Rent Telehandlers – Fixed, Roto and Heavy-Duty Telescopic Handlers

Telehandlers — depending on the industry also called telescopic handlers, telescopic forklifts or teleporters — are among the most versatile machines on modern construction sites: they lift pallets to great heights, reach material through narrow installation openings and move loads laterally far beyond the chassis. A distinction is made between fixed machines and rotating roto telehandlers, whose upper carriage turns through 360°. Which telehandler is the right choice for your project depends on three factors: lift height, load capacity and the required slew radius.

The first step in choosing the right machine is understanding the three main configurations. Each is optimised for specific tasks — the wrong choice costs time and money.

Fixed Telehandlers — Compact and Site-Proven

Fixed telehandlers are the most widely used machines in building and civil engineering. The boom extends straight ahead; loads are moved in line with the vehicle axis. Typical load capacities: 2.5t to 10t. Lift heights: 6m to 18m.

Typical applications:

• Lifting pallets and building materials to intermediate floors (shell construction, building work)
• Loading and unloading roof and facade areas
• Material transport on confined industrial and commercial sites
• Indoor use with limited ceiling height

Luibl Rental stocks fixed telehandlers from Manitou (MT series, ULM series), Merlo (P series) and Genie (GTH series) — from 2.5t load capacity and 6m lift height upward.

Roto Telehandlers — 360° Rotation for Confined Spaces

The roto telehandler rotates its upper carriage a full 360°. This enables working positions that rigid models cannot reach: placing material behind obstacles, operating in multiple directions from a single position, and reducing the required footprint to a minimum.

Typical applications:

• Steel construction: installing beams and trusses
• Roof work and facade installation requiring lateral reach
• Assembly work in halls with multiple handover points
• Special applications requiring 360° rotation on tight sites

Luibl Rental offers roto telehandlers from Manitou (MRT series), Merlo (Roto series) and Magni (RTH series) with lift heights from 16m to 35m and load capacities from 4t to 7t.

Heavy-Duty Telehandlers — Up to 33t for Industry and Manufacturing

Heavy-duty telehandlers are built for load capacities that exceed what standard models can handle. With capacities from 10t to 33t, they are used in plant engineering, manufacturing and the energy sector — wherever crane use is not possible or not economical.

Luibl Rental stocks heavy-duty telehandlers from Manitou (MHT series) and Merlo (P series heavy-duty) with a maximum load capacity of 33t (Manitou MHT 12330).

The configurations differ less in appearance than in their application profile. These four questions reliably narrow down the choice:

1. Are you lifting straight ahead in the direction of travel? Then the fixed telehandler is the simpler and more economical machine – the most widely used configuration in building and civil engineering.

2. Do you need to work in several directions from one fixed position? The roto telehandler rotates its upper carriage a full 360 degrees. This pays off when material has to be placed behind obstacles or the set-up area is limited.

3. How heavy is the load? Above the usual site classes, the heavy-duty telehandler takes over – industrial and plant engineering, ports and cargo handling, wherever a mobile crane would be technically possible but uneconomical.

4. Are you working in enclosed halls? Then the electric telehandler is the right choice: zero local emissions and low noise, with no exhaust extraction required inside the building.

Whatever the configuration, the attachment determines the actual benefit – pallet forks, bucket, work platform, load hook or winch change the load chart and reach. So tell us the intended application, not just the preferred model.

The following overview summarises the four configurations in our rental fleet. The decisive factors for selection are always lift height, load capacity at the required outreach and the space available for setting up.

The three key questions:

1. How high does the load need to go? Up to 18 m, a fixed telehandler is sufficient. Above that, there is no way around a roto.
2. How heavy is the load — and at what outreach? The rated load capacity applies only with the boom retracted. At full reach, depending on the model, only a fraction of it remains; the load chart of the specific machine is always decisive.
3. How much space is available for setting up? If the machine has to be repositioned for every handover point, the roto's 360° upper carriage saves more time than its extra cost.

If you cannot decide between two classes, tell us the lift height, weight, outreach and ground conditions — we will suggest the right machine.

Construction industry: General contracting and turnkey construction, civil engineering, road construction — the telehandler combines supply, assembly and horizontal transport in one machine.

Industry and manufacturing: Plant engineering, machine assembly, moving heavy tools — heavy-duty models with up to 33t capacity where no crane position is available.

Event technology: Stage builds, tent structures, temporary hall constructions — roto telehandlers for confined event sites with multiple drop-off points.

Agriculture: Silage work, harvest campaigns, barn construction — fixed telehandlers as seasonal support without tying up capital in equipment.

