A counterbalance truck rated at 3,000 kg carries 3,000 kg at a load centre of 500 mm, with a standard mast, at standard lift height. Change any of those three and the real capacity drops — sometimes by a third. This is the single most common cause of a machine that arrives and cannot do the job.
What load centre actually means
Load centre is the horizontal distance from the vertical face of the fork to the centre of gravity of the load. A standard 1,200 mm pallet loaded evenly to its full depth sits at roughly 600 mm, not 500 mm. That alone removes capacity before you have lifted anything.
| Load centre | Typical cause | Capacity left on a nominal 3.0 t truck |
|---|---|---|
| 500 mm | Standard test condition | 3,000 kg |
| 600 mm | 1,200 mm pallet loaded to full depth | 2,700–2,800 kg |
| 700 mm | Oversized pallet, or load stacked toward the tips | 2,400–2,500 kg |
| 900 mm | Long timber, pipe, or a double-deep attachment | 1,800–2,000 kg |
| 1,200 mm | Fork extension or a clamp handling a wide bale | 1,200–1,400 kg |
Lift height moves the number too
Above roughly 3,000 mm, residual capacity falls because the mast itself becomes part of the load the counterweight has to balance. A truck that lifts 3,000 kg to 3 m may lift only 2,200 kg to 6 m. Warehouses with high-bay racking routinely discover this after the truck is delivered.
Attachments are the biggest hidden deduction
A side shifter moves the load forward by its own thickness. A fork positioner adds more. A clamp or a rotator adds both weight and distance. Each one comes with a published capacity deduction — typically 10–25% — and the deductions stack.
The three questions that settle it
- How deep is the load, and where does its centre of gravity sit? Not the pallet size — the load.
- To what height does it actually go, measured to the underside of the load?
- What is fitted between the carriage and the load — shifter, positioner, clamp, extension?
Answer those three and the model follows. Skip them and the only thing that follows is a return shipment. If you send us those three numbers with the load weight, we will reply with the model and the residual capacity at your actual centre, in writing.