A telehandler is a forklift that decided to become a crane, and it inherits the maintenance bills of both. In twenty years of buying and renting out material handling equipment, telehandlers are where I have seen the most money lost to a pretty paint job — because the expensive parts (boom sections, wear pads, chains, stabiliser rams) hide in plain sight. Here is how to buy one properly.
Start with the boom — it is the machine
- Extend fully and watch the sections. Each stage should telescope smoothly without groaning, juddering or visible side-to-side slop. Slop means worn wear pads at best, distorted boom sections at worst.
- Inspect the wear pads. Ask when they were last replaced. Neglected pads let steel run on steel — the sound is unmistakable, and the boom-section damage is expensive.
- Check extension chains/cables and their adjustment. Uneven extension or a stage that lags indicates chain stretch or poor adjustment. Chains are replaceable; the damage from a snapped one is not.
- Look along the boom for straightness and weld repairs. Sight down each section. Fresh paint over a boom weld that is not factory means the machine met something hard — walk away or price it as damaged.