Telescopic handlers are somewhat similar to forklifts. It has a single telescopic boom which extends both upwards and forwards from the truck, and a counterweight situated within the rear. It works 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 could also attach a lift table, bucket or muck grab. Also known as a telehandler, this type of machinery is commonly used in industry and agriculture.
A telehandler is commonly used to move loads to and from areas which will be hard for a standard forklift to access. Telehandlers are usually utilized to unload pallets from within a trailer. They are also more handy than a crane for carrying loads onto rooftops and other high areas.
The telehandler has one major limitation. Even with rear counterweights, the weight-bearing boom can cause the equipment to destabilize when 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 largely on articulated cross country forklifts used in forestry. Initial models had a centrally mounted boom on the front and a driver's cab on the rear section, but nowadays the most common design has a rigid chassis with a rear mounted boom and side cab.