Telehandler
FAQ

A telehandler — telescopic handler, or telescopic forklift — is a machine with a single extending boom mounted on a wheeled chassis. Unlike a forklift, which only lifts vertically, a telehandler can reach forward and upward, placing loads over obstacles and at height. Fitted with forks it works like a forklift; fitted with a bucket, bale grab, hook or work platform, it does a dozen other jobs. It is the most versatile machine on most sites.

A rotating telehandler mounts the boom on a 360° slewing turret, so it can place loads anywhere in a full circle without moving the chassis. You need one when the site is congested, when the machine cannot be repositioned easily, or when you are feeding several work faces from one setup — steel erection, precast, and wind turbine service are the classic cases. The Maverick MVRT6025 is a rotating telehandler with 6,000 kg capacity and 24.7 m lift height.

The established manufacturers are JCB, Manitou, Merlo, Bobcat, Genie, SkyTrak, Magni, Haulotte and Dieci, alongside specialists such as Maverick Material Handling, which builds telehandlers for underground mining and heavy capacity work from Cleburne, Texas. The market splits by application more than by brand: general construction and agriculture is a crowded field; underground mining and 13–16 tonne heavy capacity is a much narrower one.

The Maverick MVHT16010 is rated at 16,000 kg (35,275 lb) to 9.6 m — among the highest rated capacities offered on a telehandler chassis. Most mainstream construction telehandlers top out around 4,000–5,000 kg; heavy-capacity models from 13,500 kg upward are a specialist category.

Fixed-boom telehandlers typically reach 6 m to 18 m. Rotating telehandlers go much further — the Maverick MVRT7035 reaches 34.7 m (114 ft). But height alone is misleading: capacity falls as the boom extends and lowers, so always read the load chart at the height and reach you actually work at.

The load chart shows what the machine can safely carry at every combination of boom angle and extension. Find your working height on the vertical axis and your forward reach on the horizontal axis; where they intersect tells you the rated capacity at that point. Headline capacity is always measured at minimum reach and a 600 mm load centre — move the load out or up and the real number drops, sometimes by more than half.

A forklift lifts vertically along a mast, close to the machine, on smooth ground. A telehandler extends a boom forward and upward, works on rough terrain with four-wheel drive, and takes a wide range of attachments. A forklift is faster and cheaper in a warehouse. A telehandler is the only one of the two that can place a pallet on the third floor of a building under construction, or over the side of a trench.

A telehandler specified for underground or heavy surface mining: low overall height to fit a drift, tight turning circle, sealed electrics and hydraulics against water and dust, uprated cooling for continuous low-speed duty, cabin guarding, and mine-specific attachments such as truck tyre handlers and ground support platforms. Maverick Material Handling was founded building exactly this, and the MVT4010 is the reference machine — 4,000 kg to 9.65 m.

The machine is only as useful as what is on the front of it. Forks are the default, but the range matters: buckets, round and square bale grabs, grain forks, manure forks, block and brick clamps, lifting hooks, aerial work platforms, and — in mining — tyre handlers. A quick-coupler makes the change a two-minute job. Maverick lists over 20 attachments across agriculture, industry and mining series.

The range is wide enough that any single figure would mislead. Capacity and boom type drive it: a compact agricultural machine, a 360° rotating telehandler and a 16-tonne heavy lifter are three entirely different price categories. Attachments, tyres and emissions specification move the number further. Buying factory-direct rather than through a dealer network removes the distribution margin, which on a like-for-like specification is usually the largest single difference between quotes.