A 12k telehandler is the 12,000 lb capacity class, the largest machine most general contractors ever hire, commonly reaching 44 to 55 ft depending on model. It lifts its rated 12,000 lb only with the boom retracted and the load close to the front tires; at full height and outreach the safe load is a small fraction of that. Weekly hire commonly runs $1,100 to $1,800 plus transport.
What 12k means and where it stops being true
The badge is the maximum capacity at the most favourable position: boom in, load close, machine level, often on outriggers where fitted. Extend to place a bundle on a fourth floor deck and the chart may allow only a couple of thousand pounds. Rent the chart, not the badge, and check it against your heaviest single pick.
The load chart is the machine you are hiring
Each combination of attachment, boom angle and extension has its own rated load, and the chart in the cab covers only the attachment fitted. Swap forks for a truss boom and the numbers change entirely. If the yard cannot produce the chart for the attachment you asked for, that attachment is not the one to take.
Hauling one is a job in itself
These machines pass 30,000 lb and are wide and tall, so transport means a lowboy, a scheduled slot in the yard's truck run and sometimes a permit. That charge falls each way. It is also why nobody sensibly books this class by the day: the transport costs the same whether the machine works one shift or twenty.
Do you actually need 12k?
Most site work is inside 6,000 to 8,000 lb, and those machines are cheaper to hire, cheaper to haul and easier to move around a tight lot. Step up to 12k when a single heavy pick, a long reach at load, or roof plant placement demands it, and hire the smaller machine for everything else.
Questions people ask about 12k telehandler
How high does a 12k telehandler reach?
Model dependent, commonly 44 ft at the low end of the class and up to about 55 ft on the taller units. Height and capacity are traded against each other, so give the yard both the weight and the height you need and let them match a machine.
Can a 12k telehandler be driven on the road?
Not as a road vehicle. It moves between sites on a lowboy, and on public roads it is a permitted load rather than something you drive across town. Plan the delivery window with the yard, because their heavy transport runs on a schedule.
What does a 12k cost per day?
Day rates near $350 to $550 exist, but transport at this size makes a single day poor value. A week at roughly $1,100 to $1,800 or a month at around three week rates is how the class is normally hired, with haul charged out and back either way.