Recommended Tug

[aviator_brian]

Hello fellow Aviators,

Can anyone recommend me a good brand tug that'll help my plane get up the incline and doorway to my hangar?

Thank you.

Best Regards,

 

Brian

[DVA]

I like this one

 

[aviatoreb]

8 minutes ago, DVA said:

I like this one

 

That's what I have too.  It is a great choice if like me - you need to put chains on the big tire for part of the year for ice and snow.

I always like the robotow concept otherwise as well.

[peevee]

Happy with our gas ez tow 40

If you're near Denver I have an electric I built you can have

[jerryg324]

I have the  robotow and the sidewinder both work equally well....  I recently sold one or our planes and have either one available for purchase....  let me know if your interested....

[carusoam]

Welcome aboard, Brian.

The sidewinder has some portability with it...

I bought the sidewinder towbar to go with my CB repowered Craftsman tug.

The price of the sidewinder probably keeps it from being widely adopted.

Best regards,

-a-

Edited April 21, 2017 by carusoam

[kortopates]

22 minutes ago, aviatoreb said:

That's what I have too.  It is a great choice if like me - you need to put chains on the big tire for part of the year for ice and snow.

I always like the robotow concept otherwise as well.

I'll quadruple nominate the gas 40 EZ Tow, with the Mooney adapter. These are available used too, but you pretty much need to be local, so you should tell us where you are located. No chains required in sunny California! 

Edited April 21, 2017 by kortopates

[aviatoreb]

Its an amazing little tug - so reliable.  It starts in one pull whether its -20F or +90F (the most extreme I have tried.....I bet even wider).

And it runs on 100LL no problem - very convenient if you happen to keep it someplace where that is the most plentiful fuel...like an airport.  It doesn't take much so no big deal that this fuel is more expensive than you could run it on.

[aviatoreb]

9 minutes ago, kortopates said:

No chains required in sunny California! 

I heard its been raining.  :-O

[Godfather]

Go with an off the shelf model. Otherwise you will spend twice as long at twice the price...

This is my Mooney adapter 

 

[kevinw]

I really like my sidewinder....in the spring, summer and fall. It's worthless in the ice and snow. As soon as the tire gets wet you aren't going anywhere. I might have to look at a 40 EZ tow before next winter.

[aviatoreb]

51 minutes ago, kevinw said:

I really like my sidewinder....in the spring, summer and fall. It's worthless in the ice and snow. As soon as the tire gets wet you aren't going anywhere. I might have to look at a 40 EZ tow before next winter.

hah - I was thinking of getting a sidewinder or something...for summer...and for when on the road since its portable.

[kevinw]

hah - I was thinking of getting a sidewinder or something...for summer...and for when on the road since its portable.

That's the trade off. The sidewinder is very handy and works well when the pavement is dry. The EZ tug would be quite a bit more clumsy. Ideally I'd like to have both but I can't stomach sinking $4K into tugs. My neighbor has a winch bolted to the floor in the back of his hanger and uses a wired remote control to pull his A36 in. Works well.


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[aviatoreb]

4 minutes ago, kevinw said:

That's the trade off. The sidewinder is very handy and works well when the pavement is dry. The EZ tug would be quite a bit more clumsy. Ideally I'd like to have both but I can't stomach sinking $4K into tugs. My neighbor has a winch bolted to the floor in the back of his hanger and uses a wired remote control to pull his A36 in. Works well.


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I have a winch in the back of the hangar - when it is too icy for even the EZ with chains.  Why would I fly on such a day you ask?  Our runway is very well maintained in the winter - BUT sometimes on a sunny day melting can cause water to drip off the roof to make sheer ice right in front of my hangar that is VEEEERY slippery.  The winch was cheap - like 75 bucks to setup with parts from the auto supply.   But it is a pain to use - but when you need it you need it.

[kevinw]

I have a winch in the back of the hangar - when it is too icy for even the EZ with chains.  Why would I fly on such a day you ask?  Our runway is very well maintained in the winter - BUT sometimes on a sunny day melting can cause water to drip off the roof to make sheer ice right in front of my hangar that is VEEEERY slippery.  The winch was cheap - like 75 bucks to setup with parts from the auto supply.   But it is a pain to use - but when you need it you need it.

