The telescopic handler or just telehandler is a heavy duty machine that is well-known within both the construction and agriculture businesses. These machinery are rather similar in both appearance and function to the forklift, except it more closely resembles a crane. The telehandler provides improved versatility of a single telescopic boom that can extend forwards as well as upwards from the vehicle. The operator could attach various types of attachments on the end of the boom. Some of the most common attachments comprise: a muck grab, a bucket, pallet forks or a lift table.
In order to move loads through places that are normally unreachable for a typical forklift. The telehandler utilizes pallet forks as their most popular attachment. For instance, telehandlers are able to transport loads to and from areas that are not typically reachable by standard forklift units. These devices could also remove palletized loads from inside a trailer and position these loads in high places, like on rooftops for example. Before, this situation mentioned above would need a crane. Cranes could be pricey to use and not always a time-efficient or practical option.
One more advantage is also the telehandlers largest limitation: as the boom extends or raises when the machine is bearing a load, it also acts as a lever and causes the vehicle to become somewhat unbalanced, despite the counterweights on the back. This translates to the lifting capacity decreasing quickly as the working radius increases. The working radius is the distance between the front of the wheels and the center of the load.
For instance, a vehicle which has a 5000 lb. capacity with the boom retracted might be able to safely lift only as much as 400 pounds once it is completely extended with a low boom angle. The same model 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.
England initially pioneered the telehandler in 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 section. This positioned the cab of the driver on the machine's back part, 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.