The Various Types of Towing Equipment

January 22, 2020 11:00 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Whenever you call a tow truck to haul away a vehicle or other piece of equipment, the company will have some special equipment on hand to be able to move your vehicle efficiently. If you have an understanding of the most common types of towing equipment used by these companies, you’ll be better able to understand the towing process as a whole, which can help to keep you at ease when you have to get your vehicle towed away.

With this in mind, here’s a quick overview of the main types of towing equipment in Salt Lake City, UT:

  • Slide: This term refers to the bed of a tow truck that uses hydraulic functionality to slide down to the ground level. Your vehicle then gets pulled on to that slide with a winch, and the slide reverses to pull your vehicle back up onto the back of the tow truck.
  • Wheel lift: Another frequently-used type of equipment for vehicle moving, wheel lifts feature long steel bars that go from the tow truck to the vehicle that’s being towed. Running across the bottom is a straight bar that affixes onto the front tires of your vehicle as it’s towed. In this type of setup, the front wheels will be suspended in the air during the towing process, with the back wheels resting on the ground.
  • Boom: The boom is most useful for vehicles that are stuck in ditches. This piece of equipment gets attached to your vehicle to allow it to be hauled out of a steep area or ditch. Booms aren’t just used on tow trucks—you’ll frequently find them on pieces of construction equipment that need to move materials around areas that would be otherwise difficult to reach or maneuver in.
  • Belt lift: A belt lift is a more old-fashioned piece of towing equipment. It features a loop of chains that gets attached to the axle of the towed vehicle. Because this type of lift can cause some damage to the towed vehicle’s axle, it’s not used nearly as frequently as it once was. There can also be some resulting cosmetic damage to the towed vehicle’s bumper. The belt lift is still an option in some circumstances, but generally you’ll find towing companies prefer to use the other types of equipment and methods on this list.
  • Quick pick: A quick pick is a combination of a boom and a wheel lift, which allows the tower to get the vehicle out of difficult positions and then attach it safely to the tow truck. This combination piece of equipment gives towing companies a bit more versatility in their towing options.

If you have to call for a tow truck, you should inquire about the kind of towing method and equipment the company will use. If you can avoid having a company use a belt lift, that will be ideal, because the last thing you want is any unnecessary damage done to your vehicle.

For more information about the types of towing equipment we use in Salt Lake City, UT, contact AMR Auto Repair & Towing today.

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