Shunter tractors—or yard tractors, or terminal tractors—are specialized trucks designed for the express purpose of moving loads around a depot, shipping yard, or warehouse.
Distance From County Monaghan, Ireland
Shunter tractors, which are often referred to as “yard tractors” or “terminal tractors,” are the workhorses you’ll see tugging various items around a shipping yard, warehouse, or other similar facility. They share a number of characteristics with other tractor types: They have powerful diesel engines and a fifth-wheel coupling for quickly attaching and moving a wide range of cargo, and they come in 4x2, 4x4, or 6x4 configurations.
They are distinct, however, in that they often have a tighter wheelbase for making sharp turns (for enhanced manoeuvrability in crowded areas) and they typically only have cabs big enough to fit the operator. They also often have an integrated lifting mechanism beneath the fifth-wheel hitch so that they can lift the front of a trailer and move it with the trailer’s legs extended, and many have a sliding door at the rear of the cab for easy access when attaching or detaching a load.
You’ll find a number of used tractor shunters for sale on Truck Paper including models from such manufacturers as Douglas, Kalmar, and Terberg.
