BRITISH STANDARD BS ISO

509:1996

Implementation of
ISO 509:1996

Pallet trucks —
Principal dimensions

ICS 53.060
BS ISO 509:1996

Committees responsible for this

British Standard

The preparation of this British Standard was entrusted to Technical

Committee MHE/7, Industrial trucks, upon which the following bodies were
represented:

Automated Material Handling Systems Association

British Gas plc
British Industrial Truck Association
Castor Manufacturers (UK) Association
Department of Trade and Industry (Engineering Markets Division)
Federation of Manufacturers of Construction Equipment and Cranes
Food and Drink Federation
Health and Safety Executive
Ministry of Defence
Ports’ Safety Organisation

This British Standard having

been prepared under the
direction of the Engineering
Sector Board, was published
under the authority of the
Standards Board and comes
into effect on
15 July 1996 Amendments issued since publication

© BSI 11-1999 Amd. No. Date Comments

The following BSI references

relate to the work on this
standard;
Committee reference MHE/7
Draft for comment 94/702366 DC

ISBN 0 580 26126 3

 BS ISO 509:1996

Contents

Page
Committees responsible Inside front cover
National foreword ii
Foreword iii
Text of ISO 509 1

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© BSI 11-1999 i
BS ISO 509:1996

National foreword

This British Standard reproduces verbatim ISO 509:1996 and implements it as

the UK national standard. It supersedes BS 4155:1967 which is withdrawn.
This British Standard is published under the direction of the Engineering Sector
Board whose Technical Committee MHE/7 has the responsibility to:
— aid enquirers to understand the text;
— present to the responsible international committee any enquiries on
interpretation, or proposals for change, and keep UK interests informed;
— monitor related international and European developments and promulgate
them in the UK.
NOTE International and European Standards, as well as overseas standards, are available from
Customer Services, BSI, 389 Chiswick High Road, London W4 4AL.
A British Standard does not purport to include all the necessary provisions of a
contract. Users of British Standards are responsible for their correct application.
Compliance with a British Standard does not of itself confer immunity
from legal obligations.

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Summary of pages
This document comprises a front cover, an inside front cover, pages i and ii,
the ISO title page, pages ii to iv, pages 1 to 3 and a back cover.
This standard has been updated (see copyright date) and may have had
amendments incorporated. This will be indicated in the amendment table on the
inside front cover.

ii © BSI 11-1999
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BS ISO 509:1996

Contents
Page
Foreword iii
1 Scope 1
2 Normative reference 1
3 Truck dimensions 1
Figure 1 — Truck dimensions 1
Figure 2 — Details of ground clearance and pallet dimensions 2
Figure 3 — Minimum clearance between trail wheels and pallet opening 3
Table 1 2

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ii © BSI 11-1999
 BS ISO 509:1996

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide
federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of
preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO technical
committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that
committee. International organizations, governmental and non-governmental,
in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
Draft International Standards adopted by the technical committees are
circulated to the member bodies for voting. Publication as an International
Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the member bodies casting a vote.
International Standard ISO 509 was prepared by Technical Committee
ISO/TC 110, Industrial trucks, Subcommittee SC 2, Safety of powered industrial
trucks.
It cancels and replaces, the Recommendation ISO/R 509:1966, of which it
constitutes a technical revision.

