A telescopic handler or telehandler is a machine that is well-known in the construction and agriculture industries. These equipment are similar in appearance and function to a lift truck or a forklift 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 upwards and forwards from the vehicle. The operator could connect numerous attachments on the end of the boom. Several of the most common attachments comprise: a bucket, a muck grab, a lift table or pallet forks.
In order to move cargo through places that are normally not reachable for a conventional forklift. The telehandler uses pallet forks as their most common attachment. Like for instance, telehandlers can transport loads to and from places which are not typically accessible by regular forklift units. These devices also have the ability to remove palletized cargo from in a trailer and place these loads in high places, such as on rooftops for example. Previously, this aforementioned situation will require a crane. Cranes could be pricey to utilize and not always a practical or time-efficient option.
Another advantage is also the telehandlers largest drawback: since the boom extends or raises when the machinery is bearing a load, it also acts as a lever and causes the vehicle to become quite unstable, even with the counterweights on the rear. 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.
Like for example, a vehicle that has a 5000 lb. capacity with the boom retracted may be able to safely raise only as much as 400 pounds when it is fully extended with a low boom angle. The same unit with a 5000 pound lift capacity that has the boom retracted might be able to easily support as heavy as 10,000 lb. with the boom raised up to 70.
England first pioneered the telehandler within Horley, Surrey. The Matbro Company developed these equipment from their articulated cross country forestry forklifts. At first, they had a centrally mounted boom design on the front portion. This positioned the driver's cab on the equipment's rear part, 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 more popular.