Aircraft Pushback Tractors Shipping
A conventional pushback tractor ships by RoRo or on a flat rack; it is heavy for its size and often too wide for a container door. Towbarless tractors are larger and ship by RoRo.
Overview
Pushback tractors are built low and very heavy, because their weight provides the traction to move an aircraft. Conventional towbar tractors are short but wide, and many are wider than the 2.34 m container door, so they drive aboard a RoRo ship from Baltimore, Brunswick, Jacksonville or Houston where a lane serves the destination, or go on a 40 ft flat rack.
Towbarless tractors, which lift the nose gear onto a cradle, are longer and wider still and ship by RoRo. Small electric tugs for regional aircraft may fit a 40 ft high cube if they pass the 2.34 m by 2.58 m door.
Ballast weights that come off are shipped separately where they would put a flat rack over its payload of about 39,000 kg. Fuel is kept to the level the carrier allows, and batteries on electric units are declared.
We have no ground support equipment in our own loading records, so this page sets out the method rather than a past plan. Manufacturers publish the length, width, height and weight for each model, and we plan from those figures and photos before booking.
Send the make, model, serial number and the tractor's rated drawbar pull or aircraft class. Pushback tractors are heavy for their size because of their ballast, so the weight decides the box. Drain fuel to the carrier's limit and disconnect batteries.
Cost depends on the tractor's weight and dimensions. Small and towbarless tractors fit containers or flat racks at a per-box rate, and large tractors go by RoRo, priced by cubic metres. Trucking from the airport to the port is quoted on top.
Typical Specifications
| Weight | 8 - 60+ metric tons (by aircraft class) |
|---|---|
| Transport Width | 2.5m - 4.0m |
| Transport Height | 1.8m - 3.0m |
| Type | Towbar or towbarless (nose-gear cradle) |
Recommended Shipping Methods
Worked example
Narrowbody towbar pushback tug, ballasted: 18 ft 1 in / 5.5 m long, 8 ft 2 in / 2.5 m wide, 6 ft 3 in / 1.9 m high, 48,500 lb / 22,000 kg.
The ladder below is worked out from these figures. Larger or smaller units of the same type can land on a different rung.
Cheapest first: the shipping cost ladder
We price every machine from the bottom rung up. A machine only moves up a rung when a measurement rules out the cheaper method.
Narrowbody towbar pushback tug, ballasted is 8 ft 2 in / 2.5 m wide, over the 7 ft 8 in / 2.34 m container door, so shipping it whole starts on the next rung up.
- Rung 1
Container
Lowest cost
When: Fits through a 7 ft 8 in / 2.34 m × 8 ft 6 in / 2.58 m door and under 59,500 lb / 27,000 kg, whole or after we take off the bucket, boom, cab or wheels.
- Rung 2
Flat rack
Mid cost
Best fit for Narrowbody towbar pushback tug, ballasted
When: Too wide or tall for a container door, but within 14 ft 9 in / 4.5 m wide, 13 ft 1 in / 4 m tall and 86,000 lb / 39,000 kg on one rack.
- Rung 3
RoRo
Mid cost
When: Drives or tows aboard, under 19 ft 8 in / 6 m tall and 110 US tons / 100,000 kg, going to a port with regular RoRo sailings.
- Rung 4
Breakbulk
Highest cost
When: Past flat-rack and roll-trailer limits, or shipped as modules lifted aboard piece by piece.
Flat Rack Container
RecommendedFor heavy widebody tugs or non-drivable units.
RoRo (Roll-on/Roll-off)
RecommendedBest for drivable tugs of all sizes.
Breakbulk / Heavy Lift
For the largest widebody pushback tractors.
Heavy Haul Trucking
RecommendedInland transport to the port.
Container, flat rack, RoRo or breakbulk?
01Container
- Work needed
- We partially disassemble when needed (bucket, boom, cab, wheels), or take larger machines further apart across several high-cubes and open-tops, then crate, block and lash every part.
- Destinations
- Widest: almost every port worldwide, plus inland delivery by rail.
- Typical cost
- Usually the lowest, with no out-of-gauge surcharges.
- Protection
- Sealed steel box; loose parts and attachments travel locked inside.
- Best for
- Most machines: compact ones as they are, others after partial disassembly, and large ones split across several containers.
02Flat rack
- Work needed
- Ships assembled, blocked and lashed. Surcharges apply when wider than 2.4 m or taller than about 1.95 m.
- Destinations
- Most container ports, on the same vessels as containers.
- Typical cost
- Moderate; rises with every centimetre out of gauge.
- Protection
- Open to the weather; we protect cabs, electronics and hydraulics.
- Best for
- Excavators, dozers and loaders too wide for a container door.
03RoRo
- Work needed
- Drives on assembled; non-runners go on a roll trailer.
- Destinations
- Fewer destinations: regular lanes to Europe, West Africa, the Middle East, Oceania and parts of Latin America.
- Typical cost
- Often competitive for large self-propelled machines where a lane exists.
- Protection
- Below deck, but loose items and attachments cannot ride inside the cab.
- Best for
- Running machines going to a port with regular RoRo sailings.
04Breakbulk
- Work needed
- Lifted aboard piece by piece by ship’s or shore cranes, on its own skids or cradle, then stowed and lashed in the hold or on deck.
- Destinations
- Ports with breakbulk berths and heavy-lift cranes; sailings are booked voyage by voyage.
- Typical cost
- Usually the highest for a single small machine; often the only option for the largest pieces.
- Protection
- In the hold or lashed on deck; we crate, wrap and protect exposed parts.
- Best for
- Pieces too large or heavy for a flat rack or roll trailer: transformers, process modules, mining trucks, crane sections.
Handling & Preparation Requirements
- Secure the towbarless cradle/lift mechanism
- Account for dense ballast in lashing plan
- Reduce fluids and disconnect batteries for ocean shipment
- Protect cab glass, lights, and controls
- Document hours, type, and condition
Common Models We Ship
- TLD TPX / JET series
- Goldhofer AST-1, AST-2 (towbarless)
- Kalmar Motor / TBL tugs
- Eagle / Harlan conventional tugs
- Mototok electric (narrowbody)
Where aircraft pushback tractors shipments go wrong
Mistakes we see on aircraft pushback tractors bookings, and what avoids them.
- Quoting a tug by its footprint forgets that ballast steel puts widebody units at 50 t or more, beyond standard mafi ratings, so heavy-lift gear is needed at the load port.
- Towbars are specific to each aircraft type and often stay with the seller, so a buyer receiving a conventional tug without an A320 or B737 towbar cannot push back aircraft.
- Towbarless tugs are only approved for listed aircraft types, so ship the OEM approval documentation with the unit or the operator may not be allowed to use it on certain fleets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can pushback tractors ship by RoRo?
Yes, drivable tugs ship easily by RoRo; heavy widebody tugs may use flat rack or breakbulk.
Do you ship complete GSE packages?
Yes, we consolidate full ground-support fleets - tugs, loaders, GPUs - to one airport.
Are electric tugs handled differently?
Yes, battery-electric tugs follow carrier dangerous-goods battery rules, which we manage.
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from the documents below, each checked on the date shown. Carriers and authorities revise them, so we confirm the current figure when we book.
- [1]Seaway Project Cargo: about the company, checked October 22, 2026
- [2]Seaway Project Cargo country shipping guides, checked October 22, 2026
Plan your shipment
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Route Finder
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Ready to Ship Your Aircraft Pushback Tractors?
Send the make, model and pickup location. We quote aircraft pushback tractors by container, flat rack or RoRo from the U.S. port that suits the machine.