Jan.
i have never heard of such a hangar to fail, and actually my airplanes were on turntables for 20 years, and my father’s 15 years before that…and there was never a problem. It’s really very simple and robust technology.
€300 to 400 is the average MONTHLY hangar rate at all airports reachable from Munich.
I got one of these, because I could get it cheap. New price is prohibitive, some 8k€:
http://www.tracetowbots.com/
Very nice toy. Moving your plane is almost as fun as flying it. Imagine sitting in your plane and taxying it in :)
I let others in the hangar use it as they please and I don’t worry too much about hangar rash. Anyone who got himself a pilot’s license probably will not bump into something with this device. In fact, this toy would be a very good candidate for various owners to share, because of less risk of hangar rash.
I have a RedBox tug which appears to be exactly the same as the SchleppMAXXE 1.0. I would appreciate any advice on a problem. It is little used over the last 2 or 3 years and now will not pull any load. It constantly (under load) starts and stops. the battery appears to be fully charged so what else do I look for and how do I test please? I bought the “toweasy” as Redbox name it in 2010 and had to return the battery box at that time for the same problem. It was of course replaced under warranty but I should like some opinions of possible faults.
Thanks
RedBox were the former distributor of Schleppmaxxe and copied the product, apparently Schleppmaxxe did not get pan-European protection and RedBox can sell outside Germany. There is quite some cleverness in Schleppmaxxe which is why I would not buy a clone and rather award the inventor for his work. The RedBox clone appears to be well made whereas the Aero-Pac is rubbish like the rest of their products.
Thanks Achima, at least you have explained why their is such a close likeness. Any ideas how I might obtain some help with this “failure”?
My Schleppmaxxe 1.0 has the same symptom when the battery is getting weaker, time to load. Maybe after 2 or 3 years the battery is dead. It is not that expensive if i remember well
I have been using this tow for about seven years and within its limitations it is a great product. Designed and produced by a former Airbus-engineer living near Munich.
Great for moving singles and light twins in and out of a hangar, very small and light, not so good for moving a plane over longer distances (200m+). Handlebar can be removed by pulling a spring-loaded bolt, so the whole unit can be taken along in the plane. Batteries are in the bar and can be removed by pulling another bolt, if they reached the of their life after a couple of hundred cycles, replacements come from any home depot. Not cheap though.
Looks nice, but will not work with any airplane with wheel pants, like my SR22
On the nose wheel aircraft I just pull it by the prop and turn it by pushing the tail down. I have a manual tow bar but have never used it ‘for real’. Its easier to go without. I do have one of the these on the other plane… A very useful benefit of having the little wheel at the rear of the aircraft 
http://basinc-aeromod.com/tailpull/
Most people locally use engine driven tugs if they need one for a larger plane, making sure to fuel them with avgas to avoid storage issues. I don’t think I’ve even seen an electric one in use.
Forget the gas engine tugs. Unreliable, loud, start badly in the winter. With my Warrior i never had a tug. But i cannot maneuver an SR22, especially with full tanks. I tried a couple of times. .. it’s really too heavy
