Choosing a pallet stacker comes down to a short list of real questions: how much weight, how high, how much room to turn, and how the machine will be charged and serviced. Get those right and the rest of the decision is straightforward. Get one of them wrong — usually lift height or aisle clearance — and the machine you bought doesn't fit the job you bought it for.
This guide walks through that list in order, using the details that actually change a purchase decision rather than a generic feature overview.
Before you compare machines, know these four numbers about your own operation: your heaviest typical pallet weight, the height your highest storage position sits at, your narrowest working aisle, and how many hours a day the machine will actually run. Every other spec on a data sheet gets easier to evaluate once you have those four.
Table of Contents
- Start With the Load, Not the Machine
- Check Your Pallet Type First
- How High Does the Load Actually Need to Go?
- Fork and Straddle Width
- Aisle Width and Turning Space
- Measure the Mast, Not Just the Machine
- Battery Type and Charging Routine
- How Often Will It Actually Run?
- Full-Electric vs Semi-Electric
- Warranty Terms Are Worth Comparing
- What Happens When It Needs Service
- A Practical Buying Checklist
Start With the Load, Not the Machine
Most buyers start by browsing machines and comparing capacity numbers. It works better the other way around.
Write down your heaviest regular pallet weight, not your average one. A stacker rated for 3,300 lb is only rated for that at lower lift heights — capacity drops as the mast extends, because lifting weight higher changes the load centre and the machine's stability. A stacker that says "3,300 lb" on the spec sheet may only carry a fraction of that near its maximum height.
This is not a detail to skip. If your heaviest pallets need to go to your highest storage position, that combination — weight and height together — is the number that matters, not either one alone.
Check Your Pallet Type First
Before comparing lift heights or battery types, confirm the machine can actually pick up your pallets.
Standard 48×40 in open-bottom pallets work with most walk-behind stackers. Closed-bottom, block-style or custom pallets are a different question — the fork width, straddle leg spacing and entry clearance all have to match how that pallet is built.
If you run a mix of pallet types, check the adjustable range on both the forks and the straddle legs, not just the default setting. A stacker with a wide adjustment range can usually handle more of your existing pallet stock without buying a second machine.
How High Does the Load Actually Need to Go?
Measure your tallest storage position, not your average one. If even one rack level sits near the top of your ceiling clearance, that's the number that decides which machine you need — not the racking you use most often.
Capacity and lift height are not independent specs. A machine rated for 3,300 lb up to 98 in of lift might only be rated for around 1,500 lb at its full 138 in height. Always check the load chart at the specific height you need, not just the headline capacity number on the product page.
If you're not sure how load charts work or what a beginner operator needs to check before lifting, the Electric Pallet Stacker Beginner's Guide covers pre-use checks and capacity limits in more detail.
To put that in real terms: a Raelon CTD15R is rated for 3,300 lb up to 98 in of lift, but that capacity steps down to roughly 1,500 lb at its full 138 in height. If your heaviest regular pallet is 2,000 lb and it needs to go onto a storage position near that maximum height, this particular machine isn't rated for the job — that's exactly the kind of mismatch a load chart check catches before you buy, not after.
Fork and Straddle Width
Straddle-leg stackers position two legs on either side of the pallet before lifting. That means the straddle width has to clear your pallet and, in tighter layouts, the base of your racking too.
Check three numbers: the adjustable straddle leg range, the adjustable fork width, and the machine's overall width with the legs at their widest setting. A stacker that straddles a standard pallet with room to spare in an open aisle can still be too wide for a rack with a narrow base clearance.
If your pallets vary in width, look for a stacker with a wide adjustment range rather than one sized for a single pallet type. Re-adjusting straddle legs between loads is not a practical daily routine.
Aisle Width and Turning Space
A stacker that physically fits down your aisle is not the same as a stacker that can work in it.
The operator needs room to square up to the pallet before lifting, and room to withdraw the forks and turn away afterward. A published "minimum aisle width" figure usually covers turning with a loaded pallet at 90 degrees — check whether that matches how your team actually works the aisle, especially at the ends where racking meets a cross-aisle.
Measure your narrowest working aisle, not your widest one. One tight spot in the layout can rule out a machine that would otherwise fit the rest of the warehouse.
Measure the Mast, Not Just the Machine
Lift height gets most of the attention, but mast height — both lowered and fully raised — decides whether the machine fits through your doors and under your ceiling in the first place.
