How to use a pallet jack on the liftgate of your box truck

[@kj2369]

I really appreciate this video. I'm moving a couple vending machines today using a liftgate truck, and now I'm just trying to relieve my worries 😅

[@BL4KPANTHER]

@@kj2369 glad it helped

[@sainttt100]

Thanks. Starting a new job. Last job was my first after getting my CDL class B and there was mostly hand truck usage. Not much experience with the lift gate and zero training.... So, thsnks

[@dansanders6097]

You are a great instructor.

[@lifewithjusto444]

Lucky it didn’t slide off when you let go lol great video thanks had problems

[@BL4KPANTHER]

If it slides to the end of the gate then the pj just falls flat and the freight on pallet no longer moves. Essentially a pancake

[@giorgish.2932]

Thank you boss Really useful

[@MynameisDUmass]

Thanks for the knowledge 😊

[@tebogomohanoe5443]

In South we reverse the pallet jack to control

[@erastuskambuale8681]

Thanks not much detail on how to actually use the pallet jack so plz try more on that next time but was really helpful because it was my first time using a pallet jack. I give a like for this video

[@BL4KPANTHER]

that's because a pallet jack in general only involves two actions..Up and then Down. squeeze the lever to lower and put the latch in the down position and pump it for it to go up

[@erastuskambuale8681]

@@BL4KPANTHER Thank u and I appreciate u for this it was helpful.

[@BL4KPANTHER]

@@erastuskambuale8681 anytime...I will do a video on the mechanics of a pallet jack next. That's a good idea

[@bunchycarter301]

What about when your truck is fully loaded? How do you take off that first pallet? No room to go forward

[@BL4KPANTHER]

You need to extend your lift gate and that will give the 4-6ft to maneuver that pallet

[@lifewithjusto444]

@@BL4KPANTHERextend the lift gate ?

[@BL4KPANTHER]

@@lifewithjusto444 yes. Like you’re using it as normal

[@benpainter6874]

How heavy are these items? I have troubles with over 50 lbs

[@BL4KPANTHER]

@@benpainter6874 how could you if your pj lifts 5k

[@maxjnb4816]

It all depends on the weight of the freight. If it's 2,500 lbs of tile flooring, you may not have much control moving towards that gate.

[@BL4KPANTHER]

That's why people should move slow and be ready to lower that freight right away if it feels like it's getting away. They shouldn't be moving quickly getting freight off or on a liftgate

[@maxjnb4816]

@BL4K PANTHER I agree. However, the greatest and best investment is an electric pallet jack. It makes the job much easier and safer.

[@BL4KPANTHER]

@@maxjnb4816 but adds a bit too much weight and size to the straight truck where weight and being able to even partial helps keep the bottom line fair. Weight, space and charging keep them from being great additions at the moment. On dedicated routes I could see it though

[@walterkersting9922]

With a 12 pallet van fully loaded you’re going to have your pallet jack with the forks pointed toward the front of the vehicle underneath the pallet and you’re going to find that you don’t have room to do a 180 on the lift on some models, so what you do is you go straight out, and have the two wheels of the pallet shock fall off of the lift and from there it doesn’t go anywhere. You then lower the lift and place the pallet where you will. If you can get the next pallet off the truck with the forks toward the back of the vehicle so much the better, but you repeat what you did with the first one until you canget pallets off the truck with the forks of the pallet jack to the back of the truck.

[@iamomeed]

id like a video of this, ive tried it and have almost killed my self with the load falling off

[@mjayson30]

Its scary when i was training but it works

[@mcfc2528]

Is the max weight on a pallet truck easy to move or quite heavy?

[@BL4KPANTHER]

Height or weight? Height can be light so it depends on how good it is wrapped if it is. If it's a crate it is prone to balance issue like any other tall thing

[@mcfc2528]

@@BL4KPANTHER like let's say you have the heaviest load possible on the pallet jack would that be hard to pull or push

[@BL4KPANTHER]

@@mcfc2528 I mean. Yeah it's heavy and if it's at capacity of the jack absolutely

[@mcfc2528]

@@BL4KPANTHER ok because you was making it look easy with 1 hand so I thought maybe the pallet jack makes the weight easier to deal with

[@BL4KPANTHER]

@@mcfc2528 i mean yes it does help but in this case the freight was less than i think 1 pounds so it just glided

[@Smaug1692]

Is there any system/idea to store it without taking up space in the cabin? Leaving it under a pallet is not an option since the wheel collides with the door

[@BL4KPANTHER]

Have you tried to pinwheel the pallets inside to create more space ?

