The choice of dock leveler must be suitable for your working conditions. In terms of applications, there are mainly 3 types of loading dock leveler, which are:
Manual Pit Leveler
Hydraulic dock leveler
Air powered dock leveler
Mechanical pit leveler is a simple type for your loading work. They are versatile and easy to operate. Pit levelers are cheap and cost-saving because they don’t need power supply and usually have a simple structure. You just need to do routine maintenance in order to keep up their performance. That’s the only cost.
Hydraulic dock levelers are powered by hydraulic pumps, thus they are perfect for high capacity loading work. Compared to manual pit levelers, hydraulic dock levelers empower themselves with hydraulic cylinders to raise and lower the deck. They are easier to operate for workers and more safe and productive when you have a busy warehouse or loading and distribution center. Hydraulic dock levelers are commonly more expensive than manual pit levelers but require less maintenance. Due to their high loading capacity and price, hydraulic levelers are the most popular type and have the most versatile application.
Air-Powered Dock Levelers, or air-dock levelers, use a pneumatic bag system as force to raise and lower deck replacing hydraulic pumps. Compared to hydraulic types, air bag systems are more environment friendly and require less maintenance work. But they also have a higher price.