Telescopic handlers are a bit similar to forklifts. It has one telescopic boom that extends both forwards and upwards from the truck, and a counterweight in the rear. It works 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 lift table, bucket or muck grab. Also referred to as a telehandler, this particular type of machine is normally used in agriculture and industry.
A telehandler is commonly employed to transport loads to and from areas which would be hard for a standard forklift to access. Telehandlers are commonly used to unload pallets from within a trailer. They are also more practical than a crane for lifting loads onto rooftops and other high areas.
The telehandler has one major limitation. Despite rear counterweights, the weight-bearing boom could cause the vehicle to destabilize as it extends. Hence, 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 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 today the most common design has a strong chassis along with a rear mounted boom and side cab.