[@Smaug1692]

@@BL4KPANTHER It's a good idea. I don't remember if there's space enough for that but I will try. thx!

[@howardagnew8471]

If your truck is so full that there isn't enough room (parking it under a pallet puts it in conflict with the door), there are a couple of options: 1) You could flip the jack up 90° to stand it on the end of the "forks," and walk or slide it down the center between pallets and the handle over the top of a pallet, but DO NOT leave it with the forks down between the rearmost pallets and the door as this will likely cause the jack to lean back onto the door as you drive, which will either jam the door or fall out backward on whomever tries to open the cargo door. This does require hefting the jack, its a bit heavy particularly the handle so be careful to avoid pinch points. 2) Instead of loading all pallets straight (as shown in the video), when loading at the shipper, you can "chimney stack" load the truck if its wide enough. The truck is wide enough if, as in this video, when straight loading there's 20" or so of space between pallets you can walk between down the center when the pallets on either side are touching either wall; if you load pallets straight on but there's no space to walk down the center, then the truck is too narrow. "Chimney stacking" (probably a lot of different terms for this) is when you alternate a straight pallet and the next side-turned. If you have normal pallets with two solid side supports (such as the 2nd pallet loaded in on the left side in BL4K's truck), you can't put two side-turned pallets across from each other -- trying to force such with a power jack will trap the pallets and they can't be unloaded with a pallet jack, so every side-turned pallet will need a straight turned pallet beside it. This will let you fit two extra pallets in a 24' or 26' box truck. If this works out that your very last pallet is side-turned and its not blocked by a straight pallet, you can park the jack under that last side-turned pallet, and it won't interfere with the door since the jack will be toward the center/side. Even if this doesn't happen though, this loading method basically converts some of that extra space you can walk down between pallets into used storage space, so there will be more space between the last pallet and the door (in fact with a truck that normally can fit only 6 pallets, you actually have room for a 7th pallet when chimney stacked, and by the time you're up to a 24' truck that could only hold 10 straight-loaded pallets, you can fit 12 chimney-stacked). The big downside to this is it takes a lot longer to load and unload. 3) If all your pallets are "four-way" pallets (the pallet BL4K moves in this video is an example -- it doesn't have a solid side), you can actually do better than the above by loading all the pallets side-turned since you can jack the pallet from any side, but there are a couple of hiccups; first as we all learn the hard way, when a four-way pallet also has bottom supports (the pallet moved in this video is a good example of this; the rearmost pallet on the right side, by contrast, is one without bottom supports), its easy to mis-position the pallet jack such that when you try to jack up the pallet, you wind up wedging the top of the pallet off of the bottom support, causing damage to the pallet; this will happen when you push the jack all the way in under a pallet from its long side as we are accustomed to putting a jack in all the way normally on its short side which doesn't cause this; you have to feel for when the rear rollers of a jack fall off the bottom support. Trust me, we've all learned this the hard way.

[@AimeBeats]

Do you know what the dimensions are for your lift gate?

[@BL4KPANTHER]

Each one of mine varies based on the trucks I have. My newer ones are 60x89

[@AimeBeats]

@@BL4KPANTHER This was very helpful thank you. My lift gate is small & I worry about the freight falling over all the time so I am planning on getting a new one soon!

[@BL4KPANTHER]

@@AimeBeats glad I could help. The key is centering the freight inside the truck and lowering it on gate as soon as it clears the plate even if by a few inches

[@aveluz45]

Ive seen videos , the person flung while doing this

[@BL4KPANTHER]

Flung?

[@georgeoneill7480]

I'd suggest getting rid of the sandals and socks and wear steel toe shoes.

[@BL4KPANTHER]

@@georgeoneill7480 when I work I do. Otherwise I prep trucks and don’t have to do much

[@johnnyreeseiii8189]

Absolutely incorrect.

[@BL4KPANTHER]

lol what

[@59plexi]

theres always a fool out there bro

[@DarkOblideration]

hank youg. Please control the coughing. Was

[@lifewithjusto444]

Lucky it didn’t slide off when you let go lol great video thanks had problems

[@BL4KPANTHER]

Once the wheels rolls off it just plants on the gate