RAre you looking to make your loading dock safer and more efficient? Consider installing a dock leveler. A dock leveler is a metal platform located at the edge of your loading dock. By raising or lowering the platform, you can handle any height differences between a loading dock and a trailer. Dock levelers also allow forklifts and pallet jacks to be used in loading and unloading trailers.
There are many types of dock levelers to choose from. When choosing a dock leveler, here are a few things to consider:
What type of dock leveler do you need? There are two types of levelers: pit levelers and edge of dock levelers.
Pit levelers are built into your loading dock. As a result, pit levelers are more expensive than edge of dock levelers because part of the dock floor may have to be removed during installation. However, pit levelers can handle many different sizes of trailers.
Edge of dock levelers are attached to the dock face. Edge of dock levelers are usually cheaper than pit levelers because installation is easier. However, an edge of dock leveler has less range of motion than a pit leveler. As a result, they work best when servicing trailers with fewer height differences.
Do you need a mechanical or hydraulic dock leveler? Hydraulic dock levelers work automatically while mechanical ones require an employee to use a chain or other mechanism to activate it. Hydraulic levelers are a bit more expensive, but don’t require any physical effort to operate. In addition, mechanical dock levelers usually need more maintenance and repairs than hydraulic levelers.
What type of loading equipment are you using? Do you use forklifts or pallet jacks when loading or unloading trailers? Edge of dock levelers will put a bit more wear and tear on your loading equipment than pit levelers.
To help you decide which option best fits your budget, your facility, and your trailers, contact us today. Our experienced technicians will help choose the product that best fits your facility and needs.
