Ground handling tug

[B47]

Can anyone recommend any ground handling aircraft tugs please? Everything I can find online is out of the US with very heavy shipping charges. I'm looking for an electric tug, available from a UK seller, simple one man operation, suitable for moving my new (2003) DA40 backwards. It's just too heavy for one person if I'm last back to the airfield and no help is available. Second hand also if you know of one. Thanks.

[dont overfil]

Try Red Box International. I don't have all the details of the one we use as I'm at work.
I think ours is one up from the smallest. It is just adequete for a C182.

D.O.

[B47]

Thanks, aware of them, but the Red Box 701 (smallest version) is far too expensive at £1,900 + VAT + shipping. There are several units on the market in the US for around $1500. Doesn't anyone act as an agent for any of these in the UK? If not, I'll import one - but seems mad there are no others available.

Anyone know of any others for sale in the UK?

[BackPacker]

I once saw an ad for a tow bar with its own set of wheels, that was powered by a beefy cordless screwdriver. For a DA40, sounds like it's all you need.

Edited: Patent description here:

Portable aircraft moving device - US Patent 4915185 Description (http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/4915185/description.html)

And a manufacturer of this kind of stuff here:

Producer - Aircraft Power supplies - Aircraft powered TOW BARS - Aircraft TOW BAR (http://www.aero-pac.com/#/towunits-towbars/4536229923)

[B47]

Thanks Backpacker, that's very interesting.

It would seem to have the power needed if it can move 3500kg up a 3% slope.

I've asked them for a quote.

Thanks again, much appreciated.

[achimha]

This product is fairly popular around here: Schleppmaxxe (http://www.schleppmaxxe.de/schleppmaxxe1_e.html). Costs about € 1200 + VAT for a DA40. I'm currently considering buying one.

[BackPacker]

Achimea, I hope you speak German, 'cause the website owners seem to have a bit of trouble with English. I have never seen such a badly translated site.

On the front page of the battery box is a bone-assurance, the pull-out by making the SchleppMAXXE tension. This is the SchleppMAXXE short circuit protected (rodents).

With the tow bar can also be car-trailer hauling and rank, such as trailer when parking in tight campgrounds or boat trailer when the urinating boats.

I'm sure it must've made sense in German before somebody (Google?) did the translation.:sad:

[Cpt_Pugwash]

Check out the products available for shifting caravans. One such supplier is Motor Mover (http://www.motormover.com/?2a2bc4f0).
Also PowrMover and PowrHitch (http://www.caravanmovers.co.uk/products/PowrHitch-Model-2.html) have such devices.

[achimha]

Hah, a bone-assurance, that sounds worse than what Google Translate could come up with! Pretty awful, and their German site isn't much better either. The product is solid though and quite popular. The "bone-assurance" is a circuit breaker you have to pull after using the device, otherwise it will slowly discharge. If you pull it, then you will surely lose it one day. That's actually the one thing I don't like about it. http://www.schleppmaxxe.de/Bilder/knochen.gif

I will go and see them at the AERO show and ask about the "bone-assurance" and "urinating boats" :)

[dont overfil]

That one looks just the Red Box unit. Ours was £1100 two years ago.
One thing to watch for is to make sure the unit is heavy enough to provide traction.

D.O.

[Cusco]

We bought a second hand (battery powered) Golf Cart for £600 from a fellow flyer.

Has worked well for the last four years and is plenty powerful to pull an Arrow on wet grass.

When I was researching the smaller purpose built electric or 4 stroke tugs I telephoned several of the makers (mostly USA) to ask if they would work on wet grass (as opposed to dry flat concrete/tarmac, which seems to be the US norm) and not one of them would give an assurance that they would work on wet/muddy grass: Beware........

[peterh337]

I had a quick look at this several years ago.

I found a curious thing: none of the "nice" electric ones that I found were variable speed. All the variable speed ones were petrol.

Maybe it has changed since, but it's worth checking explicitly. But all the hangar people I see have petrol tugs.

Lots of people have tried to buy electric tugs from the USA but the vendors reportedly won't ship them without the batteries (which are only simple car batteries) which makes the freight costs silly.

[dont overfil]

Peter I agree. Variable speed is essential. The RB one and presumably the identical one in the photo (even colour) is.
D.O.

[austerwobbler]

Make your own , I did for my Auster J1n, I used a electric invalide car, turned the handle bars round and used it in reverse ,cut the seat off and made a attachment to clamp rond the tail wheel, pulled it in and out no probs even on soft grass, the tug I use now is a normal ride on mower " bought off Ebay" with a draw bar on that clamps the tail wheel " and the plus side is you can cut the grass round your hanger doors when you are done :ok:

Austerwobbler

[abgd]

and the plus side is you can cut the grass round your hanger doors when you are done http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/thumbs.gif

Like Like Like

[achimha]

The Aero-Pac Combi-Tow costs € 1050 + € 120 for wide tires and + € 240 for 95 amps battery instead of the standard 45 amps. The airplane adapter is another € 150. All prices excluding VAT and S&H (quoted € 90 from Belgium to Germany). With all options and VAT, that means almost € 2000.

A neat feature is that you can use it as a starter pack. It's got a dry lead battery (Hawker) and an electronically controlled charger that you can leave connected all the time. Warranty is 12 months.

Aero-Pac will be at the AERO show in Friedrichshafen as well as Schleppmaxxe.

[soay]

I had a quote of £1540 + VAT from RedBox for their 701 Tug (http://www.redboxpower.com/moving-equipment-tug701.html). Shipping was extra, but that was from Romsey in Hampshire.