A telescopic handler is similar to a forklift. It has a single telescopic boom that extends both upwards and forwards from the truck, and a counterweight situated within the rear. It works much more like a crane than a forklift. The boom could be outfitted with different kinds of attachments. The most common attachment is pallet forks, but the operator could also attach a bucket, muck grab or lift table. Also referred to as a telehandler, this particular type of equipment is commonly utilized in agriculture and industry.
When it is hard for a standard forklift to access areas, a telehandler is usually used to move loads. Telehandlers are normally used to unload pallets from inside a trailer. They are also more practical than a crane for lifting loads onto rooftops and other high locations.
There is just one major limitation in utilizing telehandlers. Even with rear counterweights, the weight-bearing boom can cause the equipment to destabilize when it extends. Thus, the lifting capacity decreases as the distance between the center of the load and the front of the wheels increases.
The Matbro company developed telehandlers in England. Their design was based mostly on articulated cross country forklifts used in forestry. Initial models consisted of a centrally mounted boom on the front and a driver's cab on the back section, but these days the design which is most common has a rigid chassis with a rear mounted boom and side cab.