What Is A Tow Tractor?
Tow tractors, also known as “tuggers” are specialized vehicles built to tow merchandise or raw materials within a warehouse or manufacturing facility. A few special kinds of tow tractors can also be utilized in airports or other transportation hubs for towing baggage and cargo.
Tow tractors can be powered by batteries or internal combustion, and come in a huge variety of designs and capacities. These vehicles are usually configured to tow utility carts behind them, and are appointed with various types of tow hitches.
How Are Tow Tractors Used?
Tow tractors have many uses across different types of businesses. From light duty to heavy industrial applications, tow tractors are a good fit for many operations.
Warehouse
Many warehouses require horizontal transportation of commodities that do not require stacking. By attaching several carts behind an electric tow tractor, operators can transport goods much more efficiently than moving individual loads on pallet jacks or lift trucks.
The same concept applies for low level order picking or goods replenishment. On a series of carts, many more items can be transported, saving operators time by reducing their number of trips.
Manufacturing
Tow tractors can be used for many applications inside a manufacturing operation, from routine parts picking to heavy duty hauling of items like steel bar stock.
Airport Ground Support Equipment (GSE)
The sight of luggage carts being transported from the tarmac to the terminal is familiar to almost everyone that travels. These carts are transported by tow tractors that are engineered for airport applications.
Tow Tractors Available From Welch Equipment
Welch Equipment carries a full line of warehouse tuggers from Raymond, including the 8610 Tow Tractor, which is ideal for batch picking warehouse/plant applications or horizontal transport of up to 10k pounds.
In addition, Raymond manufactures a fully automated Automated Guided Vehicle option, the 3020, which is ideal for repetitive, resource intensive functions that can be automated.
Beyond the warehouse, Welch Equipment supplies a wide array of electric, LPG and gas powered tow tractors from other manufacturers. This lineup includes low, medium and high capacity choices, with towing capabilities of up to 120,000 lbs at the high end.
Tow Tractors Near Me
If you would like to learn more about tow tractors, or need more information on available technologies and options, talk to a material handling professional at Welch Equipment today.
