A telescopic handler or telehandler is a machine that is popular within the agriculture and construction businesses. These machines are similar in function and appearance to a lift truck or a forklift but are really more similar to a crane instead of a forklift. The telehandler provides improved versatility of a single telescopic boom which can extend upwards as well as forwards from the vehicle. The operator can connect numerous attachments on the boom's end. Some of the most common attachments comprise: a muck grab, a bucket, a lift table or pallet forks.
A telehandler normally utilizes pallet forks as their most popular attachment to be able to move loads through places which are normally not reachable for a standard forklift. Like for example, telehandlers can move loads to and from locations which are not typically accessible by regular forklift models. These devices also have the ability to remove palletized loads from inside a trailer and position these loads in high areas, like on rooftops for example. Previously, this situation mentioned above would require a crane. Cranes could be pricey to use and not always a time-efficient or practical choice.
One more advantage is also the telehandlers largest limitation: as the boom extends or raises when the machinery is bearing a load, it also acts as a lever and causes the vehicle to become somewhat unstable, despite the rear counterweights. This translates to the lifting capacity decreasing fast 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 raise just as heavy as 400 lb. when it is fully extended with a low boom angle. The same unit with a 5000 pound lift capacity which has the boom retracted might be able to easily support as heavy as 10,000 lb. with the boom raised up to 70.
The Matbro Company within Horley, Surrey, England initially pioneered telehandlers. These equipment were developed from their articulated cross country forestry forklifts. Initially, they had a centrally mounted boom design on the front section. This positioned the cab of the driver on the back portion of the machine, as in the Teleram 40 model. The rigid chassis design with a rear mounted boom and the cab located on the side has ever since become more and more popular.