Telescopic handlers are somewhat like forklifts. It has one telescopic boom which extends both forwards and upwards from the truck, and a counterweight within the rear. It functions much more like a crane than a forklift. The boom can be equipped with different kinds of attachments. The most common attachment is pallet forks, but the operator can also attach a bucket, muck grab or lift table. Also called a telehandler, this particular kind of equipment is usually utilized in agriculture and industry.
A telehandler is most frequently employed to move loads to and from areas which will be hard for a standard forklift to access. Telehandlers are usually used to unload pallets from inside a trailer. They are also more handy compared to a crane for lifting loads onto rooftops and other high locations.
There is only one major limitation in using telehandlers. Despite counterweights at the back, the weight-bearing boom can cause the machine to destabilize as it extends. Therefore, the lifting capacity decreases as the distance between the front of the wheels and the centre of the load increases.
The Matbro company developed telehandlers within England. Their design was based mainly on articulated cross country forklifts utilized in forestry. First versions consisted of a centrally mounted boom on the front and a driver's cab on the back section, but today the most common design has a rigid chassis along with a rear mounted boom and side cab.