There are tow trucks seen on the road every day towing or hauling vehicles to various locations. Even though tow trucks perform the same function; which is towing. However, different type of tow trucks offer different set of hauling and has different benefits. Their uses can range from emergency vehicle recovery to transporting high end vehicles. Following are 5 various types of tow trucks and their main uses.
1. Hook and Chain Tow Truck
Hook and chain tow trucks tow vehicles front two wheels or rear two wheels, and leave the remaining two wheels on the ground. Nowadays they are used to haul junk vehicles because of using hook and chain have high chance of causing damage to the towed vehicles. Hook and chain basically move vehicles by holding the vehicles with chains around it and pull up with a boom. As the risk of causing unnecessary damage is too high, towing service providers will normally choose other types of trucks.
2. Wheel Lift Tow Truck
Wheel-lift tow trucks resemble hook and chain tow truck, however there are two differences. First difference is that the hook and chain tow truck uses chains and boom to haul vehicles, while wheel-lift tow truck uses a metal yoke which hooks under the front or rear wheels of the vehicle to be hauled. While the vehicle is towed, the hydraulic lift suspends the front or rear side of the vehicle to lift it off the ground. The second difference of wheel lift to hook and chain is that it reduces potential damage to the towed vehicle.
3. Flatbed Tow Truck
Flatbed tow truck consist of a ramp or platform on its back, which looks like a bed and hence the name. They are also referred as the rollback trucks. Flatbed towing is the best option for most of the towing service providers. They have hydraulic systems in place that enable moving the ramp or platform up and down, which makes loading vehicles more effortless as the vehicle can be driven up onto the flatbed. Once the vehicle is placed, the hydraulics will balance the flatbed and the truck can transport the loaded vehicle. This is one towing method which does not require the vehicle to be on the ground. It is also very safe and secure way of towing with minimum risk of damage to the towed vehicle.
4. Boom
It resembles a crane that allows towing operators to efficiently recover vehicles from troublesome spots; for instance a ditch. It is regularly employed for towing situations where standard towing strategies are not feasible.
5. Integrated Tow Truck
Integrated tow trucks are wheel lift and boom combined into one. These tow trucks are designed to perform light duty towing to heavy duty towing with ease because of both the wheel lift and boom functions.
