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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

Lamma 2026: Kubota brings big SVL 75-3 skid-steer to the UK

National plans to increase solar capacity was a major motivator behind Kubota’s decision to bring its SVL 75-3 skid-steer handler to the UK. Its 1.7m width allows contractors to slink…

TELEHANDLERS

Lamma 2026: Compact JCB 526-60 gets swankier cab

JCB has lavished its compact Loadall telehandlers with some attention, fitting higher-spec cabs, improved brakes and twin-line trailer braking. The 526-60 is the smaller of the two models, benefiting from…

TELEHANDLERS

Lamma 2026: Stronger boom for Stoll TracLift loader

Farmers torn between Stoll’s budget Solid front loader and top-spec ProfiLine FZ need agonise no more, following the introduction of three mid-range TracLift models. Smallest of the trio is the…

TELEHANDLERS

Agritechnica 2025: Hybrid drive for prototype NH telehandler

Wacky styling isn’t the only novelty to be found on New Holland’s latest prototype 7m/4.2t telehandler. Rather than a traditional diesel engine, the TH Hybrid Power harnesses both electricity and…

TELEHANDLERS

Agritechnica 2025: More lift capacity for JCB’s 7m Loadalls

A brace of 7m machines has been added to JCB’s telehandler line-up, offering up to 24% more lift capacity than the current 542-70. The 546-70 is the lesser of the…

TELEHANDLERS

On test: Merlo TF30.7 - small frame, pokey hydraulics

A surge of farmers pining for more lifting and loading capacity without compromising on size has spawned a slew of pint-sized telehandlers. Merlo’s TF30.7 is one of the latest to…

Telehandler reviews and tests

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Pivot steers on test: Dieci and NC go head to head

Little artic-steer loaders are still the number-one choice for thousands of livestock farmers up and down the country, but with some big names dropping out of the market over the…

TELEHANDLERS

MF 9305 Xtra telehandler test - pulling power meets comfort

In the corporate world of farm machinery, there’s an expression that gets bandied about on a regular basis – “a full-line offering”. While this may sound like standard corporate guff,…

On test: Merlo's new heavy-duty 50.8 telehandler

Merlo has added another model to its line-up of heavy-lifting farm-spec telehandlers in a bid to satisfy the insatiable demands for more capacity from Europe’s biggest arable farmers and biogas…

TELEHANDLERS

On test: Bobcat’s revamped TL43.80HF telehandler

While JCB may continue to occupy the long-coveted throne in the competitive telehandler market, Bobcat is becoming an increasingly viable challenger thanks to a drastic interior upgrade for its new…

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

On test: JCB's new TM420S pivot-steer telehandler

Launched a couple of years ago, JCB’s TM420 was the biggest pivot-steer telehandler the company had ever built, offering a 4t lift capacity and more than 5.4m vertical reach. But…

TELEHANDLERS

Telehandlers on test: Massey Ferguson TH 7038

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.…

MACHINERY

Telehandler test: JCB

Hydraulics Engine Joystick Cab Maintenance Gallery Video JCB fits the 572-58 with a Walterscheid pump sporting a maximum 122litres/min of oil throughput. Its 2.7t lift at our special measuring point…

TELEHANDLERS

On test: Merlo TF30.7 - small frame, pokey hydraulics

A surge of farmers pining for more lifting and loading capacity without compromising on size has spawned a slew of pint-sized telehandlers. Merlo’s TF30.7 is one of the latest to…

TELEHANDLERS

On test: Neomach's versatile Nova X40 pivot-steer loader

Farms are perennially craving more power and capacity, but for those still mucking out pokey old sheds built in the pitchfork era, size matters. Miniature pivot-steers, with their typical 3m…

TELEHANDLERS

On test: Fendt broadens Cargo range with T740 telehandler

The world is littered with gizmos that no one ever asked for, yet somehow became integral to our lives. Lightbulbs, vaccines, airplanes and personal computers were all dismissed before they…

TELEHANDLERS

Video: Fendt's debut Cargo T955 telehandler on test

Not since the launch of JCB’s mid-engined, four-wheel steering Loadalls over 30 years ago has a telehandler defied convention quite like Fendt’s debut Cargo T955. Its hulking frame, high boom…

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TELEHANDLERS

Compact Merlo P30.7L loader fits into poultry sheds

By shrinking the dimensions of its compact agricultural telehandler, Merlo has created a 3t/7m machine that is able to work in pokey poultry sheds. Thanks to a redesigned chassis and…

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…

TELEHANDLERS

On test: Fendt broadens Cargo range with T740 telehandler

The world is littered with gizmos that no one ever asked for, yet somehow became integral to our lives. Lightbulbs, vaccines, airplanes and personal computers were all dismissed before they…

TELEHANDLERS

Telehandlers on test: Kramer KT407

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…

TELEHANDLERS

Bobcat cuts fuel use on new S630 and S650 skid-steers

Upgrades to make the four-cylinder engine in Bobcat’s S630 and S650 skid-steer loaders cleaner and greener have yielded improved fuel consumption. A particulate filter is part of the Stage 5…

TRACTORS

Updated: Tractor and telehandler buyers guide for 2017

Since publishing the Ultimate Buyers Guide in March, Manitou has supplied updated prices for its new and current model telescopic handlers. The figures are published in an updated telescopic handlers…

TELEHANDLERS

Compact 130hp 530-60 Agri Super joins JCB Loadall range

JCB’s vast Loadall range has grown again, this time with the addition of the new 530-60 Agri Super.  It offers a 3t lift capacity and 6m reach, but with relatively compact…

TELEHANDLERS

How to maintain a Merlo telehandler to get the best from it

Merlo might play third fiddle in the telehandler rankings to JCB and Manitou, but the Italian brand’s compact models take a bit of beating. Combining powerful hydraulics with some careful…

TELEHANDLERS

Cat launches new M-series handler range

American giant Cat has launched three new handlers, designed specifically for the agricultural sector. The new M-series models feature a Cat 3.4-litre engine which develops 68hp and runs through a…

TELEHANDLERS

Revolutionary steering slashes turning circle

In what must be one of the first loaders in the world to be steered by two separate methods, German maker Thaler has released its 3248T-5A loader, which has both…

TELEHANDLERS

On test: Stacks of power in diddy JCB 530-60

JCB’s engineers have successfully completed telehandler themed Tetris by cramming almost all the components from the largest Loadalls into a package condensed in all dimensions. That makes the diminutive 530-60…

TELEHANDLERS

The ultimate guide to buying a telehandler in 2018

The Farmers Weekly ultimate guide to telescopic farm handling and loading machines has been published online for 2018, with many changes from last year’s edition. The guide provides a quick-reference summary…

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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…

Farm Handling Experience comes to the South West

After the success of the national Farm Handling Experience in April, Farmers Weekly is running another machinery handling event, this time in the South West. The new event is on…

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: JCB

Hydraulics Engine Joystick Cab Maintenance Gallery Video JCB fits the 572-58 with a Walterscheid pump sporting a maximum 122litres/min of oil throughput. Its 2.7t lift at our special measuring point…