The professional Chicagoland roadside assistance technicians here at Towing Chicago are prepared to provide vehicle recovery and towing services to vehicles of all sizes. Our team is highly experienced in light duty trucking, medium duty trucking, and heavy duty trucking services. In this blog entry, our professional towing service technicians will detail some of the different types of tow trucks that we regularly use to provide towing services throughout the entire Chicago region.
Flatbed Tow Trucks
This common type of tow truck is likely the one that appears in your mind when you picture “tow trucks.” also known as rollback trucks, flatbed tow trucks have a long bed at their rear meant to secure cars or other vehicles. Flatbed tow trucks use hydraulics to move this bed up and down. The bed of flatbed tow trucks lowers to ground level, and the car is pulled onto the bed and is secured tightly. Flatbed tow trucks have weight limits that can’t be exceeded and are usually used to transport very damaged or broken down vehicles safely.
Hook and Chain Tow Trucks
Eponymously, these tow trucks have a hook and chain that tows a vehicle; it’s the oldest type of tow truck, previously utilizing ropes instead of chains. The chain is attached to the hooks of two other vehicles that drag the car behind it – however, ths places lots of pressure on the tow truck, leading to a decrease in popularity for these tow trucks to be used today. Tow truck chains can even scratch the body of vehicles.
Wheel Lift Tow Trucks
Similar to hook and chain tow trucks, wheel lift tow trucks use tokens to carry the vehicle on its front wheels. Yokes are bars that attach to the back of the tow truck, and are placed under the front wheels of the vehicle that’s getting towed. Wheel lift tow trucks are ideal for transporting small and medium sized vehicles, and can protect your car from scratches. Wheel lift tow trucks utilize a car’s front wheels, but sometimes they can attach to a car’s rear wheels in specific contexts.
Boom Tow Trucks
Boom tow trucks use adjustable hydraulic arms known as booms. These boots are used to recover cars from off-road environments like embankments or ditches. They use hook and chain based systems to lift up the rescued vehicle or object, making them ideal for heavy duty recovery or towing services. Modern boom tow truck drivers use belt lifts and slings to lift vehicles, as they are far safer.
Integrated Tow Trucks
Integrated tow trucks use both boom and wheel lift towing technology. The marriage of these two technologies make integrated tow trucks highly versatile and useful for towing many vehicle types. Integrated tow trucks can be used for both vehicle recovery and towing operations, as well as, commonly, to tow illegally parked vehicles. Integrated tow trucks are strong due to their axles and core-embedded arms, giving them slightly more advantage in towing heavy vehicles like other trucks, buses, or construction equipment.