About Auto Body Frame Machines and Frame Pullers

Frame work is anchoring plus direction. You lock the undamaged part of the vehicle down so it cannot follow the pull, then apply force to the damaged part along the line the impact came from. Every machine on this page does those two things. What separates them is how much force they make, how many directions they can pull from, and how much of your shop they occupy while doing it.

Full Auto Body Frame Machines

We stock one full frame machine, the Katool KT-198L at 9,990 dollars. It is a 236.4 inch by 84.3 inch drive-on deck with a working height range of 4.3 to 67 inches and a 7,700 pound rated load capacity. Its towers deliver 100 kN of maximum pulling force across a 360 degree pulling radius, so you can set up a pull from any point around the vehicle without repositioning it. The quick-fix clamp jaw system anchors by tightening the shaft clockwise, the towers move on a wheel system for repositioning between setups, and lightweight drive-on ramps handle loading. It runs on an 0.8 MPa air supply.

Portable Frame Pullers and Straighteners

The other three units are compact and do not need a dedicated bay. The Katool KT-YA260 at 1,399 dollars is a portable pulling tool with 10 tons of pulling capacity and a saw-tooth chain fixing system for controlled adjustment. The KT-SB288 at 1,199 dollars is a truck and auto frame puller producing 50 kN of hydraulic pushing force from a manual hand pump, and it ships with a 3.5 meter chain, pulling tower, and six-claw hook in a 39.6 by 25.6 by 35.4 inch footprint at 143.3 pounds. The KT-CL150 at 599 dollars is a heavy-duty steel puller with an adjustable pull-point configuration and a one year warranty. All three are designed for one-person operation.

Choosing Between a Frame Machine and a Puller

Start with the work. If you are correcting structural and chassis damage as a routine part of your business, a full frame machine is the right tool because it anchors the whole vehicle and pulls from any angle. If you are straightening panels, doing light to moderate corrections, or want pulling capability as a supplement to equipment you already own, a portable puller does that job for a fraction of the price and floor space. Space is the other deciding factor. The KT-198L needs a bay nearly twenty feet long, while the compact units fit into an existing work area.

What Shops Use This Equipment For

Collision repair centers, independent body shops, restoration shops, fleet and truck maintenance facilities, and service departments that handle their own accident work. Typical jobs are chassis alignment after an impact, pulling a damaged quarter panel or door opening back to shape, correcting a shifted rail, and general structural straightening before new panels go on.

Related Categories

Everything on this page comes from the Katool equipment line, which also covers wheel service and shop tooling. Body and frame work needs the vehicle up and accessible, so pair it with our automotive car lifts or a 2 post car lift for undercarriage access. For panel, weld, and finish work with full rotation of the shell, see our auto body rotisseries.