A telescopic handler is like a forklift. It has a single telescopic boom which extends forwards and upwards from the truck, and a counterweight in the back. It works a lot more like a crane than a forklift. The boom could be outfitted with various types of attachments. The most common attachment is pallet forks, but the operator can also attach a muck grab, lift table or bucket. Also known as a telehandler, this type of machine is normally used in industry and agriculture.
A telehandler is commonly utilized to move loads to and from areas that would be hard for a conventional forklift to access. Telehandlers are commonly utilized to unload pallets from within a trailer. They are also more handy compared to a crane for carrying loads onto rooftops and other high locations.
The telehandler has one major limitation. Even with counterweights at the back, the weight-bearing boom could cause the equipment to destabilize as 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 in England. Their design was based on articulated cross country forklifts utilized in forestry. First models consisted of a driver's cab on the back section and a centrally mounted boom on the front, but these days the design that is most popular has a rigid chassis with a side cab and rear mounted boom.