The machines form part of the material handling equipment industry that, amongst others, also covers fork lift trucks, overhead cranes and pallet jacks.
Although ‘electric tug’ is perhaps the most commonly used term, suppliers and customers regularly use a range of other names that include towing tractors, battery powered tugs, electric hand trucks, electric tuggers and pedestrian operated tugs.
The tugs move loads across a single level. They do not lift the load clear of the ground which is why the load must be on wheels. If the load itself does not have wheels, it would be placed on a wheeled platform often referred to as a trolley, bogie or skate. The tug connects to this wheeled platform just as a fork lift truck links to a pallet in order to move a load sat on it.
In most cases a steel coupling (male) attached to the machine itself connects to a corresponding coupling (female) bolted to the load’s bogie. A second bogie or multiple bogies will each have identical female couplings attached to them so that a single male coupling attached to the machine can move them all without alterations.
How do they work?
An electric tug relies on the principal of tractive effort. The machine, once secured to the bogie, will lift a portion of the load ensuring the load’s wheels remain on the ground. This is achieved via the machine’s hydraulic mast which is designed to create downforce on the drive wheel immediately beneath it. It is the traction generated from this process that allows the tug to move very large and heavy objects. As a tug does not lift its load clear of the ground it does not have to conform to the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER), therefore an operator does not need a licence.
Where are they used?
Electric tugs are used in many industry sectors. Some common applications include;
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