How to Choose a Truck-Mounted Forklift: Capacity, Lift Height, Reach and Transport Weight
Risenmega builds three different ways to put lifting capability on a delivery vehicle. This guide compares them spec by spec — capacity, lift height, footprint and the machine's own transport weight — so you can match the right one to your truck before you request a quote.
Why "Capacity" Alone Is the Wrong Way to Shop
Most buyers start a search for a truck-mounted forklift the same way they'd shop for a warehouse stacker: by rated load. That works fine for a machine that lives in one building. It falls apart the moment the machine also has to ride on the vehicle, because now three other numbers matter just as much as capacity:
- Lift height — how high the forks or platform need to reach to actually do the job at the delivery point, not just clear the truck bed.
- Reach and footprint — whether the machine's overall length, fork spread and turning space actually fit inside your cargo box and dock area alongside the load it's meant to move.
- Transport weight — the machine's own net weight, which comes straight out of your vehicle's remaining payload and must sit inside your tail-lift's rated capacity, in addition to whatever it's carrying.
Get the first three right and skip the fourth, and you can end up with a stacker that lifts exactly what you need — but that your van can no longer legally carry once it's loaded. This guide walks through Risenmega's three truck-ready options against all four numbers, then gives you a simple way to pick between them.
Quick Comparison: All Three Truck-Ready Options
Every model below powers its lift electrically off a sealed 48V battery, so nobody is hand-cranking a load at the end of a long delivery run. Where they differ is how they travel, how high they reach, and how much of your vehicle's payload they use up before you've loaded a single pallet.
| Spec | Semi-Electric Mobile Fork Stacker | Full-Electric Walkie Pallet Stacker | Electric Trolley (Lift Table) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travel | Manual push, walk-behind | Full electric drive — walk-behind, no pushing | Manual push, walk-behind |
| Lift power | 48V electric lift, digital remote | 48V electric lift | 48V electric lift |
| Rated capacity | 700 kg (1,000 kg max) | 700 / 1,000 / 1,500 kg | 300 kg or 500 kg |
| Lift height | 1.3–2.0 m (4 options) | 0.8–1.6 m (8 options) | 0.9 m or 1.1 m |
| Load type | Palletized loads, adjustable forks | Palletized loads, adjustable forks | Flat-bottom loads, drums, crates, platform items |
| Net transport weight | 202–218 kg | 299–425 kg | 95–107 kg |
| Battery | 48V / 12Ah | 48V / 25Ah | 48V / 20Ah |
| Best suited for | Tallest reach at the lowest transport weight | Heaviest loads, hands-free travel on long runs | Lightest overall, smallest cargo footprint |
Semi-Electric Mobile Fork Stacker
This is the configuration to reach for when the truck's payload budget is tight but the job still needs real lift height. Travel is manual — the operator walks it, the same way a pallet stacker is always walked — while a 700W, 48V lift motor does the heavy work under a handheld digital remote controller. That single trade-off, electric lift without electric drive, is what keeps the net weight down to 202–218 kg across a lift range that goes higher than any other option in this guide: a full 2.0 m.
Four Lift-Height Configurations
| Model | Lift Height | Overall Height | Net Weight | Gross Weight | Wooden Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1300 Series | 1,300 mm | 1,800 mm | 202 kg | 234 kg | 1970×1070×450 mm |
| 1600 Series | 1,600 mm | 2,100 mm | 210 kg | 248 kg | 2270×1070×450 mm |
| 1800 Series | 1,800 mm | 2,300 mm | 214 kg | 255 kg | 2470×1070×450 mm |
| 2000 Series | 2,000 mm | 2,500 mm | 218 kg | 263 kg | 2670×1070×450 mm |
All four share the same rated load (700 kg, 1,000 kg maximum), the same 700W/48V/12Ah lift system, and the same 18-MOSFET controller. Body color, working voltage, plug type and warning-label language are all customizable per order.
Best for: light delivery vans and box trucks with a limited payload margin, jobs that need to reach onto a second-tier shelf or a stacked pallet up to 2 m, and operations that don't need the machine to drive itself — just lift on command.
Full-Electric Walkie Pallet Stacker — CDD Series
Where the mobile fork stacker above trades electric drive for a lighter chassis, the CDD Series keeps both. A 48V brushless motor handles travel and a second 48V brushless motor handles lift, so the operator steers rather than pushes — even on the twentieth stop of a delivery run. That extra motor adds weight (299–425 kg net, depending on capacity and height), which is the honest cost of not pushing the load by hand all shift.
| Model | Rated Load | Lift Height | Net Weight (incl. battery) | Lift Motor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CDD07B | 700 kg | 800–1,600 mm | 299–333 kg | 0.8 kW |
| CDD10E | 1,000 kg | 800–1,600 mm | 342–377 kg | 1.6 kW |
| CDD15E | 1,500 kg | 800–1,600 mm | 390–425 kg | 2.0 kW |
CE certified, with the same chrome-plated outriggers and anti-roll-out middle wheel used across the CDD Series, both purpose-built for the moment the stacker rolls on or off a delivery ramp. Eight standard fork-height options sit inside the 800–1,600 mm range shown above.
Best for: the heaviest palletized loads in this guide (up to 1,500 kg), multi-stop delivery routes where operator fatigue from pushing a load adds up, and fleets that would rather carry 100–200 kg more machine weight than ask a driver to hand-push a loaded stacker all day.
