Used Yard Spotter Glendale - Tow tractors, sometimes call towing tractors or tow tugs, are vehicles used in transporting loads horizontally in warehouses, manufacturing plants, airports, arenas and other large facilities. They are capable of towing several trailers in a train 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. Heavier loads require more tractive effort compared to lighter loads. The tow tractor lifts a portion of the load during towing while ensuring the wheels on the load still remain on the ground. The hydraulic mast on the tow tractor is responsible for lifting the load. It produces downforce on the drive wheel underneath to increase the tractive effort. Traction allows the machine to deliver very large and heavy loads.
Types of Tow Tractors
Two types of towing tractors include heavy-duty tow tractors and load carriers.
Load Carriers
Numerous businesses need to transport items of different sizes on a regular basis including manufacturing, parcel delivery services and airport baggage. Tow tugs and load carriers easily transport single items that have been deposited on wheeled platforms and move them with ease.
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. This means that the load has already been on wheels or placed on a wheeled platform before transport. The wheeled platforms are called bogies, trollies or skates. The tow tractor joins to the trolly and functions similarly to a train locomotive. Typically, the tow tug features a steel coupling male-end that attaches to a female-end on the trolly’s front. The back of the trolly has a male-end steel coupling that can then be used to attach multiple trollies onto a single tow tug, transporting all the trollies in a train-like formation.
Tow tractors with a train of trollies enable a wider range in the type of items that can be transported and in the types of conditions they can be transported. 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. Different kinds of trollies can be maneuvered in a single train, creating flexible transport options.
A key benefit of using a load carrier tow tractor is that operators can enjoy a clear view instead of 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.
Towing solutions are a good alternative to traditional forklifts to handle many single items. They are safe and easy to maneuver. One benefit of these tow tugs is that an operator usually does not require a license. No license is necessary since these units do not lift loads up from the ground like cranes, and forklifts that require licensing.
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. These machines are simple to use, extremely maneuverable and very compact.
Stand-in Tow Tractors
Stand-in tow tractors are the most popular design for industries that involve order picking and horizontal transport in manufacturing. They provide a secure platform for the driver to operate while still having a smaller footprint than that of the rider-seated tow tractors.
Rider-Seated Tow Tractors
Rider-seated tow tractors are similar to stand-in models except they offer a seated platform for the operator. These types of load carrier tow tractors are popular where loads are transported over longer distances, such as airport baggage systems where checked baggage is transported from the check-in counter at the front of an airport to the aircraft at the terminal, often a great distance from one another. Rider fatigue is decreased with sit-down units for more efficiency and productivity.
Heavy Duty Tow Tractors
The pushback concept is commonly used in aviation for cargo and large passenger planes. Pushing an aircraft back from the airport terminal without using the aircraft’s own power is the pushback concept. Pushback is achieved by employing pushback tugs or pushback tractors.
Pushback tractors are built with a low-profile to allow them to move underneath the nose of the aircraft so that it can attach. Since the aircraft weight is heavy, these units need to be heavy in order to retain adequate ground friction 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.
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.
The pushback tow tractors come in two subtypes, the towbarless and the conventional.
Conventional Pushback Tow Tractors
Conventional units rely on a tow bar to connect the tug to the aircraft’s nose landing gear. Laterally attached to the nose landing gear, the tow tractor can make certain slight vertical height adjustments if needed. 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. 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. Heavy-duty towbars required for sizeable aircraft ride on their own wheels when they are disconnected from the machine. Attached to the wheels, the hydraulic jacking mechanism allows the towbar to lift to the proper height to mate with the aircraft and tug. The same mechanism is employed in reverse to raise the towbar wheels off the ground for pushback. The towbar is capable of being connected at the tractor’s rear or front, depending on if the machine needs to be pulled or pushed. Depending on whether the aircraft needs to be pushed or pulled, the towbar can be attached to the front or rear of the tractor.
Towbarless Pushback Tow Tractors
Towbarless tractors work without a towbar and scoop up the aircrafts’ nose landing gear to lift it off of the ground instead. This allows better control of the aircraft and higher speeds; it may also eliminate the need to have a worker in the cockpit to apply the aircraft's brakes. 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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