Here at Tracy’s Towing & Body Shop we would like to take a minute and inform our users about the different types of towing. This may help you better understand how we can assist you in your towing needs. A tow truck also called a wrecker or recovery vehicle is a truck used to move disabled, improperly parked, impounded, or otherwise indisposed motor vehicles. This may involve recovering a vehicle damaged in an accident, returning one to a drivable surface in a mishap or inclement weather, or towing or transporting one via flatbed to a repair shop or other location.
In the USA we use four general types of tow trucks. The common usage is usually based on the type or size of vehicle to be towed:
Boom: uses an adjustable boom with a winch to recover vehicles from a ditch, over an embankment, or any place the vehicle cannot be safely reach backing-up. Some booms are fixed, some heavy pivoting A-frames, others hydraulic-powered telescoping tubes. The heaviest types of boom can rotate, effectively turning the tow truck into a sort of mobile crane, called a “rotator”, and are usually reserved for heavy vehicle accidents. In the past boom trucks used a “hook and chain” system where chains are looped around the vehicle frame or axle, then lifted by a boom winch. A towbar with heavy rubberized mats connects the truck and vehicle, so it can be towed on its other axle. “Slings” and “belt lifts” are an evolution, with rubber straps replacing part of the chains. Slings are not used much today because they can scratch the bumpers of cars. But they are sometimes used for towing vehicles that have been in an accident or have one or two of the front or rear wheels missing or for pickup trucks and other vehicles that have steel bumpers. Cars equipped with all-wheel drive cannot be towed with a sling, since it can cause problems with the car’s drivetrain.
Wheel-Lift (also called a “spectacle lift”): evolved from the hook and chain technology to produce a large metal yoke that can be fitted under the front or rear wheels to cradle them, drawing the front or rear end of the vehicle clear of the ground by a pneumatic or hydraulic hoist so it can be towed. This apparatus generally picks up the drive wheels of the vehicle (i.e. the front wheels if it is front wheel drive, the rear wheels if it is rear wheel drive) touching only the tires. Medium and heavy trucks use a variation, the “underlift” or “chassis lift”, which lifts the axle or frame instead of the wheels. Wheel-lift trucks can have adapters which can also lift the chassis.
Integrated (also called a “Self Loader”, “Snatcher”, “Quick Pick” or “Repo Truck”): boom and wheel-lift integrated into one unit. Used in light duty trucks to repossess vehicles or move illegally parked vehicles. Most have controls for the apparatus inside the cab of the tow truck to make quick pickup possible without the inconvenience of exiting the truck to hook up the vehicle. Heavy duty trucks are also manufactured with integrated lift.
Flatbed (also called a “rollback” or a “slide”): the entire back of the truck is fitted with a bed that can be hydraulically inclined and slid back to ground level, allowing the vehicle to be placed on it under its own power or pulled on by a winch. Because they carry rather than tow the vehicle, it can be completely immobilized; in the US they are used to carry badly damaged cars from crashes.
These are the most common arrangements, but are by no means exclusive, as there are flatbed units that offer a wheel-lift, boom trucks that can recover but not tow, and wheel-lift units that offer a combination boom with sling.
There are also several sizes and weight categories of tow truck. The lightest models are usually based on light truck and van chassis offering boom and tow weights of around 5-to-10 tons, making them ideal for car towing. Most flatbed-type vehicles are based on medium duty and heavy duty trucks to provide the chassis strength necessary to carry entire vehicles. A step up from that are medium-duty tow trucks offering boom capacity of 15–20 tons. Heavier still are the heavy duty tow trucks based on chassis used by semi trucks, with multiple axles and the ability to tow fully loaded semi truck and trailer combinations, with boom capacity form 25 to 50 tons. At the top are the rotators, which can range from 40 tons to 75 tons.
