What Does an Electric Pallet Jack Cost, and What Do You Get?

What does an electric pallet jack cost in the UK?

An electric pallet jack, also called an electric pallet truck or powered pallet jack, is a low lift truck that raises a pallet a few inches off the floor and moves it. Our electric pallet trucks start at £390 ex VAT for a 1.5 t lithium-ion walkie. A 2 to 3 t stand-on rider begins at £1,590 ex VAT and a seated ride-on at £3,590 ex VAT.

Four bands cover almost every order. Entry lithium walkies sit at £390 to £455 ex VAT. Semi-electric trucks, which power the lift but not the drive, are £440 to £680 ex VAT. Full electric walkies that drive and lift are £525 to £735 ex VAT. Heavy duty and cold store models start at £1,195 ex VAT, and riders above that.

Every figure here is a guide price in pounds ex VAT for a new truck, converted from the factory list. Freight, duty, VAT and the price for the quantity you want are confirmed on your written quote, which stays valid for 30 days.

Where the money goes between £390 and £3,590

Four things move the price, and only one of them is capacity.

• Battery type and size. Lithium-ion charges in bursts through the day and needs no watering, so it suits a floor that runs two shifts or has nowhere to park a truck overnight. Sealed lead-acid is still sound where the truck works one shift and charges in a fixed spot. On the same chassis, a 48V 20Ah pack costs more than a 48V 10Ah pack and runs longer between charges.
• Powered lift only, or powered drive as well. A semi-electric truck lifts at the press of a button and is pushed by hand. A full electric truck does both, which is what you want once pallets are heavy or the runs are long.
• Duty cycle. Two trucks can both say 2 t and be built to different standards: motor rating, gearbox, wheel material and chassis steel all change with the hours the truck is expected to run.
• Working conditions. Cold store sealing, wide wheel bases for broken yard surfaces, weighing scales in the forks and extra long forks each add to the figure.

Capacity itself is the cheap part. A 1.5 t lithium walkie at £390 ex VAT and a 2 t model differ by far less than the gap between a one shift truck and a constant duty one.

Electric pallet jack prices compared by band

Fork lengths on these models are mostly 1150 to 1220 mm, which fits a standard UK and euro pallet entered from the end. Check the figure on the product page against the pallets you actually move.

Which band suits your floor?

A cash and carry or retail stockroom. Pallets come off a tail lift, go into a lift or down an aisle and get broken down on the shop floor. A 1.5 to 2 t full electric walkie from £605 ex VAT covers that comfortably, and a semi-electric at £440 ex VAT is enough where the moves are short and occasional.

A 3PL or distribution warehouse. If one operator spends most of a shift moving pallets over long runs, the stand-on rider at £1,590 ex VAT pays back in walking time, and a seated ride-on at £3,590 ex VAT suits the longest runs. Under roughly 25 m per run a walkie usually does the job for less money.

Chilled and frozen stores. Condensation and cold flatten an unsealed truck. The cold store models at £1,195 ex VAT are built for it at 2 to 3 t.

Goods in that weighs every pallet. An electric truck with scales in the forks is £1,195 ex VAT and saves a second handling step onto a floor scale.

Short, light, occasional moves. A manual pump truck from £76 ex VAT is still the sensible buy, and many floors keep one as a backup next to the powered truck.

What the entry price leaves out

Nothing is wrong with the bottom of the range, but know what you are getting. At £390 ex VAT the battery is smaller, so a truck that moves pallets steadily all day will want charging in the middle of the shift rather than only overnight. Fork length options are narrower. There is no scale, no cold store sealing and no wide wheel base.

The other thing the entry price leaves out is spare capacity. Buying a 1.5 t truck for loads that regularly touch 1.4 t means working the motor and pump at the top of their range every day. Stepping to 2 t costs little and the truck lasts better for it.

Running costs are small either way: a charger, the odd set of wheels and seals, and a service. Our pallet truck spare parts cover the usual wear items, and the price guide shows the from-price of every range on the site.

What to check before you buy an electric pallet jack

1. Your pallets. Measure them. Fork length of 1150 to 1220 mm suits a standard pallet entered from the end, and a shorter or longer fork is worth specifying before the order rather than after.
2. The tightest point of the route. Doorways, lift cars, the back of a trailer. A powered truck needs turning room, and the chassis width and turning radius are on the product page.
3. The floor. Smooth concrete suits standard polyurethane wheels. Broken yard surfaces, gullies and ramps need a wide base model.
4. Where it charges. A fixed socket near where the truck parks is enough for lead-acid. Lithium gives you top-up charges through the day wherever there is a socket.
5. Shift hours. Be honest about how many hours a day the truck will actually run, and buy the duty cycle to match. This is the number that decides which band you are in.
6. Maintenance and operators. Powered trucks are work equipment: they need maintenance and competent, trained operators under PUWER 1998. Build a daily pre-use check into the routine and keep a record of it.

Then ask for a written quote with the model, capacity, fork length, battery and quantity on it. Price, freight, VAT and lead time are confirmed there.