Used Yard Spotter Garden Grove - 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. Tow tractors are responsible for moving multiple trailers in a train. Certain tow tractors can transport helicopters and giant airplanes for the purpose of positioning inside and outside airport hangars and terminals.
All tow tractors use the concept of tractive effort to move loads. Tractive effort is the amount of traction a unit has on the ground. Heavier loads require more tractive effort compared to lighter loads. The unit works by lifting a part of the load while it is towing; however, the load’s wheels stay 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. The tow tractor is capable of transporting very heavy and large loads thanks to the traction it provides.
Types of Tow Tractors
Two types of towing tractors include heavy-duty tow tractors and load carriers.
Load Carriers
Many industries including airport baggage divisions, manufacturing, parcel transportation and e-commerce rely on moving items of various sizes to and from different locations. 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.
These load carrier tow tractors fall under the material handling equipment industry which includes other machines such as pallet jacks, forklifts and cranes. These units only transport loads at ground level and do not lift or lower items from shelving or off the ground. In order to be ready for transport, items must be secured on a wheeled platform or already on wheels to use the tow tractor. Wheeled platforms are called skates, trollies and bogies. The tow tractor attaches to the trolley and operates similarly to how train cars are attached to a 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. Trolly types differ to provide customization options. 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. These safety considerations are of special importance in busy areas such as manufacturing floors and airports.
It is more economical to tow multiple items when possible with a tug than using a forklift truck to transport single items. They are safe and easy to maneuver. 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
Pedestrian tow tractors go by many names including electric tow tractor, electric tug, or electric tugger. These units are walk-behind models that move wheeled loads. It is compact, maneuverable and easy to use.
Stand-in Tow Tractors
Stand-in tow tractors are the most popular design for industries that involve order picking and horizontal transport in manufacturing. These units deliver a secure driver platform and deliver a smaller footprint compared to the rider-seated models.
Rider-Seated Tow Tractors
The rider-seated tow tractors are similar to the stand-in tow tractors with the exception they provide a seated platform for the driver. 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 refers to the process of pushing an aircraft back from an airport terminal by some means other than the aircraft’s own power. Heavy-duty tow tractors are known as pushback tugs or pushback tractors complete this task.
Pushback tractors are designed with a low profile design to enable them to move under the aircraft's nose in order to attach to the aircraft. Because of the added heavy weight of the aircraft, these tow tractors must be heavy enough to retain enough traction on the ground in order to move the aircraft. A typical tractor for large aircraft weighs up to 54 tons. They usually have a driver’s cab that can be raised and lowered to increase visibility when reversing.
The pushback tow tractor and pushback tug are also employed when taxiing the aircraft is not an option. They are commonly used to move the machine into and outside of aircraft maintenance hangars.
The pushback tow tractors come in two subtypes, the towbarless and the conventional.
Conventional Pushback Tow Tractors
Conventional tugs use a tow bar to connect the tug to the nose landing gear of 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. The tow bar that attaches to the tug can pivot vertically and laterally. In this manner, the tow bar acts as a large lever to rotate the nose landing gear. There are a towbar and precise tow fitting that acts as an adapter between the standard-sized tow pin and on the landing gear of the aircraft. Heavy towbars have their own wheels for big aircraft and can ride on these wheels when disconnected from planes. 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 do not use a towbar; they scoop up the nose landing gear and lift it off the ground, allowing the tug to maneuver the aircraft. This offers better control and higher speeds while eliminating the requirement of having a worker stationed in the cockpit to put the brakes on. As there is no need to maintain numerous towbars, simplicity is the main advantage of this unit. 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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