A telescopic handler is like a forklift. It possesses a single telescopic boom that extends upwards and forwards from the truck, and a counterweight located within the rear. It functions a lot more like a crane than a forklift. The boom could be equipped with different kinds of attachments. The most popular attachment is pallet forks, but the operator could also attach a bucket, muck grab or lift table. Also referred to as a telehandler, this type of machinery is usually utilized in agriculture and industry.
A telehandler is often used to move loads to and from places which will be hard for a standard forklift to access. Telehandlers are commonly utilized to unload pallets from in a trailer. They are also more handy than a crane for lifting loads onto rooftops and other high places.
There is just one major limitation in using telehandlers. Despite counterweights at the back, the weight-bearing boom could cause the vehicle to destabilize when it extends. Therefore, the lifting capacity decreases when the distance between the front of the wheels and the centre of the load increases.
The Matbro company developed telehandlers within England. Their design was based on articulated cross country forklifts used in forestry. Initial models consisted of a driver's cab on the rear section and a centrally mounted boom on the front, but nowadays the most popular design has a rigid chassis along with a side cab and rear mounted boom.