A tugger is an electric cable puller with a motor-driven capstan, around which the pull rope is wrapped a few turns while an operator tails the free end to control the force. Common units pull several thousand pounds and are anchored to the conduit, a floor mount or a boom at the pull point. It handles feeders and long branch pulls that would be impossible by hand, with the pulling force watched so conductor tension limits are not exceeded.
Set the tugger up on the boom at the pull box, three wraps on the capstan, and nobody stands in line with that rope.
Never stand in line with a loaded pull rope; if it parts, it whips back like a bowstring.
Also heard as
- cable puller
- puller
Related terms
Mule tape
Flat woven polyester pulling tape printed with footage marks, used for long pulls and to measure runs.
Jet line
Lightweight pull string blown or vacuumed through empty conduit, then used to pull in heavier rope or wire.
Yellow 77
Wire-pulling lubricant named for a familiar yellow brand, smeared on conductors to cut friction in conduit.