A run to be inspected will either start from an access pipe leading at an angle down to the sewer and then run downstream to a manhole, or will run between manholes.
The service truck is parked above the access point of the pipe.  The camera tractor, with a flexible cable attached to the rear, is then lowered into the pipeline.  The tractor is moved forward so that it is barely inside of the pipeline.  A "down-hole roller" is set up between the camera tractor and the cable reel in the service truck, preventing cable damage from rubbing the top of the pipeline.  The operator then retires to the inside of the truck and begins the inspection, remotely operating the camera tractor from the truck.  When the inspection is complete or the camera cable is fully extended, the camera tractor is put in reverse gear and the cable is wound up simultaneously.  When the camera tractor is near the original access point, the downhole roller is pulled up and the camera tractor is moved into the access point and pulled up to the service truck. A tractor may be used to inspect a complete blockage or collapse that would prevent using a fish and rope as described below.