A telehandler or a telescopic handler is a machine which is well-known in the construction and agriculture industries. These machinery are similar in function and appearance to a forklift or a lift truck but are really more like a crane instead of a forklift. The telehandler offers increased versatility of a single telescopic boom that could extend forwards and upwards from the vehicle. The operator has the ability to attach numerous attachments on the end of the boom. Some of the most popular attachments consist of: a bucket, a muck grab, pallet forks or a lift table.
A telehandler typically utilizes pallet forks as their most common attachment to be able to move loads through areas that are normally not reachable for a conventional forklift. Like for example, telehandlers are able to transport loads to and from places which are not typically reachable by conventional forklift units. These devices can also remove palletized loads from within a trailer and position these loads in high places, like on rooftops for example. Previously, this aforementioned situation would require a crane. Cranes can be very pricey to use and not always a practical or time-efficient choice.
One more advantage is also the telehandlers biggest limitation: as the boom extends or raises when the machine is bearing a load, it also acts as a lever and causes the vehicle to become somewhat unbalanced, even with the rear counterweights. This translates to the lifting capacity decreasing fast as the working radius increases. The working radius is the distance between the front of the wheels and the center of the load.
Once it is completely extended with a low boom angle for instance, the telehandler would only have a 400 pound weight capacity, whilst a retracted boom can support weights as much as 5000 lb. 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 lb. with the boom raised up to 70.
England originally pioneered the telehandler in Horley, Surrey. The Matbro Company developed these equipment from their articulated cross country forestry forklifts. At first, they had a centrally mounted boom design on the front portion. This placed the cab of the driver on the back part of the equipment, like in the Teleram 40 unit. The rigid chassis design with the cab located on the side and a rear mounted boom has ever since become more famous.