[TowerTalk] w2irt's antenna dilemma

[Tom McAlee]

K8RI wrote:
> It looks pretty good except for the Crane.  I think that maybe a bit low
as  you really have to know some one around here for $100 per hour and that
may be from the time they leave the construction yard until they get back,
not just at the site.  I'd guess for around here, it'd be closer to $300 per
hour plus operator and that is from start up to shut down

I had a crane out my house for my tower project last fall.  It was only 80'
of 25G with an OB2-40 and a 4 element SteppIR, but weighing only 140lbs
myself it seemed more than I could handle.  The one local I knew at the time
with tower experience didn't show up on tower day.

Without knowing anyone, I got a crane here for $75/hour including the
operator.  There was no special rate there; that was what they charge.  It
was a "small" crane though; only 100', but that was enough to get my job
done.  The place I used normally deals with signs, not towers or
construction.  Perhaps the sign companies are cheaper than construction
companies?  The operator wasn't a pro at rigging towers, but for $75/hour I
wasn't complaining.

They did charge from the time they left their place until the time they
returned.  There was about 3 hours of travel in there (a downside of living
in the middle of nowhere!)  But, in the end it I think it was worth it.  I
don't know that I could have completed the job without it.

Tom, NI1N