02 Mar How to Spec the Right Liftgate

Nobody understands the importance of transportation more than a business owner. You rely on smooth transportation to receive your parts, ship your products, and ensure your customers’ needs are satisfied. Part of what makes your transportation so dependable is having the right equipment on hand. For example, you wouldn’t want to transport perishable products in a non-refrigerated truck. That would be asking for trouble! 

Anjer Inc. is the trusted liftgate service provider for Philadelphia business owners. As such, we’re happy to help you spec the right liftgate for your transportation needs. Just read our tips below! 

What Is a Liftgate?

First thing’s first: You have to know what you’re working with. A liftgate is a piece of equipment that is installed on the rear of the truck to help transfer freight on and off the vehicle. You can think of it as an elevator for your truck. Liftgates are incredibly useful for home deliveries, construction sites, and businesses where loading docks are not available. There are multiple types of liftgates available, including parallel-arm, rail gate, pickup, tuckaway, and side loader. 

How Do You Choose the Right Liftgate?

Truck Body Specs: Not just any liftgate will work with your fleet. Determining your truck’s type, size, and body specs will help you decide which liftgate is compatible with your vehicle. For example, smaller trucks have a weight capacity and low ground clearance, which limits the liftgate options to rail gates and conventional models. 

Bed Height: Upon installation, your truck bed is likely to lose a few inches in height from the weight of the liftgate. Take this into consideration before purchasing and installing a liftgate because you don’t want to lose those crucial inches and render your equipment useless. 

Platform Weight Capacity: Your liftgate is equipped to handle a certain amount of weight without getting damaged. However, purchasing a liftgate that handles the exact weight of your freight is the wrong way to go about it. Don’t forget, you also have employees, pallets, pallet jacks, and other equipment sitting on the liftgate at the same time as the freight. 

Freight Transportation: How are you going to transport the freight from the truck to the loading space? You have to take into consideration your transportation equipment’s specs, as well. 

Lifecycle: Are you looking for a liftgate that’s going to serve you well many years into the future? Or just a liftgate that will get the job done for as long as it can? The quality of your liftgate determines how long it will last and how much it costs. 

Not sure which liftgate will serve your business’s needs best? Let us help you! Liftgates are one of our specialties. Not only do we recommend and provide customers with the best liftgates on the market, but we can also perform installations for liftgate parts in Bucks County and all the surrounding areas within a two-hour radius. Contact us today to learn more.