Operate the Telehandler
Operate the Telehandler
This domain tests safe operation: travel, lifting, placing, steering, parking, and emergency response.
Operating rules
- Wear the seat belt, keep ROPS/FOPS intact, and never allow riders.
- Travel with the boom retracted and the load low, per the manual. Keep the load uphill on grades; do not turn on a slope.
- Before lifting, level the frame, set the parking brake, place controls in neutral, and use outriggers if equipped.
- Use smooth control inputs. Avoid side loads, shock loading, and dragging loads.
- Select the correct steering mode: two-wheel, four-wheel, or crab. Slow down in crab mode and check clearance.
- Park with forks flat on the ground, boom retracted, controls neutral, parking brake set, and key off.
Worked example
An operator must place a load at 20 ft radius where the chart allows 2,000 lb. The load plus rigging weighs 1,900 lb. The operator plans to boom out from 15 ft to 20 ft. At 22 ft, the chart allows only 1,700 lb, so the path would be overloaded. Reasoning: capacity changes with radius, so check the worst-case radius along the path, not only the final spot. Reposition closer or reduce the load.
Traps
- Checking capacity only at the final radius.
- Traveling with the load raised or the boom extended.
- Using crab steering at travel speed.
- Leaving the machine in gear or with forks elevated.
- Jumping from a tipping machine instead of staying seated with the belt on.