Used Yard Spotter Antioch - 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. 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.
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. Tractive effort says that the heavier the load, the more tractive effort is required. Based on this principle, the tow tractor works by lifting a part of the load it is towing while making sure the load’s wheels 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
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.
These load carrier tow tractors fall under the material handling equipment industry which includes other machines such as pallet jacks, forklifts and cranes. 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. Therefore, the load must already be on wheels or on a wheeled platform, ready to be transported. 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. Trolly types differ to provide customization options. Trollies can connect together and are compatible. 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. Further, load carrier tow tractors tow their trollies behind them in a forward-only direction which decreases the safety concerns created by forklifts operating in reverse. This is vital for safety-sensitive places including airports and manufacturing facilities.
Towing many items at once saves time and money compared to relying on forklifts to move single things. They are safe and easy to maneuver. The operator doesn’t require a license, which is another benefit compared to forklifts. This is because the load is not lifted from the ground so it does not fall under the usual restrictions and licensing required of standard forklifts, cranes and other load lifting equipment.
There are three subtypes of load carrier tow tractors:
1. Pedestrian;
2. Stand-in; and
3. Rider-seated.
Pedestrian Tow Tractors
A pedestrian tow tractor, also referred to as an electric tug, electric tugger, electric hand tug or tow tractor, is a walk-behind machine designed for easy movement of wheeled loads. These machines are simple to use, extremely maneuverable and very compact.
Stand-in Tow Tractors
The most common design for businesses that rely on horizontal manufacturing transport and order picking are stand-in tow tractors. 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
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
Aviation relies on the pushback concept for moving big passenger and cargo aircraft. Pushing an aircraft back from the airport terminal without using the aircraft’s own power is the pushback concept. This pushback process is done by using specially designed heavy duty tow tractors called pushback tractors or pushback tugs.
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. Enough ground friction is required to move the weighted aircraft, so these models need to be heavy themselves. 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.
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 two subtypes of pushback tow tractors include conventional tow tractors and towbarless tow tractors.
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 that attaches to the tug can pivot vertically and laterally. The tow bar functions as a sizeable lever to facilitate nose landing gear rotation. 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. On heavy towbars for large aircrafts, the towbar rides on its own wheels when not connected to an aircraft. 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 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 design facilitates higher speeds greater aircraft control and can eliminate the necessity of having a worker inside of the cockpit to apply the brakes. The main advantage of a towbarless tug is simplicity; there is no need to maintain multiple 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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