Know How / Telehandlers

Often the most-used machine on the farms – especially with pigs, sheep, beef or dairy cattle – so we cover new machines, first drives, user views and group tests of telescopic handlers (or telehandlers) for efficient materials handling, cleaning stock buildings, loading bales and shifting grain.

Latest telehandler articles

TELEHANDLERS

First impressions: Powershift cut for JCB's TM280S telehandler

Short of a pivot-steer telehandler to sit between its compact TM220 and heavier-duty TM320 Telemaster, JCB decided to build one. Well, two, actually. The fruits of this endeavour are the…

TELEHANDLERS

Driver's View: Chris Brettell's Merlo TF42.7 CS

The TF42.7 is the flagship in Merlo’s mid-sized telehandler range and comes in a handful of configurations to suit different applications. Most variants are fitted with the same two-speed hydrostatic…

TELEHANDLERS

Driver's View: Harry Whiteman's Claas Scorpion 741 Gen 2

As the name suggests, the Scorpion 741 Generation 2 is the second iteration of Claas’ Liebherr-built 7m/4t telehandler. The standout upgrade from the original is a power hike from 136hp…

TELEHANDLERS

Driver's view: Adam Symonds' Bobcat TL38.70 HF

Bobcat might be the first name in skid-steers, but it’s yet to find the same success on the telehandler scene. That’s gradually changing, with the Czech-based manufacturer focused on growing…

TELEHANDLERS

Driver's view: Steve Miller's Manitou MLT 741-130 PS+

There’s no shortage of choice as far as Manitou’s telehandler range is concerned, with most shapes, sizes and specs accounted for in a line-up that runs from 35hp and 1.25t/4.3m…

Telehandler reviews and tests

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TELEHANDLERS

First drive: Manitou MLA-T 516 pivot-steer

Manitou has owned the Gehl and Mustang compact loader brands for more than a decade, but has only recently made the decision to start selling these machines in its own…

MACHINERY

Telehandler test: Deici Agrifarmer

Hydraulics Engine Joystick Cab Maintenance Gallery Video Italian loader specialist Dieci produces around 1,800 machines per year and its Agri Farmer 26.6 model uses a 110 litres/min Bosch Rexroth pump.…

TELEHANDLERS

Driver's view: Adam Symonds' Bobcat TL38.70 HF

Bobcat might be the first name in skid-steers, but it’s yet to find the same success on the telehandler scene. That’s gradually changing, with the Czech-based manufacturer focused on growing…

TELEHANDLERS

On test: JCB's debut battery-electric Loadall - the 525-60E

JCB has boarded the battery-electric bandwagon, with the first production models of its 525-60E telehandler now whizzing around inner-city building sites, industrial warehouses and posh equine units. But while those…

MACHINERY

Telehandler test: Claas Scorpion

Hydraulics Engine Joystick Cab Maintenance Gallery Video The Claas Scorpion is made by German loader specialist Kramer and its hydraulics (which come from Bosch Rexroth) push out 155 litres/minute. Working…

TELEHANDLERS

Driver’s view: Volvo L45G loading shovel

Apart from enormous silage operations and vast grain storage units, pivoting, fixed-reach loading shovels have never made huge waves in the agricultural sector and the telehandler remains the machine of…

Driver's view: Manitou MLT 731 telehandler

Considering buying a used sub-£30,000 telehandler? James Andrews visits a seasoned punter to see if Manitou should make your shortlist. If you are shopping around for a used, mid-sized telehandler…

MACHINERY

Telehandler tyres get more versatile

Cross-ply tyres may have long been ditched on all but the most utilitarian tractor models, there is still an argument for employing them on a telehandler. “Our standard fitment across…

TELEHANDLERS

Driver's View: Harry Whiteman's Claas Scorpion 741 Gen 2

As the name suggests, the Scorpion 741 Generation 2 is the second iteration of Claas’ Liebherr-built 7m/4t telehandler. The standout upgrade from the original is a power hike from 136hp…

Farmer tested: Five telehandlers on trial

Earlier this year a Dorset dairy farmer in the market for a new loader undertook a thorough evaluation of five telehandlers before settling on a surprising choice. Nick Fone got…