Electric Trolley 500kg Heavy Duty
Not every truck-mounted load sits on a pallet. Drums, crates, appliances, machine bases and anything else without a fork pocket call for a flat lifting platform instead of forks — which is exactly what this electric trolley is. Built from Q345 high-strength manganese steel and rated for one million-plus lift cycles, it's the lightest machine in this guide by a wide margin, at just 95–107 kg net.
| Model | Load | Lift Height | Motor | Weight | Platform Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RMETM300 | 300 kg | 900 mm | 300 W | 95 kg | 1000×700 mm |
| RMETM500 | 500 kg | 900 mm | 800 W | 100 kg | 1000×700 mm |
| RMETD300 | 300 kg | 1,100 mm | 300 W | 102 kg | 1200×700 mm |
| RMETD500 | 500 kg | 1,100 mm | 800 W | 107 kg | 1200×700 mm |
Best for: vehicles where every kilogram of payload counts, cargo boxes too shallow or narrow for a fork stacker's turning space, and loads — drums, appliances, unpalletized crates — that a fork stacker can't pick up in the first place.
Built for Loading and Unloading, Not Just Lifting
A machine that only lifts well inside a warehouse isn't automatically ready to live on a truck. Every option above carries a set of details aimed specifically at the few minutes when the equipment itself is being loaded or unloaded — usually the riskiest part of its whole working day:
- Anti-slip-out / anti-roll-out middle wheel on both fork stackers keeps the chassis from sliding out on a ramp or tail lift mid-transition.
- Chrome-plated outrigger legs resist the corrosion and abrasion that come from being dragged across truck-bed edges and dock plates day after day.
- Digital remote control on the mobile fork stacker lets the operator lift or lower from a safe distance instead of standing directly under a raised load.
- Knock-down, foldable frames across the range mean the machines themselves ship flat and take up less container space than a fixed-frame stacker of the same capacity.
- Low net weight relative to capacity — every model here moves 5–7× its own weight in rated load, so it earns its place on the truck without eating the payload it's meant to help you deliver.
How to Choose in Four Steps
-
Check your vehicle's payload and tail-lift rating first
Before comparing forklifts, subtract your typical cargo weight from your van or truck's rated payload — that remainder is the real budget for the machine's transport weight, not the other way around. If you use a tail lift, confirm its rated capacity too; a 300 kg trolley and a 425 kg stacker are not interchangeable on a 350 kg tail lift.
-
Match lift height to the actual job, not the tallest option available
If every delivery is ground-level pallets or curbside platforms, the trolley's 0.9–1.1 m or the stacker's lower height settings are plenty. Reserve the 1.8–2.0 m range on the mobile fork stacker for jobs that genuinely need to clear a second shelf tier or a stacked load.
-
Confirm rated capacity versus the occasional heavy load
Buy for your typical load, not your heaviest one-off. Running a 500 kg trolley at its rated limit every day is safer and cheaper than running a 1,500 kg stacker at 30% of its capacity for the same job.
-
Check reach and footprint against your cargo box and dock
Measure the mobile fork stacker's 1,480 × 820 mm base or the CDD Series' turning space against your actual cargo box width, and confirm the trolley's platform size matches the loads you're moving. A machine that lifts the right weight to the right height still fails if it can't turn around where you need it to.
Truck-Mounted Forklift FAQ
What is a truck-mounted forklift?
It's a compact, lightweight stacker or lift trolley designed to ride on a delivery vehicle rather than stay in one warehouse. It's light enough to travel inside the cargo box, self-loads and self-unloads with the operator's help, and works at the delivery point where a full-size forklift or loading dock usually isn't available.
What's the difference between the semi-electric and full-electric stacker?
The semi-electric mobile fork stacker is walked by hand and only powers the lift, keeping net weight down to 202–218 kg with a taller 2.0 m maximum reach. The full-electric CDD Series adds a second motor that powers travel as well, so the operator steers instead of pushes — at the cost of 100–200 kg more transport weight.
Why does the machine's own transport weight matter so much?
Every kilogram the machine weighs comes out of your vehicle's remaining payload and counts against your tail lift's rated capacity, in addition to the load it's carrying. A stacker that lifts the right weight can still leave you overloaded once its own weight and the pallet's weight are added together.
Can these machines self-load onto a delivery truck?
Yes. Both fork stackers include an anti-slip-out or anti-roll-out middle wheel and chrome-plated outrigger legs specifically for driving on and off a compatible ramp or tail lift, and the electric trolley's light weight and folding frame make it easy for one person to load by hand.
Are these products CE certified?
Risenmega's CDD Series full-electric walkie pallet stacker is CE certified with documentation ready for EU customs clearance. Ask your sales contact for current certification status on the semi-electric mobile fork stacker and the electric trolley for your specific configuration.
Which option is best for drums, crates or unpalletized loads?
The electric trolley. Its flat 1000×700 mm or 1200×700 mm lift platform doesn't need fork pockets on the load, unlike the two fork stackers, which are built for standard palletized goods.
Tell Us Your Vehicle and Load — We'll Confirm the Fit
Send us your truck's payload margin, typical load weight and the lift height you actually need. We'll tell you which of the three — or which configuration of each — fits, and confirm pricing and lead time before you order.
