Pallet racking and warehouse machinery are two halves of the same system. The type of forklift you use decides how wide your aisles need to be, how high you can store and how quickly you can reach each pallet. The type of racking you install decides which trucks can work with it.
Choose one without the other and you can end up with aisles that are too narrow for your fleet, racking that is taller than your trucks can reach or space that is wasted for years.
In this post, we'll explain the main types of forklift and warehouse equipment used in UK warehouses and the pallet racking systems each one is best suited to.
Why machinery and racking must be planned together
Three measurements link every truck to every racking system:
- Aisle width: the space a truck needs to turn and place a pallet. The narrower the aisle, the more racking fits in the building.
- Lift height: how high the truck can safely place a pallet, which sets the height of the top beam level.
- Residual capacity: how much weight the truck can lift at full height, which is always lower than its rated capacity at ground level.
The aisle widths in this guide are typical figures for standard UK pallets. Exact requirements vary by model, pallet size and load, so they should always be confirmed during the design stage.
Hand pallet trucks and powered pallet trucks
Pallet trucks are the simplest and most common piece of warehouse equipment. They move pallets around at floor level but cannot lift them into racking.
Best suited to: goods-in and dispatch areas, block stacking, ground-level pallet locations and feeding the loading face of dynamic pallet flow systems at floor level.
Almost every warehouse needs pallet trucks, but they are always used alongside a lifting truck rather than instead of one.
Pallet stackers
Pallet stackers are pedestrian-operated trucks that lift pallets to around 4 to 5m. They are compact, affordable and work in aisles of roughly 2.2 to 2.7m.
Best suited to: low-level racking in small warehouses, trade counters and start-ups and longspan shelving where staff need to place pallets of stock on lower levels.
Stackers are a cost-effective way into racked storage but are slower than ride-on trucks and are not suited to high throughput.
Counterbalance forklifts
The counterbalance forklift is the most recognisable type of forklift. A heavy counterweight at the rear balances the load on the forks, so it can lift without stabiliser legs. Counterbalance trucks work indoors and out, which makes them ideal for loading lorries and moving goods across a yard. The trade-off is that they need the widest aisles, typically around 3.5 to 4.5m.
Best suited to: wide aisle pallet racking, drive-in racking, push-back racking and placing shuttles into shuttle racking lanes.
If your operation relies on one truck for everything, a counterbalance is often the default choice. Just be aware that it will use more floor space than any other option.
Reach trucks
Reach trucks are designed for indoor racked warehouses. The mast moves forward to “reach” into the racking and retracts for travel, so the truck needs far less space to turn than a counterbalance. Reach trucks typically work in aisles of around 2.7 to 3.2m and can lift to around 10 to 13m.
Best suited to: wide aisle racking, double deep pallet racking when fitted with extending pantograph forks, drive-in racking, push-back racking and mobile racking.
For most medium-sized warehouses, the reach truck offers the best balance of flexibility, height and space efficiency. It is not designed for outdoor use or uneven ground, so many sites run a counterbalance alongside it for the yard.
Articulated forklifts
Articulated forklifts, often known by brand names such as Bendi and Flexi, steer from the front of the truck. The whole front section turns so the forks face directly into the racking, which allows them to work in aisles of around 1.6 to 2m.
Best suited to: narrow aisle pallet racking, particularly in buildings that need more density than wide aisle racking but cannot justify a full VNA installation.
A key advantage of articulated forklifts is versatility. Unlike VNA trucks, they can also unload trailers and travel outside, so one truck can handle both the racking and the loading bay.
VNA trucks and turret trucks
Very narrow aisle (VNA) trucks, including turret trucks and man-up combination trucks, have a fork head that rotates to place pallets on either side of the aisle without the truck turning. They are guided by floor rails or a buried wire, work in aisles of around 1.5 to 1.9m and can lift to 14m or more.
Best suited to: very narrow aisle (VNA) racking, where they deliver the highest storage density of any manually operated system.
VNA comes with specific requirements. The floor must be exceptionally flat, typically to a defined movement standard under Concrete Society TR34 and guidance rails or wire must be installed. VNA trucks also stay in the aisles, so a counterbalance or reach truck is needed to bring pallets to and from the aisle ends.
Order pickers
Order pickers lift the operator rather than just the forks, so staff can pick individual cases or items from racking. Low-level order pickers reach the first one or two levels, while high-level “man-up” models lift the operator much higher, often within VNA aisles.
Best suited to: pallet racking with low-level pick faces, longspan shelving and carton flow shelving at ground level and VNA racking used for case picking at height.
Order pickers suit e-commerce and wholesale operations where orders are made up of individual items rather than full pallets.
Side loaders and multidirectional forklifts
Side loaders carry loads along their side, while multidirectional forklifts can travel forwards, backwards and sideways. Both allow long loads such as timber, steel, pipes and plasterboard to be carried lengthways down an aisle instead of across it.
Best suited to: cantilever racking, which has no front uprights so long loads can be placed directly onto the arms.
This combination is common in builders merchants racking and steel stockholders, where it saves significant space compared with handling long loads on a counterbalance. For some outdoor sites a telehandler is also used and this guide to forklifts vs telehandlers explains the differences.
Radio shuttles
A radio shuttle is a battery-powered carriage that runs inside the racking on rails beneath the pallets. A forklift places the shuttle in a lane and the shuttle then moves pallets deep into the lane by remote control.
Best suited to: shuttle racking, particularly for large volumes of the same product and in chilled or frozen environments where reducing forklift travel saves time and energy.
Shuttle racking works with standard reach trucks and counterbalance forklifts, so it can often be added without replacing your fleet.
Stacker cranes, AGVs and AMRs
Automated systems replace or support manual trucks altogether. Stacker cranes run on rails within automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS), while automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) move pallets and totes around the warehouse.
Best suited to: high-bay and automated racking built to tight tolerances, where precision and consistency matter more than flexibility.
Automation has its own design requirements, from floor flatness to network coverage. This complete guide to warehouse robotics covers the options in more detail.
Choosing the right combination of forklift and racking
When choosing between types of forklift and racking systems, consider:
- Density versus flexibility. Narrower aisles and higher racking store more, but need specialist trucks and better floors. Wider aisles cost more space but give more flexibility.
- Your building. Clear height, floor flatness and floor loading can rule some options in or out.
- Your stock profile. Many different products suit selective racking with direct access to every pallet. Large volumes of the same product suit drive-in, push-back or shuttle racking.
- Throughput. High-volume picking may justify order pickers, flow racking or automation.
- Your existing fleet. Changing truck type often means re-spacing or re-profiling racking, so plan both changes together.
- Environment. Cold stores need trucks and cold storage racking specified for low temperatures.
- Future plans. If automation is likely within the life of the racking, designing for it now avoids costly changes later.
How Logical Storage Solutions can help
Logical Storage Solutions designs pallet racking around the way your warehouse actually works, including the trucks you use today and the ones you might use in future. A professional pallet racking design takes account of aisle widths, lift heights, residual capacities and floor conditions, so your racking and machinery work together safely and efficiently.
Whether you are fitting out a new warehouse, changing your forklift fleet or looking to increase capacity, get in touch with Logical Storage Solutions to find the right racking for your equipment.