TELEHANDLERS

Telehandlers on test: Caterpillar TH408D

In an extension of our telehandler test in the 4t lift and 7m reach category, we have taken a look at the best-selling rigid-frame machines from Kramer, Claas, Cat and Bobcat.…

TELEHANDLERS

Driver's View: Chris Brettell's Merlo TF42.7 CS

The TF42.7 is the flagship in Merlo’s mid-sized telehandler range and comes in a handful of configurations to suit different applications. Most variants are fitted with the same two-speed hydrostatic…

Telehandler guides

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TELEHANDLERS

Ultimate guide to buying a telehandler 2019

Expanded ranges and a focus on operator well-being through new cabs and control layouts characterise the Farmers Weekly Ultimate Guide to telescopic handlers for 2019. For example, despite losing the…

TELEHANDLERS

Tech start-up ManuRob debuts autonomous handler

In the pipeline for a little over three years, tech start-up ManuRob unveiled its Loadix autonomous handler for the first time after recently beginning farm trials.   Able to move…

TELEHANDLERS

Bobcat launches super-compact TL25.60 telehandler

A new model now props up Bobcat’s latest R-Series telehandler range, with the modestly proportioned TL25.60 measuring just 1.84m wide and 1.93m high – despite having a full-size cab. It…

Telehandler buyers guide

The exhaust emissions rules that have brought so many changes to tractors over the past 12-18 months are now affecting telescopic handlers too. Peter Hill reports Intro Centre cab Offset…

TELEHANDLERS

Tips for buying a used Matbro telehandler

JCB might be top dog in the telehandler world these days, but in the 1990s it couldn’t get a look in. Back then rival UK firm Matbro was king, and…

TELEHANDLERS

Bobcat's TL25.60e electric telehandler to rival JCB

Bobcat is the latest telehandler maker to add a compact electric model to its fleet. The TL25.60e is still officially a concept and has yet to enter full production but,…

Contractors have a tough time on the road

Moving tractors, trailers and implements around the countryside can be fraught with difficulties. Andy Collings visited a Kent contractor who has the unenviable task of keeping five combines on the…

TELEHANDLERS

Ultimate guide to buying a telehandler 2025

Anyone intending to invest in a new telescopic materials handler this year will find a wider choice of makes and models than ever. Most manufacturers and importers have responded to…

Telehandler and pivot-steer price guide 2016

We have been busy gathering together specs and prices for telehandlers and pivot-steer loaders that will be on sale next year. Our guide covers everything from the smallest Avant cabless…

TELEHANDLERS

Ultimate guide to buying a telehandler 2023

More diminutive machines, small and light enough to be trailered behind a 4x4 SUV or pickup, feature in this year’s Ultimate Guide to telehandlers and telescopic wheeled loaders, among a…

TELEHANDLERS

173hp JCB 542-100 Agri Pro joins Loadall range

Straw contractors have access to some handy extra reach and lift capacity with the launch of JCB’s 542-100 telehandler. The new model can lift 4.2t and is capable of pushing…

MACHINERY MAINTENANCE

20-year-old John Deere telehandler gets perfect £20k refurb

It’s boom time for noughties farm machinery, with demand surging for mechanically sound workhorses devoid of the electronic and emissions-related aggravations of their successors. While John Deere, Case IH and…

Video

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TELEHANDLERS

Video: On test – Kramer's KT357 telehandler

Since Claas introduced its Kramer-built telehandlers in 2005, the Scorpion range has established itself as a genuine contender to the might of JCB and Manitou. However, back in 2015 both…

MACHINERY

Telehandler test: Deici Agrifarmer

Hydraulics Engine Joystick Cab Maintenance Gallery Video Italian loader specialist Dieci produces around 1,800 machines per year and its Agri Farmer 26.6 model uses a 110 litres/min Bosch Rexroth pump.…

MACHINERY

Driven: JCB v Claas compact telehandlers

While the JCB beats the Claas on engine power, it suffers on hydraulic output and performance, lifts 400kg less and has a reach that extends 400mm less high. Watch the…

Video: Ropa cleaner loader gives customer benefits

Suffolk sugar beet contractor Ken Rush has cut labour, compaction and fuel use with a clever German-made self-loading and self-propelled beet cleaner-loader. Called the Ropa EuroMaus, it is one of…