A telehandler or a telescopic handler is a machine which is popular within the construction and agriculture industries. These machines are similar in function and appearance to a lift truck or a forklift but are really more like a crane rather than a forklift. The telehandler offers improved versatility of a single telescopic boom that could extend upwards and forwards from the vehicle. The operator has the ability to connect a lot of attachments on the end of the boom. Several of the most common attachments consist of: a bucket, a muck grab, a lift table or pallet forks.
A telehandler usually utilizes pallet forks as their most common attachment to be able to move cargo through areas which are usually not reachable for a typical forklift. For example, telehandlers can transport cargo to and from locations which are not usually accessible by standard forklift units. These devices could also remove palletized cargo from in a trailer and position these loads in high areas, like on rooftops for example. Before, this abovementioned situation would require a crane. Cranes could be very pricey to utilize and not always a time-efficient or practical option.
Another advantage is also the telehandlers largest drawback: because the boom extends or raises when the equipment is bearing a load, it also acts as a lever and causes the vehicle to become somewhat unbalanced, despite the rear counterweights. 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 might be able to safely lift only as heavy as 400 pounds once 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 much as 10,000 lb. with the boom raised up to 70.
The Matbro Company within Horley, Surrey, England originally 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 machine's back portion, as in the Teleram 40 unit. The rigid chassis design with a rear mounted boom and the cab located on the side has ever since become increasingly more popular.