Gauging productivity for telehandlers is difficult due to the paradoxical nature of their work. Clearly, reducing cycle times and achieving faster boom speeds is a plus for other machines. But manufacturers shy away from such comparisons with telehandlers. Because these machines work with heavy payloads at extreme heights, slow, precise movements are a plus. “Safety should be your primary concern operating a telehandler,” says Tom Eggers, product development manager, Gehl. “Once you’ve keyed on that, productivity will follow.”
Like any piece of construction equipment today, telehandler productivity is enhanced by auxiliary hydraulics systems that allow the use of an ever-widening array of attachments. And most of these are directly related to lift, carry and place applications, says Scott Cooper, senior marketing engineer, telehandlers, Caterpillar. “The most common telehandler work tools are standard carriages and forks, rotating carriages and forks, truss booms, fixed and swivel platforms and lifting hooks,” he notes. “All of these are specialized for specific applications and allow operators to work effectively given the very different aspects those jobs entail.”
Beyond those attachments, David Hahn, product manager, JCB, says buckets continue to grow in popularity. “Depending on the machine, you can spec general purpose buckets ranging from 1.5- to 2-cubic-yard capacity,” he says. “These are available as light-material or ground-engaging buckets and there are a variety of grapple buckets that can be used for handling awkwardly sized or shaped materials.”
There are also more specialized attachments available. Edi Ugolini, director, sales and marketing, Manitou North America, notes contractors can fit telehandlers with brooms and augers or specialized concrete hoppers. “These hoppers allow you to drive the machine right up to a mixer truck or station,” he says. “Once the concrete is in the hopper, you take it and pour it anywhere on a jobsite, using the boom to pour it at ground level where the mixer can’t reach, or at any elevated point within the machine’s lift height range.”
Still, Cooper says, many telehandler operators simply want a basic lift-and-carry machine, and aren’t interested in – and don’t want to pay for – the refinements that allow them to use work tools. “But,” he says, “the beauty of an attachment-capable telehandler is that it can save costs by eliminating other pieces of equipment on your jobsite.”
“Can a telescopic handler lay crushed limestone on a roadbed?” asks Ugolini. “Yes. Can it do it as effectively and quickly as a wheel loader? Probably not. But if laying limestone is an occasional or unusual application for you, a telehandler can handle it effectively, and save you the additional expense of bringing a loader onto your jobsite.”
Choice of conventional or low-boom begins the spec’ing process
Deciding on the proper-sized telehandler for a particular application is a simple matter of knowing payload capacities and required lift heights. There are choices you can make beyond that criteria, most of which hinge upon your use of the machine outside of a lift-and-carry role.
