Are You Waiting For Your Lift Truck To Die?

A replacement program could save you more money.
Running your lift truck into the ground may seem like a good idea now, but when you weigh the costs involved, you may change your mind.

According to most lift truck financial experts, it's more cost-effective to replace your lift truck at the end of its economic life compared to running the truck until it becomes inoperable.


The end of a lift truck's economic life, and the time to replace it, can be narrowed down to three rules of thumb:

1--Replace it after six to eight years of use.
2--Replace it after 10,000 operating hours.
3--Replace it when the annual maintenance costs equal the resale value of the lift truck.


Replacement Programs Cut Costs
Instituting a lift truck replacement program is the best way to avoid unnecessary maintenance costs. After all, maintenance and repair costs multiply as lift trucks age. If left unmonitored, maintenance costs can account for up to twice the purchase price of a lift truck over its lifetime.
Maintenance and repair costs generally rise an average of 14% to 18% a year if the vehicle is simply repaired and not replaced. And at some point in the vehicle's life (usually around 6 to 8 years of age, the end of its economic life), it no longer makes sense to repair it. A replacement program based on economic life makes it possible to trade trucks before they become money losers.

Getting Started
An effective lift truck replacement program should start by answering one basic question: Would it cost less to continue operating and maintaining this truck, or to replace it with a new one?

Answering this question correctly, however, requires a bit of research. If you err and trade too soon, you could be wasting money by giving up low-cost operating hours. By trading it too late, you could accrue needlessly high maintenance costs.

Tracking Is The Most Important Step
The key to developing a quality replacement program for your lift truck fleet is to track the maintenance costs of each truck. After all, if you can't measure it, you can't manage it.

Gathering the data isn't difficult, but it must be done consistently. Here are the basic steps to follow:

1--Fit each truck with an accurate hour meter.
2--Create a complete file on each truck, listing make, model, fuel system, serial number, year and basic specifications.
3--Record all maintenance costs, including parts costs and hourly charges for labor.
4--Record the hour-meter reading. Compare hours of operation against maintenance costs to determine maintenance costs per hour.


There are no simple formulas that dictate when to replace your lift truck. Each company must find its own method and individual factors for replacement. But the time and effort spent creating a replacement program will pay off, now and in the future.