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[TowerTalk] EZ Way Towers

To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: [TowerTalk] EZ Way Towers
From: abowen@nettally.com (Bowen, Arlan)
Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 08:13:36 -0400
At 10:11 PM 5/20/98 -0700, you wrote:

>I am looking at an older EZ-Way 60 foot crankup, foldover tower.  Other
>than age concerns,  is the tower a decent investment. Condx is good and
>the price is about $500. My goal is a non-guyed tower with small
>tri-band to get the XYL to adjust to metal trees.  I see this as a small
>step down a slippery slope to get me out of wires but I have got to
>start somewhere.  Thoughts and comments would be appreciated.  Respond
>direct or post if you think it worth sharing.

According to an old EZ Way catalog, there were 3 models that were 60 footers.
6046      60 ft/26 retracted   rated 6.5 sq ft @ 50 mph, 3.4 @ 60.
RBX 60-3, 60/26                      11        @ 50,     7.2 @ 60
CRX 60-3, 60/26                      14        @ 50,     10.2@60

These were the specifications quoted back in the 60s. Present day practice
would probably be much more conservative.

I helped put up several of these towers over the years. They were well
constructed and generally survived the overloads by those who didn't know
better or care. Weak spot is the cables and hangups that could happen if you
tried to crank down in relatively high winds. They would bind temporarily
and then drop to take up the cable slack.

If you can measure the outside leg to outside leg dimension, I may be able
to identify the model.  

The groundpole can be used as a gin pole to tilt the tower over for removal
and  transport.

Getting the groundpole out of the ground can be a challenge. You may have to
rent a wrecker or heavy front end loader tractor and do a lot of digging. As
a last resort, you could fabricate a new one from steel tubing and plate.

Replace cables if they are rusty. Most major cities have a
supplier/fabricator for custom length cables. You need to supply them with a
drawing of the length, diameter, stranding and cable end terminations. 

You can move towers like this by lowering on to 55 gallon steel barrels
which are used as rollers. Two barrels minimum, 3 is better. No matter that
they get bent up a little. Three able people can move a tower from the back
yard to the street and onto a trailer without too much effort. Four may be
better. Use pipe sections to roll it onto the trailer. Think through the
project first (dry run) and then identify the safety aspects.

Contrary to one of the earlier postings, their owners and engineers were
well aware of the differences between cold drawn mechanical steel tubing and
pipe or conduit.

INK N4OO


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