As standard all Pentalift mechanical, pneumatic and hydraulic dock levelers are provided with a 16” long hinged lip assembly.
A dock leveler equipped with a 16” long hinged lip used in conjunction with 4 1/2” thick dock bumpers provides adequate lip penetration onto the floor/bed of the truck during loading.
An optional 18” long lip assembly is very common and is recommended. The 18” long lip ensures that there is adequate lip penetration onto the floor/bed of the truck if the truck is in position and the back of the truck is not perfectly square to the face of the dock bumpers.
A 20” long hinged lip is often used on dock levelers that service refrigerated or freezer trailers. Refrigerated trailers use a ribbed sub floor that the coolant is pumped through; the ribbed sub floor is typically 2” high. A 20” long lip assembly projects far enough onto the truck bed that it rests safely on top of the ribbed trailer floor.
Longer hinged lips reduce the above level operating range of dock levelers. Special consideration should be given to applications where the truck bed is higher than the dock height.
Pentalift hydraulic dock levelers are also available with an optional 8” high Roll off Stop hinged lip assembly. The 8” high barrier prevents a lift truck from accidentally driving off the end of the closed dock leveler and falling approximately 4’ to grade level.