The telehandler or telescopic handler is a heavy duty machinery which is popular in both the construction and agriculture businesses. These machines are quite similar in both appearance and function to the lift truck, except it more closely resembles a crane. The telehandler offers increased versatility of a single telescopic boom which can extend forwards as well as upwards from the vehicle. The operator has the ability to attach many attachments on the boom's end. Some of the most popular attachments comprise: a muck grab, a bucket, a lift table or pallet forks.
To be able to move loads through places that are normally unreachable for a conventional forklift. The telehandler utilizes pallet forks as their most common attachment. For instance, telehandlers are able to move cargo to and from places which are not typically reachable by regular forklift models. These devices can also remove palletized cargo from within a trailer and position these loads in high areas, such as on rooftops for instance. Before, this aforementioned situation will need a crane. Cranes could be pricey to use and not always a practical or time-efficient alternative.
Another advantage is also the telehandlers largest limitation: since the boom raises or extends when the machinery is bearing a load, it also acts as a lever and causes the vehicle to become quite unbalanced, even with 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 which has a 5000 pound capacity with the boom retracted may be able to safely raise just as much as 400 pounds once it is completely extended with a low boom angle. The same model with a 5000 lb. lift capacity that has the boom retracted might be able to easily support as much as 10,000 lb. with the boom raised up to 70.
The Matbro Company in Horley, Surrey, England originally pioneered telehandlers. These machinery were developed from their articulated cross country forestry forklifts. Initially, they had a centrally mounted boom design on the front section. This placed the driver's cab on the machinery's rear part, like in the Teleram 40 model. The rigid chassis design with the cab located on the side and a rear mounted boom has since become more popular.