Used Yard Spotter Salem - 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. Certain tow tractors can transport helicopters and giant airplanes for the purpose of positioning inside and outside airport hangars and terminals.
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 tractive effort is increased by the unit’s hydraulic mast. This has been engineered to produce downforce on the drive wheel directly under the mast. The tow tractor is capable of transporting very heavy and large loads thanks to the traction it provides.
Types of Tow Tractors
Heavy-duty tow tractors and load carriers are two types of tow tractors.
Load Carriers
Industries such as e-commerce, manufacturing, and airport baggage and parcel systems must regularly move many individual and varying sized items to or from a single location. 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.
The category that load carrier tow tractor models fall into includes forklift trucks, cranes and pallet jacks. Load carrier tow tugs do not transport items from high places such as shelves or platforms. They only move cargo at ground level. 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. Usually, the tow tug has a male-end steel coupling that couples to the female-end fixed to the front of the trolly. 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.
These machines can transport a variety of items in varying conditions. Trolly types differ to provide customization options. Many trollies can be connected since they are compatible with one another. This means several different types of trollies can be used in a single train allowing greater flexibility for operations.
An additional benefit of operating with load carrier tow tractors as opposed to forklifts is the unobstructed view offered by a tow tractor, increasing the safety of work areas. Additionally, load carrier tow tractors move their units in a forward-only way and this drastically decreases safety concerns associated with forklifts traveling in reverse. This is vital for safety-sensitive places including airports and manufacturing facilities.
It is more economical to tow multiple items when possible with a tug than using a forklift truck to transport single items. Tugs are easy to move and safe to use. A key benefit of these units is that typically, the operator doesn’t need a license. No license is necessary since these units do not lift loads up from the ground like cranes, and forklifts that require licensing.
There are three subtypes of load carrier tow tractors:
1. Pedestrian;
2. Stand-in; and
3. Rider-seated.
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
Popular for industries that conduct order picking and horizontal transport for manufacturing, the stand-in tow tractors are the best design. 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. Rider-seated models are used for moving loads longer distances. They are popular for airport luggage transport to move checked baggage from the check-in counter to the aircraft parked at the terminal. These rider-seated options help to decrease driver fatigue allowing for greater 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. 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. 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. Large aircraft tractors can weigh as much as fifty-four tons. These models have a driver’s cab that has the option of being raised or lowered during reverse for better visibility.
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. The tow bar is able to pivot vertically and laterally at the end that connects to the tug. Acting like a giant lever, the tow bar can rotate the nose landing gear. Every aircraft has a special tow fitting and the towbar functions as an adapter between the fitting on the landing gear and the standard-sized tow pin. 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, 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 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. As there is no need to maintain numerous towbars, simplicity is the main advantage of this unit. Directly connecting the tug to the landing gear allows operators to have better responsiveness and control while moving the aircraft.
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