public class ForkliftViewModel
{
    public Forklift Forklift { get; set; }
    public Manufacturer Manufacturer { get; set; }
    public HashSet<Manufacturer> ManufacturerList = Manufacturer.GetForkliftManufacturers();
    public IEnumerable<SelectListItem> ManufacturerSelectList { get; set; }
}

public ActionResult Edit(int id)
{
    ForkliftViewModel FVM = new ForkliftViewModel();

    FVM.Forklift = Forklift.GetForkliftByID(id);

    FVM.ManufacturerSelectList = new SelectList(FVM.ManufacturerList, "ManufacturerID", "Name");

    return View(FVM);
}

@model MyApp.Models.ViewModels.ForkliftViewModel

...

@Html.LabelFor(model => model.Forklift.ManufacturerID, htmlAttributes: new { @class = "control-label col-md-2" })

<div class="col-md-12">
    @Html.DropDownListFor(model => model.Forklift.ManufacturerID, Model.ManufacturerSelectList, "-- Select Manufacturer --", new { @class = "form-control" })
    @Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.Forklift.ManufacturerID, "", new { @class = "text-danger" })
</div>

@Html.DropDownListFor(model => model.Forklift.ManufacturerID, new SelectList(Model.ManufacturerList, "ManufacturerID", "Name"), "-- Select Manufacturer --", new { @class = "form-control" })

public class Manufacturer
{
    public int ManufacturerID { get; set; }
    public string Name { get; set; }

    ...

}