Boom forklifts, which most yards list as telehandlers, hire for roughly $300 to $700 a day and $900 to $2,200 a week depending on capacity and reach. They are a forklift on a telescoping boom, so they place a load up and forward from where the machine stands, and the rated capacity on the sticker only applies with the boom retracted.
One machine, three names on the ticket
Boom forklift, telehandler and reach forklift describe the same rough terrain machine at most counters, and the yard will price it under whichever name its fleet software uses. Say the capacity and the height you need instead of the name and the conversation gets shorter. A straight mast rough terrain forklift is a different, cheaper machine that cannot reach forward at all.
The load chart is the real spec
Every machine carries a chart in the cab showing what it can lift at each boom angle and extension. A unit badged at 10,000 pounds may be down to a quarter of that placing a load on a second floor deck. Work out the heaviest pallet, the height and the horizontal distance from where the wheels can sit, then let the counter size it.
The usual size ladder
Yards commonly stock 5,000 to 6,000 pound machines reaching around 40 feet, 8,000 to 10,000 pound machines around 42 to 45 feet, and 12,000 pound class machines reaching 55 feet and more. Rates climb with both numbers, and the tallest machines also need more room to set up and more truck to deliver.
Attachments and the training the law expects
Carriage forks come as standard; a bucket, a truss boom, a lifting hook or a work platform are separate lines and must be hired with the machine so the load chart matches. OSHA treats these as powered industrial trucks, which puts a training and evaluation duty on the employer of whoever drives it. The rental yard does not discharge that duty for you.
Questions people ask about boom forklifts
Is a boom forklift the same thing as a telehandler?
In everyday yard language, yes. Telehandler is the manufacturer word and boom forklift is what the buyer types. Both mean a rough terrain machine with a telescoping boom carrying forks, as distinct from a warehouse lift truck or a straight mast rough terrain forklift.
Can a boom forklift work on soft ground?
Better than a warehouse truck, since it runs large flotation tires and often four wheel drive, but it is still a heavy machine on tires. Mud will stop it and a soft edge will tip it. Ask for a machine with outriggers if you need to lift at reach on ground that is not firm and level.
Does the rental include delivery?
Almost never in the day rate. Delivery and collection are charged as separate lines each way and are priced on distance and truck time, so a machine hired from a yard two counties over can cost more to move than to use for a day.