How to Inspect a Used Forklift: The Mast Is the Key

October 18th, Panyu warehouse. A 3-ton diesel forklift going through its final pre-shipment re-inspection. A Nigerian customer ordered it, and it sails at the end of the month.

The customer couldn't come, so we did the inspection over video as usual. Phone on a stand, I check one item and he watches one item. We've done more than sixty of these video inspections this year.

Forklifts aren't expensive, but that's exactly where problems hide. Over the years I've inspected no fewer than four hundred used forklifts, and I've been burned. Here's how I do it.

Nameplate and Hour Meter First

Don't rush to look at the iron. Check the identity first.

Compare the model, year, and serial number on the nameplate against the contract and customs documents, character by character. Read the hour meter, but more importantly check whether the dash has been opened or the screws stripped. If a three-year-old truck shows 8,000 hours, the meter has almost surely been tampered with.

In 2021 I rejected a truck. The meter showed 3,100 hours, but the steering wheel was polished shiny and the pedal treads were worn flat. The dealer swore he'd never touched the meter. I checked a second factory serial number on the frame, pulled the service records, and the real figure was 9,600 hours. I walked away, got the deposit back, and ate the RMB 1,200 travel cost myself.

There's one more cross-check: tires. Forklift tire wear roughly matches the hours. A 3,000-hour truck won't have tread worn to the safety line. If the meter and the tires don't agree, ask more questions.

Mast Chains

Chains are the deadliest part on a forklift. If one snaps, the forks come down with the load and someone can get killed.

How to check: raise the mast to 1.5 meters, get down and look at the chains. Look for cracks in the link plates and play in the pins. Then run a chain wear gauge link by link — if wear has stretched the chain more than 2% beyond its original length, replace the whole chain.

In 2020 I shipped a forklift with an out-of-spec chain to Dar es Salaam. In the customer's third month of use the chain jumped its sprocket. We sent a new set of chains, and with freight it cost us RMB 11,000. Since then, chains are an automatic veto item for me.

Replacing chains isn't that expensive; domestic ones run RMB 1,800 to 2,500 each. What's expensive is the labor and the risk. But no matter the cost, you replace them. Safety parts leave no room for bargaining.

Mast Play and Rollers

Grab the forks and shake them side to side. On a good mast the play is minimal and it feels tight. If it rattles when shaken, the rollers and mast channels are worn out.

You have to watch the rollers turn. Cycle the mast up and down twice and watch every roller. If one doesn't turn, nine times out of ten the bearing inside is shattered.

For mast checks in the warehouse, I let Lao Li do it. His feel is precise — clearance over 3 mm registers in his hand, within half a millimeter of a caliper. He always says: the mast is a forklift's spine. When the spine goes loose, the truck falls apart.

A forklift that passes re-inspection gets fresh engine oil, new filters, topped-up hydraulic oil, and re-tightened battery terminals before leaving. This prep costs RMB 600 per unit, built into our cost and never cut from the truck price.

Fork Heels

What matters on forks isn't the tips, it's the bend at the heel. That's where stress is highest and wear is worst.

Measure heel thickness with a caliper and compare it to the factory spec. If wear exceeds 10%, that pair of forks can't be rated at the original tonnage anymore. A replacement pair runs RMB 2,800 domestic, RMB 5,000 and up for an imported brand.

Also get down and check whether the heels have been welded. We don't take welded forks at any price. A fork that broke once and got re-welded will break again sooner or later.

Hydraulics and Power

Test at full load. A 3-ton forklift lifts a 3-ton load to full height and holds for one minute. If the mast drifts down more than 10 mm, there's internal leakage in the hydraulic system and the cylinder or control valve needs work — starting at RMB 1,500.

On diesel trucks, listen to the engine. It should fire on the first crank from cold, and neither blue nor white smoke is acceptable. On electric forklifts, test the battery; any cell below 2 volts means the battery is scrap. A new battery pack is RMB 22,000 — more than half the truck.

With electric forklifts, also ask about the charger. Many trucks are sold bare, charger extra at RMB 3,500. Battery, charger, truck — you need all three to get any work done.

Electric or Diesel

For indoor warehouse use with charging available, go electric: quiet, no exhaust. For open yards and places without power, go diesel.

For African customers I basically only recommend diesel. Not because electric is bad, but charging conditions over there can't keep up, and when a battery fails there's nobody local who can fix it. Chidi insisted on an electric one two years ago. I talked him out of it three times and failed; eight months after delivery the battery was dead and he had to buy a diesel on top. That electric forklift still sits in a corner of his warehouse.

There's a freight difference too. Same tonnage, but an electric one's battery adds about 300 kg per truck, so ocean freight runs a bit more. The gap is small, but it shows up when you ship in volume.

If you're inspecting a forklift, say one thing to the seller on the video call: raise the mast to full height and hold it for a minute. If he dares to do it, the truck can't be too bad.