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© BSI 11-1999 iii

 ｗｗｗ．ｂｚｆｘｗ．ｃｏｍ

iv blank

1 Scope
This International Standard specifies the principal
dimensions for pallet trucks for transporting flat
pallets complying generally with ISO 6780 and their
loads.
The dimensions apply to the heights, widths and
lengths of the fork arms of pallet trucks which may
have either single or tandem trail wheels.
It should not be inferred that the use of a particular
size of pallet truck is restricted to one particular size
of pallet.
NOTE 1 The pallet dimensions shown in Figure 2 are
informative only and are given in anticipation of an amendment
to ISO 6780 of the entry dimensions of full perimeter base pallets
as defined in ISO 445. The amendment is intended to bring
ISO 6780 into line with existing practice.
2 Normative reference
The following standard contains provisions which,
through reference in this text, constitute provisions
of this International Standard. At the time of
publication, the edition indicated was valid. All
standards are subject to revision, and parties to
agreements based on this International Standard
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are encouraged to investigate the possibility of
applying the most recent edition of the standard
indicated below. Members of IEC and ISO maintain
registers of currently valid International Standards.
NOTE Figure 1 illustrates a pallet truck with tandem trail wheels, as this type of truck has the greatest overall dimensions over
the wheels.
Figure 1 — Truck dimensions
© BSI 11-1999
BS ISO 509:1996
ISO 6780:1988, General-purpose flat pallets for
through transit of goods — Principal dimensions
and tolerances.
3 Truck dimensions
3.1 Fork arm heights
3.1.1 In the unloaded condition and in the lowered
position the fork arm height dimensions of pallet
trucks shall be as follows:
a) the distance between the underside of the fork
arms and the ground, F (see Figure 1 and
Figure 2), shall be a minimum of 30 mm;
b) the height of the fork arms from the ground at
the point of entry, G1 (see Figure 1), shall be a
maximum of 86 mm;
c) the height of the fork arms from the ground at
the heel of the truck, G2 (see Figure 1), shall be a
maximum of 90 mm.
3.1.2 In the unloaded condition and the raised
position, the fork arm height dimension of pallet
trucks shall be such that the height of the top
surface of the fork arms from the ground, H
(see Figure 1), shall be a minimum of 185 mm.
3.2 Fork arm widths
3.2.1 Distance between fork arms
For pallet trucks, the distance between fork arms, E
(see Figure 1), shall be a minimum of 180 mm.
1
BS ISO 509:1996
Figure 2 — Details of ground clearance and pallet dimensions
3.2.2 Overall width over fork arms
The overall width over fork arms, D (see Figure 1),
in relation to the corresponding dimensions of
pallets in accordance with ISO 6780 shall be as
follows.
a) D shall not exceed 570 mm for trucks
corresponding to pallets having a minimum entry
width of 590 mm (pallets 800 mm wide).
b) D shall not exceed 690 mm for trucks used in
conjunction with pallets having a minimum entry
width of 720 mm (pallets 1 000 mm or more
wide).
3.3 Fork arm lengths
NOTE 2 Dimensions A, B and C are related to the dimensions
of the pallet and the minimum openings in the bottom deck,
which are symmetrically disposed about the axes of the pallet.
See ISO 6780.
The overall length of fork arms, A (see Figure 1),
shall not exceed the value in Table 1 corresponding
to the appropriate nominal value of l or w as defined
in ISO 6780.
2 © BSI 11-1999
3.4 Wheel position
Dimension B is the shortest possible distance
between the heel of the truck and the nearest point
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of the trail wheel closest to the heel. Dimension C is
the largest possible distance between the heel of the
truck and the furthest point of the trail wheel
furthest from the heel (see Figure 1). Dimensions B
and C control the positioning of the trail wheels
relative to the heel of the truck during lifting. The
values of dimensions B and C shall be such that,
when the wheels pass through the minimum size of
openings in the bottom deck of the pallet, a
minimum clearance J of 6 mm is maintained
between the components of the truck and the edges
of the deck members forming the opening in the
bottom deck of the pallet (see Figure 3).
When the truck is operated so that the distance
between the underside of the fork arms and the
ground is 34 mm or greater, the clearance J should
also be maintained at the upper side of the bottom
deck.
Table 1
Dimensions in millimetres
Nominal dimension of pallet Fork arm length
(l or w) (A)
max.
800 780
1 000 980
1 140 1 120
1 200 1 180
 BS ISO 509:1996

Figure 3 — Minimum clearance between trail wheels and pallet opening

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© BSI 11-1999 3
BS ISO
509:1996
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