[TowerTalk] Re-orienting a crank-up tower

[Roger (K8RI) on TT]

On 12/10/2013 3:22 PM, john at kk9a.com wrote:
> The tower probably weighs less than 1000 pounds which is not that heavy.

We don't know that. My 72 footer weighs about 1200# and weight goes up 
rapidly with height.

> If you can get a crane anywhere near the tower I would not worry about it

Depends on what you are willing to spend. A 72' crank up, tilt over is 
worth between 2 and 3 thousand

> until it comes time to remove it.  You can do maintenance on antennas or
> the rotator without tilting it.  I am sure that it is possible to

It depends on how the tower fastens to the base and how the raising 
fixture works..  If it uses flat plates, it is hinged on two legs and 
only tilts in one direction.  You would have to lift the tower above the 
base attach points if it has ears and cut up the existing raising 
fixture, which is throwing a lot of money away.

I recently took down an LM470 in a situation as you describe.  It was a 
royal PITA and took some heavy equipment which the yard has to support.  
Needless to say, the yard suffered greatly.
The tower was tilted over, but the raising fixture went the other way so 
it couldn't be used. If the tower couldn't be tilted it would have 
needed to be lifted straight up 12 feet.  The raising fixture would have 
allowed one man to take the tower down and remove the fixture in about 
10 minutes.

We could have done it with out the heavy equipment, but it would have 
been risky for the tower and the workers.  Manhandling a 1000# tower 
(give or take) is not for amateurs. No pun intended.

I worked with a lot of heavy stuff in industry and with that experience, 
opted for the heavy equipment.

If you have a nice yard, I'd definitely relocate the tower now.  You say 
"tilt over". Is that from the base as in using a raising fixture, or is 
it up a ways like the LM470.  It is hinged at the base for installation 
with a raising fixture, and tilts over (In the other direction)  at 
10-12 feet for maintenance allowing work from a tall step ladder, or 
extension ladder.

73

Roger (K8RI)

> fabricate a special base adapter to tilt it another direction, but it
> would not be easy or inexpensive.
>
> John KK9A
>
>
> To:	 TowerTalk <towertalk at contesting.com>
> Subject:	 [TowerTalk] Re-orienting a crank-up tower
> From:	 Kelly Johnson <n6kj.kelly at gmail.com>
> Date:	 Tue, 10 Dec 2013 11:53:09 -0800
>
> We are planning to remodel our home.  After the remodel, my crankup tower
> will no longer be capable of tilting over.  I have never tilted the tower
> over since installing it and have no plans to do so until the tower is
> removed.  I am concerned, however, that it will be difficult to remove the
> tower in the future if it is no longer capable of being tilted over.  I
> think the only option would be a really large crane or helicopter.  I see
> several options:
> 1) Leave the tower as is and worry about removal when the time comes
> 2) Move the tower to a new location
> 3) Figure out a way to re-build the foundation/base in the existing tower
> location and re-orient the tower so it tilts in a different direction.
>
> I know how to do #1 or #2, but neither is particularly appealing.  Any
> ideas on how practical/feasible it would be to do #3?
>
> FYI - The tower is a Tashjian Towers LM-354HDSP (ie. very heavy!)
>
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