i'm a new comer, but as i know HANGCHA'S reach stackers are such cute, with good performance and avalible after-sales service. It is a trust-worthy forklift brand in China and you may re-consider.

Forget about Linde, Kalmar, Taylor - get yourself into Konecranes SMV for reach stackers. By far the best design, drivetrain and general engineering in my opinion.

Hello,
New here and looking for some advice. I have 8 Linde C4531's here in Afghanistan and one is throwing a Trans code 34.3. It reverts to shut down mode aboout 30 sec after start up. No movement possible. I have ran through the trans wire harness and speed sensors and all check out. If anyone has seen this before could ya please throw some information my way. Thanks.

Johnr, I agree with you. My point here was not about cost, I wanted to show that there ARE differences between machines, and not all are the same.

You get what you pay for, and there are clients for Subarus and clients for Jaguars. Same thing on heavy equipment. If you are going to spend over $ 400,000 in a machine, and be stick with it for 5 to 10 years, you should consider how much $ you will be your cost on parts and downtime.

When we talk about heavy equipments, ALL machines are Jaguars on prices. And they ALL brake.

But some brake more often than others...

Since when has a Jag been known for low cost of ownership? Ask any Jag owner.

No, Duodeluxe, this information is not in any magazine, it is right here, on this week's Forkliftaction! Just take a look at the first page, and you will see this info on the section "Product Watch".
Here's the link to it:

www.forkliftaction.com/news/newsdisplay.aspx?nwid=7713

We all know that there are strengths and weakness on every brand...

As there are Subarus and Jaguars, and both companies feel that they make good machines, we all know that there are BIG differences between them. Their investment is also huge to build these machines, but some of them fight for price, while others prefers to stay with a niche that relies on quality. This is not different on heavy equipment business. Some companies take every cent possible from their machines, while others prefer to build machines the old way, to last longer. If they are all the same, why can't we all go for the cheapest? Simply because there is A LOT OF difference under the hood.

Now, what would you rather be driving, if I tell you that there's a Jag for sale by the same price of a Subaru, both brand new?

Ricky; Wow! How to turn an positive into a negative. "Too many parts distributors"?
Where did you read about the 1,000,000 cycles? Maybe in the same magazine that rated Toyota # 1 with the it's end users?
You know the only people I know that know anything about forklift trucks are those that are in the business-which is a tiny fraction of the population. Now, what %age knows anything about reach stackers?
My guess is that any company that has made the capital investment to build these machines probably knows what they are doing and I'll take another claculated guess and figure they all make good ones. Maybe some may feel that one is better than the other, but they are all good machines.

I would go for the Taylor. I read that the new TS-9972 is built for 1.000.000 cicles, or 40% more than all other brands, that stand on 600.000 cycles. That impressed me A LOT, as this means 40% LESS maintenance costs, and 40% LESS downtime.

Taylor used to be REALLY expensive, but it seems that their price now is equal or lower than Linde and Kalmar.

This upper message from Bill reinforces that. Thinking long-term, there's a BIG difference on maintenance costs from one brand to another, and you cannot buy a machine just looking at the initial cost. There's a lot to be considered before spending over $400,000 in a piece of equipment.

And, when I hear that some brand has parts distributors on every corner like McDonald's, for me it is a good sign that parts brake a lot...

You are right to be concerned over maintenance issues but perhaps the most important mistake to avoid is being fixated on initial truck cost when making comparisons between different makes. It is crucial to compare lifetime costs between various machines as these can vary widely. To give you an idea by how much read my piece on SMV reach stackers in Shipping Times. Go into Google and tap in "Poor container truck buying costs ports dear".

Why not have the Hyster Yardmaster on your list?

ha ha. loadwheels would take a poundin shiftin 40foot iso,s.

Sam C,

He's talking about container handlers, not Class II reach trucks.

I don't believe that Crown can handle an 80,000 lb. 40 foot container with a reach truck.

You should take a look at the Crown RR5700 trucks. The RR5700 has industry-leading performance, both in hydraulics and traction. The On-Trac system is very impressive on wet or slippery floors, which may be a concern for hot, humid environments. Also, they are readily available in the US with a good parts and service network. For further details, see crown (dot) com.

Please call us. We specialize in benchmarking manufacturers creating a profile that will provide customer experiences, warranty history, parts capability and most importantly, operational history. In USA 443-249-3301. Contacts with people who own Kalmar, Taylor, Fantuzzi, Liebherr, Linde, Hyster, Konecranes.

Also have excellent used equipment available.

I would suggest looking at Konecranes (SMV) as well if you haven't already, and they seem to have a dealer in South America which might make things easier. I heard on the grapevine that Taylor was having some big issues at the moment, but how big those issues are and if it has any significant consequences for the business is something else.
The Kalmar is the premium pick of the bunch, but you pay for that.