Interesting Facts About Tow Trucks

If you are searching for the vehicle carriers for sale, then you are probably thinking about starting a towing services business. Towing is coupling two or more objects together so that they may be pulled by a designated power source or sources. The designated power source can be an animal, a human, a vessel or a motorized land vehicle.

In the past, before we all heavily relied on vehicles, towing was done by animals and humans. Nowadays, vessels and motorized land vehicles do the towing. Vessels are mainly used in the maritime industry and air crafts. On land, tow trucks are used to tow vehicles from one place to another. So if interested in vehicle carriers for sale, familiarize yourself with the different types of tow trucks before making a purchase.

Here are some interesting facts about tow trucks you probably didn’t know:

• A tow truck is a motorized land truck used specifically for moving disabled, improperly parked, impounded, or otherwise indisposed motor vehicles. It’s not the same as a motor carrier although many think it is. A motor carrier is a car carrier trailer, mainly used for commercial purposes for efficiently transferring passenger cars.
• The tow truck was invented in 1916, by Sr. Ernest Holmes. He needed a solution for his problem; he had to use blocks, ropes and six men to pull a car out of a creek! He came up with the tow truck design, which had a flat surface attached behind the truck which served to carry a car easily and efficiently.
• At first, there was only one type of a tow truck, today known as the traditional tow truck. As the car industry evolved, so did the tow truck. Today, there are 5 types of tow trucks: the Boom; Hook and Chain; the Wheel-lift; the Flatbed (which are most common vehicle carriers for sale) and the Integrated tow truck.
• There is a Museum dedicated to the tow truck! It is located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where Sr. Ernest Sherlock comes from. The International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum displays restored antique wreckers, tools, equipment, and pictorial histories of the industry Holmes created.
• Operating a tow truck is not something you can start doing tomorrow. The entire industry is regulated by acts and laws, and to actually drive the tow truck, you must own a license for it, therefore, not everyone can be a tow truck driver. For example, in Australian states of New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria there is a Tow Truck Act which regulates towing. Tow trucks have plates ending with “TT”.
• Flatbed tow trucks are the simplest and the best choice. They eliminate the possibility of causing damage to your car’s transmission, and don’t leave the wheels hanging during the transportation.