Had to pick between a new wire puller or a used tugger for a long conduit run

We were pulling 500 feet of 4/0 through a 3 inch conduit for a warehouse job. The choice was renting a big tugger for a day at $300 or buying a new Greenlee wire puller for $800. I went with the rental, but halfway through the pull the old tugger's clutch started slipping. Had to stop and lube the cable twice, which cost us almost two hours. Anyone have a go-to brand for a tugger they trust on long pulls like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

mason_barnes1mo ago

My buddy Jake had a rental tugger from Sunbelt lock up on a 300 foot pull last month. He swears by the old Chicago Pneumatic ones now, says they're built like tanks.

finley_harris51mo ago

Wait, 300 feet? That's insane. I've seen tuggers give out on short pulls when the cable binds up, but locking up on a long run like that is a whole different level of failure. Makes you wonder if the rental place even checked the gear before sending it out. Jake's lucky it just locked up and didn't snap something back at him.