Telescopic handlers are somewhat like forklifts. It possesses a single telescopic boom which extends upwards and forwards from the truck, and a counterweight situated in the back. It functions a lot more like a crane than a forklift. The boom can 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 equipment is commonly utilized in industry and agriculture.
A telehandler is commonly employed to transport loads to and from areas which would be hard for a standard forklift to access. Telehandlers are frequently 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.
The telehandler has one major limitation. Even with counterweights at the rear, the weight-bearing boom can cause the equipment 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 mostly on articulated cross country forklifts used in forestry. First models had a driver's cab on the rear section and a centrally mounted boom on the front, but today the most common design has a rigid chassis with a rear mounted boom and side cab.