Electric tug for the MX7

[Stinger]

Gary gave me a tow bar he built for his lawn tractor it works well with my riding mower when I need to move the maule any distance like after washing or if I have it over by the garage. It hooks up to the scott tail wheel axle like a lot of other models. I'll post a picture when I get home.

Please do! That's what I'm thinking about doing.

[gbarrier]

Here you go. This is first model. CaptnKirk has one of these.



Hooks up like this:



This is the later model:



Hooks up like this:



It does take a little room to position the repurposed mower behind the airplane and towbar.

[Joe Crecente]

I finally went with the electric tug but ran into problems with the cradle not fitting tightly enough around the wheel and sliding up when I tried to move it.
I got some aluminum stock and modified it a bit by adding some "wings" to the cradle which places them further under the wheel. I still need to do something about not letting the cradles rotate as that still allows them to ride up a bit, but at least it works now. I will try boring some holes in the flange on the cradle and putting a bolt thru to stop rotation.
And soooo much easier than pushing by hand.

[Joe Crecente]

Here they are

http://s1299.photobucket.com/user/JoeBe ... y.jpg.html

I think I do not know how to add images...

[TomD]

Joe said

I think I do not know how to add images...Sad

Don't feel bad. I had it figured out then Photobucket disallowed posting to third party sites, i.e. bulletin boards unless you pay a premium price.

I am looking for another site for hosting pictures to share.

[Akafrank]

"The Boss" is powered by a Milwaukee 28v battery drill. It looks interesting. In the video it's towing a Maule. http://www.minimaxtugs.com/product-p/028boss.htm . It's not recommended for use in grass and I don't think it would work well on a downhill incline since the tailwheel might hop over the peg.

Minimax tug, not the Boss, works well. I found after the fact, a longer handle is available, ordered it ($100). Add snow tires and it will move the M-5 on gravel and turf. Not cheap. Probably have 2K invested with extra battery but well worth it in my opinion.

Ralph
Akafrank

[Joe Crecente]

I try to forget how much I spend on things for this airplane as soon as possible...just keeps me up at night...

[taildragger]

Or as a friend of mine likes to say:

" I hope when I die my wife doesn't sell all this stuff for what I told her I paid for it."

[andy]

In my never ending search for the perfect electric tailwheel tug I'm looking at Best Tugs A3. Does anyone have any experience with it?

We have their B12 at work to move the Cessna 185Fs and Air Tractor AT-802Fs. It works very well but you have to be careful with the 185 not to turn the tug so much that the tire hits the rudder cable.

These things aren't cheap but they're very well made. The A2 is a little too close to the max gross of the MX-7-180 of 2500 lbs so the A3 seems like a better choice. Traction on a slick surface is usually a problem on a tug that doesn't have the weight of the tailwheel over the tug's driving wheels but I have a rough concrete hangar floor and no incline to deal with. Most of the time there's no snow or ice (with the exception of the past week.)

[Hale-Yes]

When I read this " I hope when I die my wife doesn't sell all this stuff for what I told her I paid for it." I laughed so hard that I spit very good scotch all over my computer screen. I resemble that quote so much!

[Hale-Yes]

When I read this " I hope when I die my wife doesn't sell all this stuff for what I told her I paid for it." I laughed so hard that I spit very good scotch all over my computer screen. I resemble that quote so much!

[DonLindsay]

I've been looking at the Redline Sidewinder, which is one of those modified-electric-drill things. Its advantage (to me) is that it's small enough and light enough to take along on a trip.

Unfortunately, they seem to want to see an MXT to measure its front tire, and I'm not anywhere near San Diego. Is there anyone out there with an MXT that would be amused to visit Redline ?

Don
C-GUDL, formerly N9221Y

[Duane]

Don, you can let them know the spacing on the tow-bar bracket is the same as a Piper. It uses a standard 6.00-6 tire.

[bobguhr]

I'm using Best Tug's B5 to move my M6. Pricey but I love it. The weight of the tail rests on the drive wheels giving good traction, it has high and low range and effortlessly pushes and pulls across turf.

[andy]

We have a Best Tugs B12 at work. It's huge (long). We got it to move the Air Tractor AT802F Single Engine Air Tankers but we have adapters to move Cessna 185s or 182s. It's the best electric tug that I've used and has lots of bells and whistles like a built-in air compressor and external battery jump pack. It's a little hard to use for the 185s because its so long that you can't maneuver it well in tight spaces. You also have to be careful that you don't angle it so much that the tire hits the rudder cable. Still, the build quality and operation are top notch, which is why I'm looking at the A3 for my Maule. The A3 clamps around the Scott tailwheel axle nuts so it doesn't have the weight of the tailwheel giving it traction. I was a bit concerned about that but their video says to just press down on the handle bar with moderate pressure to increase the traction. I'm also not on an incline so I think it would work fine. The other plus of the A3 is that it requires very little room behind the tail to maneuver the tug or attach it to the tailwheel axle. That's helpful since there's not a lot of room between the tail and the back hangar wall.