Abstract: A lifting vehicle has a lifting device movably mounted on a mast. Raising and lowering of the lifting device is controlled by a lift cylinder. A load monitor including a strain gauge is mounted on a bridge that is secured at each end to locations that are either on the chassis or on the mast. An indicator in communication with the load monitor can signal an output to an operator of the vehicle. As the strain gauge is secured to a load-stressed part of the vehicle, the load monitor is able to measure the stress being imposed on the vehicle. However, as the locations to which the ends of the bridge are secured are static with respect to one another, the readings are not distorted by torsional and shear forces. This enables the weight of a load and also the stability of the vehicle as a whole to be judged.

Abstract: A lifting vehicle has a lifting device movably mounted on a mast. Raising and lowering of the lifting device is controlled by a lift cylinder. A load monitor including a strain gauge is mounted on a bridge that is secured at each end to locations that are either on the chassis or on the mast. An indicator in communication with the load monitor can signal an output to an operator of the vehicle. As the strain gauge is secured to a load-stressed part of the vehicle, the load monitor is able to measure the stress being imposed on the vehicle. However, as the locations to which the ends of the bridge are secured are static with respect to one another, the readings are not distorted by torsional and shear forces. This enables the weight of a load and also the stability of the vehicle as a whole to be judged.