Battery van rolls out!
October 5, 2023
Welcome to our fall installment of Focus On! Today we're talking about a bit of a mouthful: the Toyota High-Capacity Core IC Pneumatic forklift.
Otherwise known as the Toyota 2THD this evolution on the original puts a lot of heavy metal to work for you. Perhaps one important note is that the Toyota 2THD is actually on the small end of the THD line, lifting "only" 22,000-30,000 lbs (10,000-13,600kg). The real monster is the THD12500-48, capable of lifting up to 125,000 lbs (56,800kg); but we're going to save that beast for another installment of Focus On.
We know that getting a truck like this in your corner is a weighty proposition, but we're here to help with each and every step of the process; from site visits through to final delivery of your shiny new heavy lifter.
Toyota 2THD
It doesn't look that special
This really is one of those situations where pictures don't quite do justice to how big this truck is, especially in the shiny marketing photos. Without someone or something else next to it, the Toyota High-Capacity Core IC Pneumatic forklift looks pretty much like any other forklift. Counterweight, driver's compartment, mast, forks, etc...
What the pictures don't tell you is that this truck is 11 feet (3.38m) tall, which means most people have to stand on a tall person's shoulders to reach the top of the overhead guard. The mast adds another 5.5 feet (1.7m) to that even when lowered, so there's a good reason that this truck has metal grip-steps built onto both sides of it. This also means that operators have a nice high vantage point when dealing with their surroundings, so they can actually be looking down onto the bed of a trailer they're unloading. This added height also means that while they aren't a rough-terrain forklift, the 2THD series has a respectable amount of ground clearance, keeping 9.5" (24cm) between itself and the ground even when carrying a full 30,000lbs (13610kg). You can afford a bit of a rough yard with these, but given the weights they're built to carry you probably want to keep the worst of the holes filled in pretty well.
So it's big. Wait, how big?
We'd mentioned that the 2THD is pretty big. There's a couple of specs to the right here that cover the bones of it. There isn't a lot of variation in the overall length, as this big beast doesn't come with a short model option like some other Toyota lift trucks do. Pair this overall 15ft (4.5m) length with however long your forks need to be puts this truck around the 20ft (6m) length pretty quick. Added to that is the fact that this truck is around 8ft (2.4m) wide means that that with around 120 sq.ft (11 sq.m) of area falling under its shadow, this lift truck is bigger than some small apartments (and could probably lift them to boot).
All of this size needs some serious power behind it. This is provided by a Cummins 4.5L Tier 4 Final 4 cylinder diesel engine along with a Dana electronically controlled powershift transmission. Making sure to keep it from becoming a smoke belching monster, Toyota has opted to equip it with a self regenerating DPF system to enhance the life of your Diesel Particle Filter. By using small amounts of fuel injected into the engine system this kind of filter essentially bakes itself clean (ever used your oven's self cleaning function?) on an ongoing basis to increase its useable life. Along side the Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system where DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid) is used to further reduce emissions, this engine is as clean as modern technology can make a diesel powered machine.
2THD Specs
Cabin Tilt function
Keeping it easy, in every way
We keep talking about how the 2THD is a big truck. It has to be in order to withstand the kind of abuse a truck with this capacity is going to go through in its working life.
Something that Toyota is great at is looking at how things will actually get used and making it as painless as possible to keep that way. In the case of the 2THD it means that big comfy cabin is sitting on top of the guts of the machine. Making sure that technicians can still access these components was a major design consideration, and Toyota stepped up by making sure that the entire cabin can be tilted aside. Either manually (the default with a hand-pump) or powered (an optional upgrade, with the manual handpump as a backup) the entire assembly can be moved out of the way so technicians can access the engine and transmission bay. Your tech will love you for the powered option, which can tilt the cabin out of the way in about 30 seconds, but the big draw for most operations is one of time. The less time someone needs to spend working a pump to move that cabin, the less time your machine will be down for maintenance.
Speaking of the cabin: it's well outfitted even in the base model.
- A telescopic and tilting steer column paired with fingertip hydraulic controls means your operator can keep the machine comfortably under control at all times, and fully hydraulic power steering means operator fatigue can be greatly reduced.
- Do you work in a hot environment? Air conditioning is standard. Up here in the Great White North? Heating and defrost are stock too.
- Working in a dusty yard? Front and rear wipers are stock, as is a top wiper because actually seeing your load is an important complement to Toyota's Wide Visible masts for operator sight lines.
- Do you use extra electronics like scan systems, dispatch/yard radio, etc.? An auxiliary 12V power supply is stock, as are multiple USB charge ports.
- Front and rear reflectors, front and rear work lights, and indicator lights are standard as well.
- AM/FM/MP3 radio comes installed from the factory to provide your operators some solid work music, or if you have a broadcast system can keep them tuned to the company frequency.
As always there are options available direct from the Toyota factory floor. Some are upgrades (like moving to an Air Ride suspension seat), some are situational (like opting for an open cab) and some are strictly downgrades (like the Value cabin option that skips a lot of the creature comfort items).
