: Why are forklifts mechanized in a way that only the rear end of the tires turn left/right? Why not the front end, like every other car or bus?

Question

: Why are forklifts mechanized in a way that only the rear end of the tires turn left/right? Why not the front end, like every other car or bus?

In: Engineering

Answer 1

If you’ve ever tried to reverse round a corner, you’ll notice that rear wheel steering allows for much smaller turning circle as you’re swinging out the rear (front in the example). Now if you’ve tried doing this at speed, out of a parking space for instance you’ll be pretty aware of the heavy gforce you get, which is why we use front wheel for cars generally, as it provides a less dangerous level of turning at speed.