Type II loadlifter droids were a model of binary loadlifter in use during the Clone Wars. The Type II loadlifter droids were repurposed demolition droids and as such were prone to violence. They were often commissioned by unscrupulous business types in the underworld of the planet Coruscant, such as Lokann, who hired Level 1313 resident Rafa Martez to construct three Type II loadlifters.
Martez's sister, Trace, and the former Jedi Ahsoka Tano helped to build the Type II loadlifter droids, but one droid was activated without its restraining bolt, and its violent nature led it to rampage through the city streets. Trace and Tano eventually managed to subdue the droid, and Rafa sold the loadlifters to Lokann regardless of their issues.
As repurposed demolition droids, Type II loadlifters were prone to violence.
A fifth class model of binary loadlifter, Type II loadlifter droids were repurposed demolition droids and were therefore prone to violence. A restraining bolt could be affixed to the loadlifter droids to inhibit their violence and also remotely deactivate the droids, though the loadlifters could still possess violent tendencies even with a restraining bolt. The Type II loadlifter had gray plating and a red sensor. The droids had a large, hunched body with two arms, each featuring a three-digit hand, and bent legs.
Type II loadlifters communicated through low-pitched grunts. The droids had the strength to both climb walls and hang upside down. A blue button on the loadlifter's face plate served to switch it on and off; when switched on, two lights on the droid's face lit up before its sensor activated. The droids could also be fitted with a tracking device.
Type II loadlifter droids were utilized during the time of the Galactic Republic, often commissioned by unscrupulous business types in the underworld of the planet Coruscant. During the Clone Wars, in 19 BBY, the underworld resident Lokann, claiming to represent his business partner, commissioned the construction of three such droids from Rafa Martez, a laundromat owner on Coruscant's Level 1313 who often undertook illegal jobs. Martez had Lokann take the droids to the back of her establishment, where they were to be built by her sister, Trace, and the former Jedi Ahsoka Tano, who had recently become acquainted with Trace.
A Type II loadlifter activates without its restraining bolt.
Working from a holographic schematic of the Type II loadlifter, Martez and Tano successfully pieced together the three droids. Tano activated the first after placing a restraining bolt onto it, but the droid proceeded to attack her regardless, knocking down one of the other loadlifters before Tano shut down its power. However, the third droid was powered on before Martez placed its restraining bolt, and the droid escaped, rampaging through the underworld streets.
Trace Martez and Ahsoka Tano caught the rampaging loadlifter droid after a chase through the Coruscant underworld, eventually powering it down.
Martez and Tano chased the Type II loadlifter through the city, and the droid leaped off a bridge, landing amidst a crowd below. The droid continued to run, damaging various items on the street and nearby airspeeders. Tano returned to collect the droid's tracking device, joining Martez aboard a fork lift to pursue the loadlifter. As the two neared the droid's location, it ran toward them and jumped over their speeder. Pursuing the droid, Martez caught it with the fork lift's claws. The droid was pinned against the ground but attempted to climb a nearby wall, pulling the speeder with it.
Forced to let the droid free, Martez leaped from the vehicle onto its back. As the droid reached the top of the wall it was climbing, lunging out at two underworld residents, Martez managed to reach its face plate, deactivating the droid. However, the droid proceeded to fall off the wall, and Tano used the fork lift to catch both it and Martez as they fell. The speeder's tow cable was not strong enough to lift the droid, and so Tano discreetly used the Force to pull the droid and Martez to safety. The two returned the droid to the workshop, where Rafa refused to dismantle the droids, selling them to Lokann for double the price despite the danger they posed.
The Type II loadlifter droid was first pictured in a trailer for the seventh season of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series, released on January 22, 2020. They later appeared in the season's fifth episode, "Gone with a Trace," which aired on March 20, 2020. Tom Kane provided the voice for the Type II loadlifter droids in the episode. While "Gone with a Trace" identified the droids as "type two load lifters," their formal designation was provided in the StarWars.com Databank.
Concept art for an earlier iteration of the Type II loadlifter
Concept art for the Type II loadlifter, titled "Industrial Droid A," was created by JP Balmet and published in the StarWars.com episode guide for "Gone with a Trace." David Le Merrer created a previous loadlifter droid design for The Clone Wars, which instead was used for a droid in the Star Wars Forces of Destiny episode "The Padawan Path," released on July 6, 2017.