Flatbed tow trucks are very common for carrying disabled or wrecked vehicles. It is also called ‘Rollback tow truck’. If you are curious to know how much does a flatbed tow truck weigh, or if it will be able to your vehicle, read the article.
The weight of the flatbed tow truck defers according to its design. Some are made to carry regular cars and some are designed for conveying large cars or construction machines. Usually, a flatbed tow truck with a wide body weighs 48,000-80,000 lbs.
These trucks help in avoiding unwanted traffic jams and fixing the car quickly. Most of the time, these trucks are used after an accident that causes major car damage.
What Is a Flatbed Tow Truck Called?
Tow trucks are used widely to solve issues created due to disabled cars or wrecked cars that need to be quickly moved from a place. There is a variety of tow trucks, and flatbed tow trucks are one of the most useful types of tow trucks.
Flatbed tow trucks are very complex vehicles having a bed-like flat body used to pick up generally disabled vehicles. It smoothly picks up the disabled cars on it and places them horizontally or makes the car move forward as the car is tightly tied up.
When a flatbed tow truck takes a car on its flat-topped empty bed, an operator simply puts the flatbed on the ground and a driver drives the car on the bed. After that, the tow truck’s powerful hydraulic system lifts the bed putting the car in a safe position.
Flatbed tow trucks fit the brackets in between the wheels. And then it secures the car’s safety by connecting to itself. The way a flatbed tow truck does it seems very ordinary but has a very complex and strong mechanism that allows them to carry one or more cars.
The capacity of their towing varies depending on the quality of the truck as well as the size of the vehicle to be carried. A two-axle flatbed tow truck can tow about 5000 pounds, but a four-axle tow truck can carry up to 8000 pounds.
How Much Does a Flatbed Tow Truck Weigh?
Before talking about its capability of weight, you should learn about GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating). It is provided by the manufacturer, which is the total weight a vehicle is capable of carrying including its weight. In other words, it tells the maximum operating mass of a vehicle.
A flatbed tow truck weighs a range from 10,000 lbs to 80,000 lbs GVWR. The number may be bigger or less depending on the way the truck is designed.
Light duty trucks, which are designed to carry smaller cars used in general, do not weigh too much. Their GVWR is normally around 10,000 to 14,000 lbs. They tow around 5,000 to 8,000 lbs, almost half of their weight.
Flatbed tow trucks which are designed to carry box trucks or buses weigh more than light duty trucks. Their GVWR is usually 15,000 to 26,500 lbs. They can carry up to 17,000 lbs of vehicles. These trucks can tow two normal cars or a limousine or passenger van.
Heavy duty flatbed tow trucks have a very big range of GVWR. It starts from 30,000 lbs and ends up to 80,000 lbs. These trucks can tow very heavy vehicles and construction equipment. Even in cases, it is used to carry a lighter tow truck!
How Much Does a Tow Truck Weigh in Tons?
A tow truck weighs 5 tons to 30 tons as it varies corresponding on its category. Previously we have discussed the different types of tow trucks. Low duty trucks, known as class A tow trucks usually weigh 5 tons. Class B or medium duty tow trucks weigh around 11 tons on average. Class C or heavy duty tow trucks weigh 30 tons and above.
The weight of a truck plays an important role in the mechanism of carrying a vehicle by the tow truck. The more the weight is, the more its capacity becomes. That is why too large vehicles are moved by class C tow trucks.
The companies that provide tow trucks when it is needed by someone keep tow trucks of all categories so that they could provide trucks as required. A tow truck is not going to carry a bus heavier than itself, right?
How Many Pounds Is a Tow Truck?
In pounds, a tow truck generally weighs from 10,000 to 80,000. Tow trucks come in various types in terms of their weight.
To carry private cars or low-weight vehicles, low duty tow trucks are used. They weigh 10,000 to 14,000 pounds. The class B or medium duty truck’s weight is generally 15,000 to 27,000 pounds. Heavy duty tow trucks are the heaviest in the list having a weight of 30,000-80,000 pounds.
How Much Does a Heavy Duty Tow Truck Weigh?
Heavy duty tow trucks weigh 30 kilo-pounds and above.
Heavy duty tow trucks are called class C tow trucks. They can tow even largest cars, construction equipment, super-duty industrial equipment or a low or medium tow truck. It is mandatory for a heavy duty tow truck to have the following things:
- One or two boom lifts of 25 ton winches.
- A wheel lift of 6 ton.
- Air brake hookups.
- Light.
Such heavy equipments make it possible for the truck to tow large vehicles. Even a small plane can be carried on a class C tow truck!
When a big breakdown occurs in highways or a multi-ton load requires to be transferred, class C trucks become the only choice for the workers.
See How to Load a Wrecked Car onto a Flatbed Truck:
How Much Does A Medium Tow Truck Weigh?
Medium duty (class B) tow trucks weigh 15-27 kilo-pounds.
Such kinds of trucks tow vehicles up to 17,000 pounds. Typically, they have a 12 ton capacity boom lift, 5 ton winches and wheel lifts. Among the medium tow trucks, flatbed trucks are the safest for long way. It saves the tire of the disabled car from getting in touch with the road.
Such trucks commonly tow multiple conveyances, mack trucks, cargo containers, machinery, grange equipment etc. They are used when low duty trucks become unable to tow and maneuverability is not a concern.
How Much Does the Average Tow Truck Weigh?
An average or low duty tow trucks weigh up to 14 kilo-pounds.
These trucks are small in size or weight and designed for carrying motorcycles, mall trailers, passenger cars, pickup trucks, etc. So, it has a powered winch and cable and wheel lifts of some types.
These trucks carry light cars generally for speedy accident recovery because they are capable of maneuvering in narrow or crowdy urban places due to their small size.
Final Thoughts
It becomes too disturbing when a disabled car or any other vehicle blocks a road or a place where it is not supposed to be. To get rid of such situation, flatbed tow trucks are very helpful. But a wrong choice of tow truck can bring further problems.
So, you should choose a tow truck of perfect weight considering on the size of your car to delicately handle the problem.
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