Flatbed Tow Truck
from Autobuyingtips.com
by Kevin Seals

Although flatbed or rollback tow trucks are difficult to maneuver in tight spaces, they are favored by tow truck companies and consumers as the safest option for hauling most disabled vehicles. With the aid of a winch, a disabled auto may be gently pulled up and onto to the tilted flatbed platform. Cars may also be driven onto its platform for transport. Once the platform is tilted back into the upright position and the car secured, it is ready for short or long distance transport. The method of loading the vehicle as well as the way it travels on a flatbed tow truck greatly reduces the risk of dammage to the towed auto. Car and motorcycle aficionados also like to use rollback tow trucks as a safe way to minimize wear and tear on their vehicles to safely get their prized vehicles to a show or a race.

A solid rollback truck is a work of art that requires specialized skills and equipment to assemble. The average person has neither the skills nor equipment to mount a carrier onto the cab chassis. Specialized tow truck companies often custom build tow trucks for their clients. They use flatbed towing truck cab chassis and truck body manufacturers such as Ford, Chevrolet, GMC, Isuzu, Peterbilt, and Kenworth among others while the carriers may come from such companies as Century, Chevron or Vulcan. Carrier frames are usually made of steel or aluminum although on occasion they are made of wood.

In addition to the standard carriers, there are specialty carriers such as Miller Industries’ LCG (Low Center of Gravity) carriers which were designed to accommodate taller vehicles such as forklifts by reducing the platform height by 5 to 6 inches. The LCG is available on the Century, Chevron & Vulcan Series 12, 20, 30 and the Vulcan Series 16. The load or weight that a truck can carry is identified in its series number. For example, Century’s 10 Series truck can handle a load of 10,000 pounds and Vulcan’s 30 Series truck can handle 30,000 pounds. Single vehicle rollback load capacities typically range from 10,000 to 40,000 pounds while a 3 or 4 car carrier can handle a load of of 20,000 pounds on the main deck and 5,000 pounds on the upper deck.

Other flatbed tow trucks for sale specifications are platform length, GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rate) and load angle. Generally platform lengths range from 19 feet to 30 feet. The GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rate) or the maximum weight that the vehicle can carry when fully loaded and includes the weight of the vehicle and can range from 15,000 to 60,000 pounds. In some cases, the GVWR should be distributed between the front and rear axles. Such is the case of the Century Heavy Duty 3 or 4 Car Carrier which calls for 12,000 pounds the front axle and 21,000 pounds on the rear. The load angle is a major concern with low clearance and specialty vehicles. All the major carrier companies have come up with an option to help safely load such autos. At Century, it’s called the “Right Approach” and at Vulcan, the “Extreme Angle” but in both cases, the load angle is reduced to 6 degrees. Chevron uses a drop deck to the same effect which it names the “Loadrite”.

The rollback tow truck is not a great recovery vehicle but it can safely handle many types of cars, large vehicles as well as specialty cars. To make up for its lack of maneuverability during recovery operations, tow truck operators may attach a side puller such as the SP 8000, the SP 12000 or the SP 20000. In the same vein as the carrier series, the side puller’s numerals indicate the load they can handle. So the SP 12000 can pull up to 12,000 pounds of auto from an embankment using either manual or hydraulic stiff legs and a winch. With such addition, the flatbed bed tow truck becomes useful in recovery operations. This versatility is another reason it is a favorite among tow truck companies.