I am looking for some advice please. We have a reach issue regarding one of our 2.5T forklifts. The operations guys have rotated the forks 180 degrees so they can get an extra two feet of reach. When I questioned this I was informed it was perfectly legal (by another HS advisor) so long as the fork capacity is reduced by half. Having never seen this done before I have searched the web for information but cant find anything. Can someone please advise. I have been told this is a short term measure until another forklift can be organised (tomorrow).

hi KKnox,

Iv'e sat here and tried to understand what it is they have done with the forks and have come to the conclusion that they have turned the forks upside down on the carriage plate.
If this is correct then there is obvisously the capacity- height to weight ratio issue to overcome but i would expect that you have exceeded the maximum lift height so reducing by 50% is immaterial.
More importantly what protection is there to prevent the load falling backwards onto the cab, gaining the extra height means the back of the forks and the backrest extension (if fitted) will be below the load, also how have they secured the forks to stop them moving or even coming off.
perfectly legal i doubt (IMHO) SAFE (again IMHO) definately not.

Andy