Telescopic handlers are a bit like forklifts. It has one telescopic boom that extends both forwards and upwards from the truck, and a counterweight located within the rear. It functions more like a crane than a forklift. The boom can be outfitted with various types of attachments. The most popular attachment is pallet forks, but the operator can also attach a lift table, bucket or muck grab. Also referred to as a telehandler, this particular kind of equipment is usually used in industry and agriculture.
A telehandler is often used to transport loads to and from places that will be hard for a conventional forklift to access. Telehandlers are normally used to unload pallets from inside a trailer. They are also more practical than a crane for carrying loads onto other high areas and rooftops.
The telehandler has one major limitation. Even with counterweights at the rear, the weight-bearing boom can cause the machine to destabilize when it extends. Therefore, the lifting capacity decreases when 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 largely on articulated cross country forklifts utilized in forestry. First models had a driver's cab on the rear section and a centrally mounted boom on the front, but these days the design which is most popular has a rigid chassis with a rear mounted boom and side cab.