Used Yard Spotter Santa Rosa - Tow tractors, also called tow tugs or towing tractors are popular for moving loads horizontally in airports, arenas, warehouses, manufacturing plants and other large buildings. These machines can tow numerous trailers in a train or snake-like formation. Tow tractors can move aircraft into and outside of airport locations such as terminals and hangars.
Tractive effort is how these machines transport loads. Tractive effort is the amount of traction a unit has on the ground. Tractive effort says that the heavier the load, the more tractive effort is required. The tow tractor lifts a portion of the load during towing while ensuring the wheels on the load still remain on the ground. The load is partially lifted by use of the tow tractor’s hydraulic mast which is specifically designed to produce downforce on the drive wheel immediately beneath it, increasing the tractive effort. Traction allows the machine to deliver very large and heavy loads.
Types of Tow Tractors
There are two basic types of tow tractors:
1. Load carriers; and
2. Heavy-duty tow tractors;
Load Carriers
Numerous businesses need to transport items of different sizes on a regular basis including manufacturing, parcel delivery services and airport baggage. Load carrier tow tractors or tow tugs are especially useful for these types of applications because they allow the single items to be gathered and stacked on the wheeled platforms, ready to be attached for tow and transport by the tow tractor.
Load carrier tow tractor models are categorized in the material handling equipment that covers cranes, forklifts and pallet jacks. Load carrier tow tugs transport loads at ground level only, rather than lifting or lowering off the ground or from shelving or other hard to reach areas. In order to be ready for transport, items must be secured on a wheeled platform or already on wheels to use the tow tractor. The wheeled platforms are called bogies, trollies or skates. The tow tractor joins to the trolly and functions similarly to a train locomotive. Usually, the tow tug has a male-end steel coupling that couples to the female-end fixed to the front of the trolly. The trolly’s back portion has a male-end steel coupling that can be used to connect a variety of trollies to a single tug.
Tow tractors are capable of moving many machines in a variety of conditions. The availability of many different types of trollies also allows for greater customization in transporting items. Most trollies types are compatible with each other, meaning they can be connected together. This means several different types of trollies can be used in a single train allowing greater flexibility for operations.
Load carrier tow tractors deliver a clear view for the operator which can be better than relying on forklifts. Load carrier tow tractors transport trollies in a forward direction which decreases the safety concerns common with reverse forklift operations. This design is excellent for locations that have a high level of safety such as manufacturing locations and airports.
Towing many items at once saves time and money compared to relying on forklifts to move single things. Tugs are simple to move and provide a safe transport option. The operator doesn’t require a license, which is another benefit compared to forklifts. Tow tractor operators do not need licenses since they don’t lift loads off of the ground.
Three subtypes of load carrier tow tractors include rider-seated, stand-in and pedestrian.
Pedestrian Tow Tractors
A walk-behind model that can transport wheeled loads is called a pedestrian tow tractor. These machines may go by the names of electric hand tug, electric tugger, electric tug or tow tractor. These compact machines are simple to use and can maneuver easily.
Stand-in Tow Tractors
Popular for industries that conduct order picking and horizontal transport for manufacturing, the stand-in tow tractors are the best design. Stand-in tow tractors feature a tinier footprint compared to rider-seated editions and they offer a safe driver platform.
Rider-Seated Tow Tractors
Similar to stand-in tow tractors, rider-seated units have a seated operator platform. These models are commonly used for transporting loads over farther distances such as moving checked baggage from the airport check-in to the aircraft at the terminal. Reducing rider fatigue, the rider-seated models deliver more efficiency.
Heavy Duty Tow Tractors
In the aviation industry, large passenger and cargo planes usually employ the concept of pushback. Pushback is the process of pushing an aircraft back from the terminal by means not originating from the aircraft’s personal power. Pushback is achieved by employing pushback tugs or pushback tractors.
Pushback tugs feature a low-profile enabling them to travel under the aircraft’s nose for easy attachment. Since the aircraft weight is heavy, these units need to be heavy in order to retain adequate ground friction to move the aircraft. A common tractor for moving large aircraft can weigh in up to fifty-four tons. Their driver’s cab has the ability to be lowered and raised for increased visibility during reversing.
While the vehicle is referred to as a pushback tug or pushback tow tractor, it is also used to tow aircraft in areas where taxiing the aircraft is not practical or safe, such as moving large aircraft in and out of maintenance hangars.
There are two subtypes of pushback tow tractors:
1. Conventional; and
2. Towbarless.
Conventional Pushback Tow Tractors
These units use a tow bar to attach the tug to the nose landing gear on the aircraft. The tow bar is laterally fixed at the nose landing gear; however, it is possible to make height adjustments with slight vertical movements. At the end that attaches to the tug, the tow bar may pivot freely laterally and vertically. Acting like a giant lever, the tow bar can rotate the nose landing gear. Each aircraft type has a unique tow fitting so the towbar also acts as an adapter between the standard-sized tow pin on the tug and the type-specific fitting on the aircraft's landing gear. On heavy towbars for large aircrafts, the towbar rides on its own wheels when not connected to an aircraft. The wheels are attached to a hydraulic jacking mechanism which can lift the towbar to the correct height to mate to both the airplane and the tug, and once this is accomplished the same mechanism is used in reverse to raise the tow bar wheels from the ground during the pushback process. The towbar can be connected at the front or the rear of the tractor, depending on whether the aircraft will be pushed or pulled.
Towbarless Pushback Tow Tractors
Towbarless tractors, as their name suggests, don’t rely on a towbar. Instead, these machines scoop up the nose landing gear to lift it off of the ground so the tug can move the plane. This offers better control and higher speeds while eliminating the requirement of having a worker stationed in the cockpit to put the brakes on. Simplicity is the main advantage of the towbarless tugs since it is not necessary to maintain a variety of towbars. Greater control and responsiveness while moving the aircraft is achieved with this direct connection of the tug to the landing gear.
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