What about the business end?
We're talking about a forklift after all, so what is the front end of the 2THD like? In a word: beefy.
For the lift structure there is only the Wide Visible "V" style of masts as an option. There are seven different masts available however, ranging from lift heights of 138in (3505mm) to 244in (6198mm), which means there's around an 8ft (2.5m) difference between the shortest and tallest masts. Because there isn't any free-lift on this style of mast, it also means that the highest lift mast is 15.5ft (4.7m) tall even when your forks are touching the ground.
Forks can also have a big impact on what this truck can do for you. The advertised lift capacities are all with 24in (610mm) load centers, so that 22000-30000lb (9979-13610kg) lift capacity is only if you're using the stock, pin-mounted forks. Going longer is of course possible, with the spec sheet listing capacities all the way out to a 48in (1220mm) load center. You are losing almost 40% of your lift capacity with forks that long, but if you've got long loads in the 19000lb (8618kg) range, this may be just right for you anyway.
Going together with the mast are a few options that can make your life a little simpler. Lift and Tilt accumulators can get some of the shock out of handling those big loads, protecting both your lift truck and the load. There's also several options for fork positioners, side-shifting fork positioners, a plain side-shifter, and load backrest heights. If Toyota doesn't supply it from the factory, the odds are good you'll be able to get something to fit your needs from Cascade (most of the attachments from factory are actually Cascade attachments in any case).
2THD Profile
Just beneath all the heavy metal of the lift structure is the equally important drive train for 2THD. Force-cooled wet disc brakes are an industry leader for dependability and performance in these heavy-duty applications, and with spring-applied hydraulic release parking brakes means that even in the event of a total loss of power, your forklift will bring itself to a halt. A heavy-duty planetary drive axle will stand up to rough yard/off-road use (so long as the ground will support the weight anyway), and all these components are kept nice and cool by a high-capacity, open core radiator and a two stage, heavy-duty air cleaner helps keep your engine from sucking anything too nasty into itself.
Because the 2THD is so large there are a few things that are built in that are made to help keep technicians happy. Hoods, panels and doors are all made to be easily lifted, filters are located where they can be easily reached (if you look at the right side of the truck you can actually see one mounted just below the exhaust stack), and perhaps most handy of all is a remote oil drain. Nobody wants to slither around under a machine that big if they can avoid it, so little touches like this combine to keep things easier to handle and faster to do.
2THD front view
Little things have and outsized impact
Because this is a Toyota forklift there are plenty of options to pick from. Some of these are strictly a comfort matter like being able to provide your operator(s) with an Air Ride suspension seat. Some of these options are a little more use specific; we've already mentioned things like side-shifters and fork positioners, but there are others that are just as practical:
- Speed limiting features can selectively reign in your truck to keep speeds at a safer limit for your operations. This includes different speeds for loaded and unloaded operations.
- Engine block and pad heaters. Because we work in the Canadian Prairies, this is a little more important than for someone running these forklifts in more southern climates.
- Related to these are jumpstart receptacles in both a stud format, and a NATO standard hookup. If you're used to having to boost your forklift fleet because they sit overnight in a howling wind at -40, it would be a smart choice to outfit the truck from the factory to accommodate this.
- Indicators: Front, rear, or both camera systems help your operator better situate themselves and their loads. Overload warnings, onboard load weighing, rear object detection radar, shock sensor and logging, and tire pressure monitoring systems all give your operator a better a better all around situational awareness.
- Official language support: it is possible to have the 2THD function in French! Probably the most useful in Quebec, but we here in Winnipeg have St. Boniface as our French language center so if your operators would prefer it you can actually have the truck setup en Français.
- So. Many. Lights! Especially here in the long, dark winters, extra lights can really make the difference between safe and unsafe if your operations start before 8am and go much past 4pm. Extra rear LED work lights, extra mast mounted front LED work lights, extra fender mounted LED worklights, and blue front and/or back facing spot lights can all be mounted to make sure your operator can see what they're doing.
- Alarms can be mounted to make sure nobody misses your 2THD forklift. As upgrades to the existing electrical horn, you can have either a 110dB 24V horn mounted, or if your yard is really noisy you can go all the way to a 24V 118dB trumpet style horn (because who doesn't love a good fog horn?). Smart (volume adaptive) backup and travel alarms are also an option in case there are some truly oblivious people around who don't notice a huge forklift sneaking up on them.
- Paint: Do you have a very strong sense of branding and want your 2THD to match the rest of your company colours? You can get it painted to match!
That's all we have to say about the 2THD for today. Kind of an info-dump we know, but as always we're here to try and take the load off. If you have any questions or comments you can Get In Contact with us for more details.
Keep your eyes peeled for our next installment of Focus On, where we're going to talk about Toyota's new SEnS+ Smart Environment Sensor Plus system. We've brought one in for our rental/demo fleet and are looking forward to running it through its paces so we can give you the real world scoop on this exciting new technology. For a bit of a sneak peek you can check out what Toyota says about it.