Turret Truck

Turret Truck
Very narrow aisle truck (VNA) allows storage of pallet loads in racking with aisles less than 6' wide. Man-up design facilitates accurate placement in tall racking (up to 40 ft.). This type of vehicle generally requires a guidance system and extremely level floors. One features of turret truck is a fork mechanism that rotates 180 degrees, right or left, to work either side of the very-narrow aisle. The rotating mechanism is what gives the truck its VNA capability. Both Man-down and man-up turret truck models are used in the industries.

Operator-Down Turret Truck
Operator not lifted with the load
5-6 ft. minimum aisle width requirement
Termed a swingmast truck (picture shown) when, instead of just the forks, the entire mast rotates (thus can store on only one side of a aisle while in aisle)
By using Operator-Down Turret Truck, there is greater vehicle stability and the cost is also cheaper than Operator-Up Turret Truck
However man-down operators may need load-positioning, shelf-height-indicating sensors, or special racking to assist them in load movements in pallet bays above the fourth or fifth level as visibility to the top of the rack becomes a potential concern.

Operator-Up Turret Truck
Operator lifted with the load to allow precise stacking and picking
5-7 ft. minimum aisle width requirement
Some of the advantages that Operator-Up Turret Truck offers includes allowing the operator to gets a bird's eye view. This can result in having less damage to product, pallet, and racks.
However riding up to the load level in a man-up truck and working some 40 ft above the floor presents some risks. Thus the operator is tethered to the vehicle with a safety harness.
It is proven in the industry that turret trucks perform most productively within the aisle. However, once the truck moves outside the aisles, you may want to have pickup stations for load transfers to handling by counterbalanced trucks, to conveyor, or to other delivery and takeaway methods. This is so as it does not make much economic sense to have the turret truck and its operator doing work outside the VNA racking when it can be done by a counterbalanced truck which cost very much cheaper.

It is proven in the industry that turret trucks perform most productively within the aisle. However, once the truck moves outside the aisles, you may want to have pickup stations for load transfers to handling by counterbalanced trucks, to conveyor, or to other delivery and takeaway methods. This is so as it does not make much economic sense to have the turret truck and its operator doing work outside the VNA racking when it can be done by a counterbalanced truck which cost very much cheaper.