Tow Trucks – If you drive vehicles on the road then you must have faced a situation when you require help from a tow truck! Why? Because at some point or other vehicles tend to break down on the road and in such situation the only help that you can get, is from a towing service. It’s true, that your vehicle is the best way to provide you convenience while you are travelling but sometimes they may betray you and in such situation what will you do?
Obviously you will call a towing service so that they can send their tow trucks and carry your vehicle to the repair garage. Once you call them they will take care of your vehicle but the question is what type of tow truck is required for carrying your vehicle? There are different types of tow trucks out there and professional service providers use them according to the situation and need. Thus, if you have some idea about what are the 4 main types of tow trucks it will help you to let the towing service provider about it.
Here are the main 4 different types of tow trucks used mostly for towing vehicles.
Flat-bed Tow truck
A flat bed tow truck is also commonly known as a ‘slide’ or ‘rollback’ tow truck. It is known so because of the way it performs its function. It is fitted with a hydraulic inclined bed that can be lowered all the way to the ground. The vehicle that is to be towed is then pulled or driven onto the bed of the tow truck. After the vehicle is positioned securely on the flatbed the bed is again adjusted to the previous driving position.
The flatbed is the most popular kind of tow truck because of its utilities. Whether it’s about meeting any emergency or carrying a damaged car from one place to the garage it comes in handy. The car is most secured in it as it inflicts minimum damage. In other tow trucks the vehicle is dragged behind the truck that may damage the vehicle. However, in this the vehicle is securely placed over the flatbed. This type of tow truck is beneficial for towing even bikes as well as boats. The flatbed trucks come with a winch that can pull the vehicle onto the bed.
Chain and Hook
The chain and hook tow truck is one of the oldest type of tow trucks used in the towing business. It is very popular too as it has been in use since people have been using vehicles. It is also one of the most readily available tow trucks and is quite cheap too. For using it there is a hook along with a chain. The vehicle is hooked and then it is dragged by the tow truck. While this is a simple process you have to be careful as the vehicle is dragged it may impose some damage on the vehicle because of this nowadays its use is reduced.
When towing a vehicle this type of tow trucks mainly use dragging. The hook of the tow truck is attached with the axle or bumper and thus there are high chances that it may get damaged while the vehicle is towed to a garage. Your car may be scratched on the body of the vehicle from the use of the chain. For all these reasons when there is question of towing any costly vehicle the use of this type of tow truck decreases since it comes with a small risk.
Wheel and Lift
This type of tow truck is an evolution over the hook chain tow trucks. The way the vehicles are towed are a bit different from hook and chain tow trucks. It does not have any hook or chain but a metal yoke that touches the wheels and then the vehicle is dragged. The yoke is hooked up at either the front wheels or the rear wheels and then by using a hydraulic system the vehicles are towed.
It’s true that these tow trucks cannot provide the level of protection as the flat bed tow trucks but still they are better options. Before flatbed tow trucks were in use these trucks were used the most. Its true that they are not as safe as the flatbed but when you are looking for some cheap alternative they are better than hook and chain.
Integrated tow trucks
There are two different mechanism in use in the integrated tow trucks. Among the varied combinations available the most common is a wheel lift along with a boom in one single unit. They are great for towing small vehicles where you will not require anything as large as flatbed tow trucks. These trucks are mainly designed for heavy duty pickups and thus their arms are embedded inside the core of the vehicle. Thus, they are quite stable option when it comes to choosing a tow truck.