Telehandler Forklift · Practice Tool

Load Calculation Practice

This works the equivalent load the same way the course does, then checks it against a capacity you read off your own machine's load chart.

It does not contain a load chart and it never will. Capacity depends on your machine, your attachment, your boom extension and whether the outriggers are down. Only the chart on your machine knows that.

Read this first. A practice tool, not an authority. Your machine's load chart and operating manual decide what is safe to lift. If they disagree with this page, they are right.

Step 1 and 2

Work out the equivalent load

When the load sits further out on the forks than the attachment is rated for, it behaves as if it were heavier. The two steps below are from your student manual.

Actual load weight lb

Actual load centre in

Attachment rated load centre in

On the attachment identification plate. 24 inches is common.

Step 3

Read your own load chart

Your manual lists what you need before a load chart tells you anything:

An approved attachment.
The proper load chart for the machine, and the right one for outriggers up or down.
The weight of the load being lifted, or the equivalent load if the load centre is larger than the attachment's rating.
The HEIGHT where the load is to be placed, measured vertically from ground level.
The DISTANCE from the front tires of the machine to where the load is being placed. This corresponds to boom extension on the capacity chart.
On the chart, find the line for height and follow it over to distance. The number in the load zone where the two cross is the maximum capacity for this lift.

If the two cross at a division between zones, the smaller number must be used.

Placement height ft

Distance from front tires ft

Capacity you read off the chart lb

Attachment capacity lb

Optional. The load carried must be the lower value of the machine or the attachment.

Step 1 — Equivalent Factor

Actual load centre ÷ rated load centre

Step 2 — Equivalent Load

Equivalent factor × actual load

—

Equivalent load

Enter a chart capacity

The verdict needs a capacity you read off your own machine's load chart. This page does not have one.

How a Load Chart Works

What you are looking at

Every telehandler carries a chart like this. Height runs up the side, distance from the front tires runs along the bottom, and the shaded zones are capacities. Find your height, follow it across to your distance, and read the zone where they cross.

EXAMPLE ONLY — NOT ANY REAL MACHINE

Invented numbers, drawn to show the shape of a chart and how to read one. Your machine's chart has its own zones, and a second chart for outriggers down. Never lift against this picture.

Your height and distance put the crosshair here. On your own chart, that is the point you read the capacity from.

Check Yourself

Worked examples from the course

These are the activity rows from the student manual. Load them in and the tool should agree with the manual's answer.

Load	Load centre	Rated	Equivalent	Distance	Height
7,000 lb	24"	24"	7,000 lb	28 ft	20 ft
8,000 lb	24"	24"	8,000 lb	20 ft	8 ft
6,000 lb	30"	24"	7,500 lb	28 ft	12 ft
4,000 lb	30"	24"	5,000 lb	28 ft	36 ft
10,000 lb	24"	24"	10,000 lb	28 ft	20 ft
8,500 lb	36"	24"	12,750 lb	12 ft	28 ft

The Yes/No column is the manual's answer and depends on the load chart printed in the manual. This page has no chart, so it does not reproduce those verdicts — only the equivalent load, which is pure arithmetic and checkable.