A telehandler or a telescopic handler is a machine which is popular within the agriculture and construction businesses. These machines are similar in function and appearance to a forklift or a lift truck but are really more similar to a crane instead of a forklift. The telehandler offers increased versatility of a single telescopic boom which could extend forwards and upwards from the vehicle. The operator could attach many attachments on the end of the boom. Some of the most popular attachments consist of: a muck grab, a bucket, a lift table or pallet forks.
To be able to move loads through places that are normally not reachable for a conventional forklift. The telehandler utilizes pallet forks as their most common attachment. Like for instance, telehandlers could move loads to and from locations that are not normally reachable by conventional forklift units. These devices also have the ability to remove palletized cargo from inside a trailer and place these loads in high places, such as on rooftops for example. Previously, this situation mentioned above will require a crane. Cranes can be very expensive to use and not always a practical or time-efficient alternative.
Telehandler's are unique in that their advantage is also their biggest limitation: because 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 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 front of the wheels and the center of the load.
Like for instance, a vehicle that has a 5000 lb. capacity with the boom retracted may be able to safely lift just as much as 400 pounds when it is completely extended with a low boom angle. The same unit with a 5000 lb. lift capacity which has the boom retracted may be able to easily support as heavy as 10,000 pounds with the boom raised up to 70.
The Matbro Company in 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 driver's cab on the back part of the machine, like in the Teleram 40 model. The rigid chassis design with the cab situated on the side and a rear mounted boom has since become more popular.