This is exactly the problem I'm having; those days when it melts and freezes. I get stuck about 5 times a year and the manager gets the tractor out. Looks like I'm in the market for a winch!


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[Godfather]

12 minutes ago, aviatoreb said:

I have a winch in the back of the hangar - when it is too icy for even the EZ with chains.  Why would I fly on such a day you ask?  Our runway is very well maintained in the winter - BUT sometimes on a sunny day melting can cause water to drip off the roof to make sheer ice right in front of my hangar that is VEEEERY slippery.  The winch was cheap - like 75 bucks to setup with parts from the auto supply.   But it is a pain to use - but when you need it you need it.

This is why I made my own. I have four foot extensions on the handles and with chains it will go through anything. Too much work to use a winch multiple times in the winter. Also helps to have a south facing hanger.

[aviatoreb]

17 minutes ago, kevinw said:

This is exactly the problem I'm having; those days when it melts and freezes. I get stuck about 5 times a year and the manager gets the tractor out. Looks like I'm in the market for a winch!


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...when it is this slippery - I also keep a set of those things you put over your shoes with spikes on the bottom.  

[Bennett]

For many years I had a 120v winch, with wire cable on the drum, at the back of my hangars. I had a long electrical cord with an on/off switch. One of these hangars had a considerable upslope to the hangar entry. To pull the airplane out of the hangar I released the winch clutch so the drum would turn freely, and I would detach the cable end from the Mooney tail skid. Two problems: One, I had to position the airplane with a tow bar so that it was in the correct position to be be drawn into the hangar. I left the tow bar attached to steer the airplane while the winch pulled it in. Sometimes the alignment went astray, and I would have to reposition the airplane. But it did save my back. The second problem is that there has been a lot of talk about NOT pulling a Mooney by the tail skid. After reflection I agree.

 

So I bought a Robotow unit. Works perfectly for non-snow, non-ice California. Like others I added wheels to the Robotow to avoid lifting it. I do carry a folding tow bar.

 

 

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[SantosDumont]

+1000 Easy Tow 40.  I have one and it's the shit.  Best ,money I ever spent on the plane.  Runs just fine on 100LL.  Have a siphon pump and I just fill it up out of the wing tank.  

[StevenL757]

1 hour ago, kevinw said:

That's the trade off. The sidewinder is very handy and works well when the pavement is dry. The EZ tug would be quite a bit more clumsy. Ideally I'd like to have both but I can't stomach sinking $4K into tugs. My neighbor has a winch bolted to the floor in the back of his hanger and uses a wired remote control to pull his A36 in. Works well.
 

I have the Sidewinder and it works well in both wet and dry.  The black roller that makes contact with the nose wheel has a course/rough pebble-covered surface that I've found will turn a wet or dry nose wheel.  For about 1.5 AMU, it is very well-made, easy and quick to assemble and collapse, and goes in the plane nicely.  I bought an extra 28-volt drill battery to change out if I'm someplace where I need to tow a longer distance and run out of juice.

[aviatoreb]

15 minutes ago, SantosDumont said:

+1000 Easy Tow 40.  I have one and it's the shit.  Best ,money I ever spent on the plane.  Runs just fine on 100LL.  Have a siphon pump and I just fill it up out of the wing tank.  

...actually if you are patient enough to do so - you can put the sump-test from your preflight check list into the ez tow and then it that is just about enough to run it for one in and out trip from the hangar.  So it runs this way for a very very long time and gives you someplace to dump your sump-tester.

[SantosDumont]

Just now, aviatoreb said:

...actually if you are patient enough to do so - you can put the sump-test from your preflight check list into the ez tow and then it that is just about enough to run it for one in and out trip from the hangar.  So it runs this way for a very very long time and gives you someplace to dump your sump-tester.

but then i'd have to be patient.  I bought a filtered sump jar so I just pour it back in the tanks.

[aviatoreb]

Just now, SantosDumont said:

but then i'd have to be patient.  I bought a filtered sump jar so I just pour it back in the tanks.

but filtering takes even more patience.

 

[mulro767]

Hello fellow Aviators,
Can anyone recommend me a good brand tug that'll help my plane get up the incline and doorway to my hangar?
Thank you.
Best Regards,
 
Brian

Jeep


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[kevinw]

Jeep


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Best tug ever! And I'm a Jeep dealer so I should be able to come up with something.


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