Rough Terrain (Masted) Counterbalance training in Nottingham
A counterbalance forklift built for mud, gravel and gradients, with big tyres, high ground clearance and a conventional mast.
Photo: US Navy 100829-N-5969B-004 Lance Cpl. Alex Aikens uses a forklift to move a pallet of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief supplies bound for Pakistan.jpg by U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Foster Bamford, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
About rough terrain forklifts
A rough-terrain forklift is what you use when the yard is not concrete. It is a masted counterbalance truck with large lugged tyres, high ground clearance, a powerful diesel engine and often four-wheel drive, built to carry pallets across the kind of ground that would stop a standard truck. Manitou, JCB and Agrimac are the names seen most around the merchants' yards, farms and construction sites of Nottinghamshire.
The mast makes it a forklift rather than a telehandler, so the training is closer to a counterbalance course, but the environment is harder. Gradients, soft ground, ruts and loads that have to be carried across a site rather than along a smooth aisle all affect stability, and the course spends time on travelling technique, mast tilt on slopes, and judging ground before driving onto it.
Rough-terrain trucks work outdoors in all weathers, often alongside site traffic and pedestrians who are not used to forklifts. Site rules, segregation and the limits of what the truck should be asked to do are part of the syllabus along with the practical driving.
What the course covers
- Pre-use checks including tyres, four-wheel drive and mast
- Stability on gradients and uneven ground
- Travelling with loads across site, up and down slopes
- Stacking in open yards and on vehicles
- Working around site traffic and pedestrians
- Refuelling, parking and shutdown on uneven ground
On site, on your truck, anywhere in Nottinghamshire
We bring an accredited instructor to your premises in Nottingham or any town in Nottinghamshire. You provide the truck and a safe working area; we provide the theory material, test papers and the HSE-recognised certificate. Novice Forklift Training, Semi-Experienced Forklift Training, Refresher Forklift Training, Conversion Forklift Training are all available for this truck.
Other truck categories
Counterbalance Forklift, Reach Truck, Double Deep Reach Truck, 4-Way (Multi-Directional) Reach Truck, VNA Truck (Man-Up and Man-Down), Bendi and Flexi (Articulated) Forklift, Pivot Steer Truck, Powered Pallet Truck, Pedestrian Stacker Truck, Telehandler (Telescopic Handler), Order Picker (Low, Medium and High Level), Side Loader.
Rough Terrain (Masted) Counterbalance training questions
Is a counterbalance certificate valid for a rough-terrain truck?
No. Rough terrain is a separate category, but a counterbalance operator can usually convert in a day because the controls and principles are similar.
Do you train telehandlers on the same course?
No. Telehandlers have a telescopic boom and their own certificate. See our telehandler page; we can run both on the same visit if you have both machines.
Need forklift operators trained in Nottinghamshire?