[TowerTalk] Tilting large towers

[NPAlex at aol.com]

Having had 4 different crank up tilt over towers, TriEx and US Tower models, 
I found all required some persuasion to begin the "tilt over" process.   Keep 
a crow bar handy for various alignment tasks as well as a centering tool for 
getting the third leg holes to line up.
Norm W4QN
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    Some 10 days ago I used a crane to set my US Tower HDX-572MDPL to its
base.  

    Today I tilted it over using the "raising & lowering fixture" so I could
mount the rotator and set the mast in place.  However, I stumbled upon the
unexpected.  

    After removing all but the two hinging bolts, the tower did not want to
tilt on its own.  Tower was without a mast or antennas on it.  I ended up 
using
both a crow and lever bar to encourage it to tilt over.  I'd estimate it was 
as
much as 10 degrees off normal before there was enough lateral force component
for the tower to lower on its own as I let the cable out.

    Questions:  Is this normal?  Are there those with experience who would
share how they deal with this situation? 

73,

Mike DiGirolamo, W4XN
Charlottesville, VA

Regards,
Norm W4QN