A stacker with 138 in of lift needs a mast that extends well above that height when fully raised. Before ordering, confirm two numbers against your building: the lowered mast height against your doorway and any overhead obstructions along the travel route, and the raised mast height against your ceiling clearance at the tallest storage position.
This is easy to overlook because it doesn't show up on a capacity chart. It shows up the day the machine arrives and doesn't fit through the receiving door.
Battery Type and Charging Routine
Two things matter here: how much daily runtime you actually need, and how much maintenance you're willing to do.
Sealed batteries — GEL or lithium — don't need watering or acid checks, which matters if the equipment doesn't have a dedicated maintenance routine built around it. Charge time and typical runtime vary by battery size and chemistry, so check both numbers against your actual shift length, not just a single-shift assumption.
If the machine runs across multiple shifts without a natural charging window, runtime and charge time become one of the more important numbers on the spec sheet — more important than most buyers initially expect.
How Often Will It Actually Run?
A stacker used for a few pallets a day and one running continuously across a full shift are different buying decisions, even if both need the same capacity and lift height.
Be honest about actual usage, not peak-day usage. A machine sized for occasional lifting that ends up running all day will wear faster and spend more time waiting to charge than doing the job. A machine sized for continuous use that only runs occasionally is a reasonable choice, but it's worth knowing you're paying for capability you won't use daily.
This is also where full-electric versus semi-electric becomes a real question rather than a spec-sheet comparison.
Full-Electric vs Semi-Electric
The difference is which parts of the job are powered.
A semi-electric stacker typically powers the lift but not the travel — the operator pushes or pulls the machine to move it, and the motor only handles raising and lowering the load. A full-electric stacker powers both travel and lift, so the operator steers and controls speed without manually moving the load across the floor.
Semi-electric machines tend to cost less and work reasonably well for lower-frequency lifting where the travel distances are short. Full-electric machines make more sense once travel distance, load weight or shift length starts adding up — powered travel matters more the more of the day it's used.
Raelon currently stocks a full-electric model, the CTD15R, so this section is here to help you evaluate the category honestly rather than to make the case for one specific machine.
Warranty Terms Are Worth Comparing
Warranty length is one of the first things buyers ask about, and for good reason — it's a reasonable proxy for how a manufacturer expects the equipment to hold up.
A 12-month warranty on both the equipment and the battery is generally close to the starting point for this category. What matters as much as the length is what's actually covered: core components like the drive motor, lift motor, hydraulic system and battery should be included, while wear items — wheels, fork surface condition, control buttons — are typically excluded across the industry, not just from one supplier.
Ask what triggers a claim, whether registration is required, and what the process looks like if something goes wrong. The answer to that last question matters more once the machine is out of the box.
What Happens When It Needs Service
This is the part most buyers don't think about until they need it.
Ask how a supplier handles a service issue before you own the machine, not after. At Raelon, that process starts with a call or email describing the problem, usually with photos or video. From there, the team diagnoses the issue and works out next steps: for customers near Richmond or Edmonton, that can mean bringing the unit in, with an on-site service call typically around $150. For customers outside BC or Alberta, Raelon helps identify a local repair shop and covers eligible repair costs directly.
Ask any supplier the same question before buying: what happens if this breaks down two provinces away from your warehouse next winter?
A Practical Buying Checklist
- What's your heaviest regular pallet weight, and what does the load chart allow at your required lift height?
- What pallet type and construction are you working with, and does the fork/straddle adjustment range cover it?
- What's the height of your tallest storage position?
- Does the mast — lowered and raised — clear your doorways and ceiling?
- What's your narrowest working aisle, measured at its tightest point?
- What's your actual daily runtime need, and does the battery and charge time match your shift pattern?
- Is the workload light and occasional, or continuous across a shift?
- What does the warranty actually cover, and for how long?
- What's the service process if something goes wrong, especially if you're outside the supplier's local service area?
None of these questions require comparing spec sheets side by side. They just require knowing your own warehouse well enough to answer them.
Once you know the specs that matter for your operation, the pallet stacker cost guide breaks down what that combination typically costs in Canada.
To see how these specs work in a real machine, browse Raelon's current electric stacker range, or contact the Raelon team with your pallet type, load weight and lift height and they can tell you directly whether a stacker fits your application.
