A telescopic handler is like a forklift. It possesses a single telescopic boom which extends upwards and forwards from the truck, and a counterweight situated within the rear. It functions a lot more like a crane than a forklift. The boom could be outfitted with a variety of attachments. The most popular attachment is pallet forks, but the operator could also attach a muck grab, lift table or bucket. Also known as a telehandler, this kind of machinery is commonly used in agriculture and industry.
A telehandler is commonly utilized to move loads to and from areas that would be hard for a standard forklift to access. Telehandlers are normally used to unload pallets from within a trailer. They are also more handy compared to a crane for lifting loads onto rooftops and other high areas.
The telehandler has one major limitation. Even with rear counterweights, the weight-bearing boom could cause the vehicle to destabilize while it extends. Therefore, the lifting capacity decreases as the distance between the front of the wheels and the centre of the load increases.
Telehandlers were developed in England by the Matbro company. Their design was based mainly on articulated cross country forklifts utilized in forestry. Early models consisted of a centrally mounted boom on the front and a driver's cab on the back section, but these days the most popular design has a strong chassis along with a rear mounted boom and side cab.