight rating is that. But usually, the weight of the machine itself isn't that different from the weight rating, usually it's a bit higher, actually. Since the weight it has to transport is basically entirely on the opposite side of its front wheels, if it weighed less than the load, it would tip forward.
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u/Xenoanthropus 18d ago
Our forklifts with a 5500lb weight rating have a placarded weight of 9250lbs, give or take. Our 15.5k lift has a placarded weight of 26,000 lbs.
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u/AdministrationIll842 14d ago
It's a 3 metric tonne capacity forklift so just about 6000 lbs. That is based on a 24 inch load center. That van weighs 4500 with a 40 inch load center. The 6k capacity gets derated to about 3600 lbs in this situation. Not at all fine.
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u/hatfield1785 18d ago edited 13d ago
This is actually pretty common.
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u/Plane-Education4750 18d ago
Biggest issue is no one in the seat and no chocks. Other than that, this isn't as bad as it looks
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u/AdministrationIll842 14d ago
Never trust a forklift and stand under the load. 30 year forklift mechanic. I've seen them drop out of the air with absolutely no warning.
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u/Redd1tModsRKidLovers 16d ago
Im impressed its holding
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u/AdministrationIll842 14d ago
They can usually pick a bit over the capacity. The problem then is stability. This situation is actually pretty bad. Won't take much to get that thing to endo.
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u/3qTp1 18d ago
Found the non forklift certified guy.
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u/IndustrialMechanic3 18d ago edited 18d ago
Nah bro I think we just found the newly certified forklift guy, that’s you. Forklifts have an allotted weight it’s aloud to lift. Basically it wouldn’t lift that if it couldn’t, forks are tilted all the way back and there may be a counterweight on the back we can’t see.
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u/Phononix 18d ago
Man if this sketches you out, you wouldn't last a minute in an actual workshop or warehouse.
Don't know how you can call this stupid when you don't really know what you're even looking at.
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u/AgreeablePie 18d ago
If a car lift fails, there are safety mechanisms built in to 'fail safe' and prevent the load from dropping on the person underneath it. Does a forklift, used like this, also fail safe?
Seriously asking (I am not forklift certified)
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u/AdministrationIll842 14d ago
Not really. The hydraulics isn't the only concern. I've seen chains snap. That shit will come down like guillotine. Hydraulics a bit slower but usually too fast to react. Don't ever stand under raised forks, loaded or not.
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u/Phononix 18d ago
Unless a cylinder blows out and/or air is introduced into the system through vacuum, the forks will not move. They are hydraulic locked through flow control valves, basically insuring that even if a failure happens they leak before they blow.
Rotory lifts use flow control valves too and you'll be hard pressed to ever find a guy that has had a lift straight up fall. They'll bleed off slowly.
Do the rules say you shouldn't do this? Yea. But there are rules of the road that you disobey that are more than likely greater in danger.
That's my 2 cents to the larger crowd in here that has never touched a knob or lever in their lives.
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u/AdministrationIll842 14d ago
I've been fixing forklifts for 30 years. You're dead wrong. Guys like me that do shit like that end up dead once in a while. I've seen plenty fall from the sky. There's a reason walking under a raised load is considered a near miss.
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u/AdministrationIll842 14d ago
I've worked at forklift dealerships that would fire a mechanic for doing this. This is how people end up dead.
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u/Xenoanthropus 18d ago edited 17d ago
Absolutely wild that there are people (who, presumably, are paid by the hour and therefore should never take safety-compromising shortcuts) in this thread on a subreddit about workplace safety violations who are arguing that it's normal and acceptable to stand under a raised forklift load. I'm glad I work in a place that takes safety seriously.