[SCCC] Hauling Ideas Needed

Wed Apr 26 13:21:31 EDT 2023

Steve,

About a year or two ago someone sent me a Craig's List Ad for a boat
trailer in L.A. rea for rent
that could haul 6000 lBs and was long enough to accomodate a 28 ft long
tower for like $100 a week
 but dang I can't find the info....... but a Google Search
shows lots of resources for boat trailer rentals and Ken's success using a
boat trailer
to move a large heavy tower may be good info

Do a Google search on Key Words

"boat trailer for rent L.A. area" .........and a whole bunch show up
  cull out the ones in L.A. area !

Good luck

73, Dennis N6KI

On Wed, Apr 26, 2023 at 8:16 AM Ken Alker <ka6ken at alker.net> wrote:

> A while back I removed a hy-gain HG70HD 70' motorized tower from a
> residence.  I first fully nested the tower, which brought it down to 22'.
> I hired a crane to lift it from the back yard and place it on a Pacific
> Boat Trailers G25TW5-10 that I had borrowed.  (Stripping the tower and
> preparing for transport was a two day process, summarized here in two
> sentences :-).  The tower rested on the boat trailer as if the trailer was
> made for carrying the tower; I was amazed and, perhaps, lucky.  I hauled
> the tower home with my 2006 Dodge Ram 2500 diesel.
>
> When I got home, I had to figure out how to get the tower off the trailer.
> I backed the trailer into my dirt field where I wanted to store the tower
> until the day I can put it up.  This is where improvisation began.  I had
> done a ton of planning for tower removal, but hadn't thought through how I
> was going to get the tower off of the trailer.
>
> It turns out that the bottom end of the tower was hanging off the back end
> of the trailer by at least a foot.  This turned out to be quite fortuitous
> (as it was not planned, but should have been!).  I stacked four wooden
> pallets under the bottom end of the tower that was hanging off the back of
> trailer.  I then positioned my New Holland model 1920 tractor near the
> front of the trailer (still hooked up to my truck).  The tractor was
> perpendicular to the length of the tower and trailer.  I wrapped a chain
> around the bucket of the tractor and top of the tower.  Note that I first
> checked how much weight the New Holland bucket assembly could lift and it
> was slightly more than half the weight of the tower, which is what I
> figured I needed.  The tower weighs 1160 pounds (the trailer is 2100
> pounds, not that that matters).  I lifted the top of the tower off the
> trailer and the bottom of the tower (just above the pallets) made contact
> with the top of the stack of pallets.  I was able to lift the top of the
> tower up a few feet freeing the tower entirely from the trailer.  The
> tower
> was then at a diagonal to the ground, the top of the tower higher than the
> bottom; the bottom end now "resting" (not very securely, mind you), on the
> pallets.  I then drove the trailer out from under the tower.
>
> Next, I placed four pallets under the free end (top) of the tower and
> lowered the bucket until the top of the tower was resting on the newly
> placed stack of pallets.  I removed the chain and moved the tractor to the
> bottom end of the tower and picked that end up in order to move the
> original stack of pallets further under the tower to support it more
> securely in its resting position.
>
> I hope this helps spark some ideas.  I have pictures of the entire
> process,
> if they are helpful to anyone.
>
> Ken Alker (KA6KEN)
>
> --On Tuesday, April 25, 2023 6:34 PM -0700 Steve Harrison <k0xp at k0xp.com>
> wrote:
>
> > This is a solicitation for ideas.
> >
> > I have a lead on a 90 ft telescoping tubular Sky Needle, presently
> > located some 200 miles from my QTH in 29 Palms. It has a large log
> > periodic on it that will have to be lifted off by an available crane,
> > which will then lift the tower off its base and onto a trailer, which is
> > also available. I don't intend to reuse the LP, although pictures I've
> > seen show it in good condition.
> >
> > But I can't figure out how we'd get that 4000-pound tubular tower off the
> > trailer and onto the desert once here. Total length is in the
> > neighborhood of 28 feet, likely a bit longer. I'd imagine the tower
> > weight is fairly evenly distributed due to the winch at the base and the
> > rotator assy at the top. The sand where the tower is to be unloaded is
> > basically soft, although my 4"-thick driveway is adjacent to that
> > location, offset by about 15 - 20 feet to the side. I can have the area
> > for the tower compacted and lay gravel, which works pretty well out here
> > for my driveway. This soft sand could also be a problem when attempting
> > to back up the trailer to get the tower where it can be refurbished.
> >
> > One idea that I have to remove the tower from the trailer is to try to
> > rent an AWD semitruck boom wrecker truck and operator (which would have
> > to come from Yucca Valley, I think), which should be able to move over
> > the sand, particularly if I have some gravel placed where the tower will
> > be set. Seems to me that the major problem will be to just lift the tower
> > up high enough for the trailer to drive out from under, then let it down
> > onto the ground. A pair of overhead hoists would accomplish the same
> > task, at around the same estimated cost.
> >
> > Any other ideas?? (No, hitting the gas and letting the tower fall off the
> > back is a no-go from the start.)
> >
> > Once the tower is lifted off the trailer, I then have to evaluate the
> > inner wall condition for rust and corrosion due to the tower having lived
> > on the SoCal coast for at least 51 years. Any ideas how to accomplish
> > this? It seems the tower sections will have to be extended on the ground.
> > I would imagine the military would then drill holes along the length,
> > measure the wall thickness and perhaps insert an endoscope to look
> > further at the insides, then weld the holes up. Any other ideas about
> > this? I could, of course, simply erect it, extend it, and see whether it
> > withstands our (sometimes high) desert wind.
> >
> > I've been spending my mornings out on the desert before the heat sets in
> > building Beverages, and have two more to put up. The others will have to
> > wait for installation of the Sky Needle.
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > SteveH K0XP
> >
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