What are the Different Types of Tow Trucks?

Tow trucks are also referred to as wreckers, recovery vehicles or breakdown lorries. They are used to transport or cars that are broken, seized, debilitated, damaged, or wrongly parked. Tow truck comes in different models and brands. Here are some of the most common ones used today:

Flatbed Tow Trucks

Flat Bed Tow Trucks are quite common these days. They are popular for their flatbed towing feature. These tow trucks are also referred to as slide trucks because of the way it operates. Its most notable feature is the big and expanded hydraulic flatbed with a mechanism that moves up and down. The flatbed slides down towards the ground to secure the car over it.

These tow trucks are equipped with a hoist to lift immobile vehicles. It also has a lifting device composed of a chain or rope winding around the rotating horizontal drum that is turned by an engine or crank to draw it towards the bed. Flatbed tow trucks are generally user-friendly and they can transport a wide variety of cars, including boats.

Hook-and-chain Tow Truck

The hook-and-chain tow truck is possibly the oldest and the most frequently used tow truck to move damaged, scrapped, or totaled cars to a scrap yard. To accomplish this, a chain will be attached to the vehicle’s front bumper and then drawn using the truck-fixed boom winch. If you need a tow truck, and you only have a hook and a chain, then you might damage your vehicle after towing it. The chain brake will lift the surface of the vehicle but the drivetrain may get crushed.

Integrated Tow Trucks

Integrated Tow Trucks are tow truck that has a boom and a wheel lift. Though these parts perform different processes, they function as a unit. These tow trucks incorporate highly specialized and advanced parts. It is designed to transport medium-sized vehicles to perform heavy tasks. These trucks have extra axles that provide stability and sturdiness. These tow trucks can also be used to move buses and platforms.

Wheel Lift Tow Truck

Lift Tow Trucks can be compared to the hooks and chains tow trucks but their mode of operation differs. Instead of having hooks and chains, the wheel-lifts and tow clamps to metal yokes. The yoke will be fastened to the rear or the front of the car’s drive wheel and then hoisted to lift it using with hydraulics. The wheel-lift tow trucks are like flatbed tow trucks in a way that it provides a significant level of security and safety to the vehicle but it is not as expensive.

These are some of the tow trucks that towing companies use to transport vehicles. It is important that the right tow truck is used for each instance to prevent damaging your car.