A telescopic handler is like a forklift. It has one telescopic boom that extends forwards and upwards from the truck, and a counterweight in the back. It functions much more like a crane than a forklift. The boom could be equipped with a variety 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 kind of equipment is usually used in industry and agriculture.
When it is hard for a standard forklift to access areas, a telehandler is usually used to transport loads. Telehandlers are frequently used to unload pallets from inside a trailer. They are also more practical than a crane for lifting loads onto other high locations and rooftops.
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. Hence, 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 within England. Their design was based on articulated cross country forklifts used in forestry. Early models had a driver's cab on the rear section and a centrally mounted boom on the front, but these days the most common design has a rigid chassis along with a rear mounted boom and side cab.