Cold stores are hard on trucks and on the people driving them. Hydraulic oil thickens, batteries lose capacity, condensation gets into the electrics every time a truck comes out into the warm, and operators have to work in the cold for a whole shift. A standard truck driven into a freezer every day will fail sooner and cost more to keep running.
We supply forklifts, reach trucks, pallet trucks, stackers and other equipment specified for cold store and freezer work, and service them with our own engineers from eight depots.
Chilled or freezer
The specification depends on how cold it is and how the truck is used.
- Chilled stores, from around 0 to +5 °C, are mostly handled by standard trucks with some protection, particularly against condensation.
- Freezer stores, down to around -30 °C, need a cold store specification throughout.
- In and out. A truck that moves between the freezer and the warm dock suffers most, because condensation forms on and inside it every time it comes out. How often it crosses matters as much as the temperature.
What changes on a cold store truck
- Hydraulic oil and lubricants rated for low temperatures, so the mast and steering work smoothly from the first lift.
- Protected electrics: sealed or heated controllers, connectors and displays, so condensation and ice do not cause faults.
- Cabs and heating. Heated cabs on reach and counterbalance trucks for operators spending the shift in the freezer, with heated seats and controls where needed.
- Batteries and charging sized for the temperature, because batteries deliver less in the cold, with charging kept in the warm.
- Tyres suited to cold floors, which can be slippery with frost.
Tell us the store temperature, whether trucks go in and out, the lift heights and the aisles, and we will specify the trucks.
The trucks we supply for cold stores
- Reach trucks, the most common truck in cold stores, because they put away at height in the narrow aisles that keep cooled space to a minimum.
- Powered pallet trucks and pallet stackers for loading, marshalling and ground-level moves.
- Electric counterbalance forklifts for docks and the transition between chilled and ambient areas.
- Order pickers and VNA trucks for very narrow aisle freezer stores.
- Articulated forklifts, including the Combilift Aisle Master Cold Store, which unload in the yard and stack in narrow freezer aisles.
See our guide to the best forklifts for cold storage and freezer warehouses.
Keeping them running
Cold store trucks need servicing that allows for the cold: checks on seals, connectors, heaters and batteries as well as the usual items, and hydraulic oil changed to the cold store grade. Our engineers service and repair cold store trucks and carry out LOLER thorough examinations. Letting trucks warm up and dry out before they go back into the freezer, and keeping in-and-out trips to a minimum, prevents a large share of cold store faults.
Cold store racking
Cooled space is expensive, so cold stores use the densest storage that suits the stock: mobile racking, pallet shuttle and drive-in racking, and very narrow aisles. We plan the racking and the trucks together: see cold store racking.
Talk to us
Call 01708 861 414 or contact the team. Tell us the store temperature, whether trucks go in and out, the lift heights and the aisles, and we will specify the trucks.
Tell us the store temperature, whether trucks go in and out, the lift heights and the aisles, and we will specify the trucks.
Cold Store Forklifts and Equipment: common questions
Eight depots across the UK
Our own engineers, out of our own depots - wherever you are, service comes from us.
Talk to us about Cold Store Forklifts and Equipment
Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm.
Additional Services
Checkout our range of other machine services below
