A telehandler or a telescopic handler is a machine that is popular in the construction and agriculture industries. These machines are similar in function and appearance to a forklift or a lift truck but are actually more like a crane rather than a forklift. The telehandler provides increased versatility of a single telescopic boom which can extend upwards and forwards from the vehicle. The operator can connect lots of attachments on the boom's end. Several of the most common attachments consist of: a muck grab, a bucket, a lift table or pallet forks.
A telehandler usually uses pallet forks as their most popular attachment to be able to transport loads through areas that are usually not reachable for a conventional forklift. For example, telehandlers can move loads to and from places that are not usually accessible by conventional forklift models. These devices could also remove palletized cargo from within a trailer and position these loads in high areas, such as on rooftops for example. Before, this abovementioned situation will require a crane. Cranes could be pricey to use and not always a time-efficient or practical alternative.
Another advantage is also the telehandlers biggest drawback: since the boom extends or raises when the equipment is bearing a load, it also acts as a lever and causes the vehicle to become quite unstable, despite the counterweights on the back. This translates to the lifting capacity decreasing quickly as the working radius increases. The working radius is the distance between the center of the load and the front of the wheels.
For example, a vehicle that has a 5000 pound capacity with the boom retracted may be able to safely lift just as heavy as 400 pounds once it is completely extended with a low boom angle. The same unit with a 5000 pound lift capacity that has the boom retracted may be able to easily support as much as 10,000 pounds with the boom raised up to 70.
The Matbro Company in Horley, Surrey, England first pioneered telehandlers. These equipment were developed from their articulated cross country forestry forklifts. At first, they had a centrally mounted boom design on the front section. This positioned the cab of the driver on the equipment's back portion, as in the Teleram 40 model. The rigid chassis design with a rear mounted boom and the cab situated on the side has since become more popular.