Energy sector: Maintenance and installation work on wind turbines, photovoltaic systems, substations.

A telehandler only becomes a universal machine with the right attachment. On request, all attachments are delivered together with the machine and are already matched to the respective machine type — the mounting and the load charts must suit the machine, otherwise its use is not permitted.

Pallet forks — the standard for material handling: pallets, big bags with spreader bar, formwork elements, insulation packs. Usually already fitted to the machine unless otherwise agreed.

Work platform (man basket) — turns the telehandler into a mobile elevating work platform for installation, maintenance and inspection work. When using a man basket, the requirements of VUV Art. 8 additionally apply; the machine must be approved and appropriately equipped for carrying persons.

Load hook and crane jib — for lifting on a rope instead of on the forks: steel components, precast elements, ventilation and pipe elements. The crane jib extends the reach over obstacles and in many cases replaces a crane.

Winch — for controlled lifting and lowering over greater distances, typical for roof and facade installation and in steel construction.

Bucket — light and heavy material buckets for bulk material, excavated soil and handling in recycling and agriculture.

The overview of telehandler attachments shows which attachments are available for which machine. Attachments are priced separately from the machine rate — so they should always be included in the description of your application when you send an enquiry.

Luibl Rental transports every rented telehandler using its own low-loader fleet — no third-party freight forwarder, with a direct point of contact from order to collection. Our own fleet enables reliable delivery windows and fast dispatch, even for short-notice requests. Service area: Switzerland and Europe.

The following requirements apply to operating a telehandler:

Driving licence: Category B for road use up to 3.5t GVW, Category C1 up to 7.5t GVW; Category C for heavier models. Operator qualification: Under VUV, the employer is responsible for the operator's qualification; written authorisation is mandatory (EKAS guidelines). Working platform use: When using a work basket, the requirements of VUV Art. 8 additionally apply. Operating manual: Every rented machine is supplied with a current operating manual and handover report.

There is no universal price list for telehandler rental – configuration, class and rental period vary too widely. However, the calculation always follows the same factors:

• Configuration: Fixed telehandlers form the entry class. Roto machines with a 360° upper carriage sit above them, and heavy-duty telehandlers with load capacities beyond 30 tonnes form the top end.
• Lift height and load capacity: Within each configuration, the rate rises with lift height and load capacity. A 6 m machine and a 30 m machine are several classes apart.
• Rental period: Daily, weekly and monthly rates are tiered. The longer the term, the lower the effective daily rate; from several months onwards, long-term conditions apply.
• Attachments: Work platform, load hook, bucket, pallet forks or winch are priced separately and are one of the most common reasons why two quotes do not seem comparable at first glance.
• Transport: Delivery and collection via our own low-loader fleet are shown separately and depend on the distance from Passau, transport weight and site access.

The rate includes a technically serviced machine with valid inspection, maintenance and recurring inspections during the rental period, as well as technical advice on machine selection. If you tell us the lift height, load capacity, required attachments, rental period and site location, you will receive an itemised quote instead of a price range.

Minimum rental period: Billing is based on daily, weekly or monthly rates; from several months onwards, long-term conditions apply.

Included in the rental rate: a technically serviced machine with valid inspection, maintenance and recurring inspections throughout the entire rental period, as well as technical advice on machine selection.

Delivery and collection: Transport via our own low-loader fleet from Passau, throughout Switzerland and across Europe. Costs depend on distance, transport weight and site access and are shown separately in the quote.

Return: The machine is taken back in the condition in which it was handed over. Handover and return are documented in a report.

Operators: On request, we provide trained operators. We offer operator qualification training through our training courses.

Our team will answer questions about your specific situation directly — contact us.

• Which telehandler suits my application? – fixed, roto or heavy-duty
• Renting a telehandler: the costs – price factors in detail
• Driving licence for the telehandler – which qualification is required
• Telehandler or wheel loader? – the machine comparison
• Telehandlers in halls – ceiling height, exhaust fumes, floor loading

Delivery is handled by our own low-loader fleet from Passau – throughout Switzerland and across Europe. Dedicated pages are available for these locations:

Zurich · Geneva · Basel · Lausanne · Bern · Winterthur · Lucerne · St. Gallen · Lugano · Biel · Thun · Zug · Schaffhausen · Chur

You can find our entire equipment range across all categories in our rental fleet.

Tell us about your application — required lift height, load capacity, desired rental period and delivery location — and we'll provide a binding quote at short notice, including transport costs on our own low-loader fleet.

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Luibl Rental – your partner for telehandler rental in Europe. Europe-wide delivery with our own low-loader fleet. Manitou, Merlo, Magni, Genie.