A telescopic handler or telehandler is a machinery that is well-known in the agriculture and construction businesses. These machines are similar in function and appearance to a lift truck or a forklift but are actually more like a crane instead of a forklift. The telehandler offers improved versatility of a single telescopic boom that can extend forwards and upwards from the vehicle. The operator can connect various types of attachments on the end of the boom. Some of the most common attachments include: a bucket, a muck grab, pallet forks or a lift table.
To be able to transport loads through areas that are usually not reachable for a conventional forklift. The telehandler uses pallet forks as their most common attachment. Like for example, telehandlers could transport cargo to and from areas that are not normally reachable by regular forklift models. These devices also have the ability to remove palletized cargo from in a trailer and position these loads in high locations, like on rooftops for instance. Before, this abovementioned situation will need a crane. Cranes can be expensive to utilize and not always a practical or time-efficient choice.
One more advantage is also the telehandlers biggest limitation: since 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 unstable, despite the counterweights on the back. 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 instance, a vehicle that has a 5000 pound capacity with the boom retracted may be able to safely lift just as heavy as 400 lb. when it is fully 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 lb. with the boom raised up to 70.
The Matbro Company within Horley, Surrey, England originally pioneered telehandlers. These machines were developed from their articulated cross country forestry forklifts. Initially, they had a centrally mounted boom design on the front section. This placed the cab of the driver on the back portion 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 ever since become increasingly more famous.