[TowerTalk] Receiving a crank-up tower

[Michael OBrien]

 You've already received good ideas, but here's what I did in receiving my HDX-555, which weighs about 800 pounds and arrived in an enclosed tractor-trailer rig:

When the delivery driver alerted me to his ETA, I summoned (by pre-arrangement) a local heavy-duty tow truck with a hydraulic boom. The tow truck driver just extended the boom into the trailer, picked up the tower with a couple of appropriately placed slings, then backed the tower out and set it down in my driveway. That entire operation took all of 15 minutes.

My driveway is paved. So after the OTR driver and tow truck driver departed, I used a rented heavy-duty engine hoist on casters to lift the tower again (with my own slings) and simply pushed it myself on the pavement to the back yard. The tower foundation is close enough to the edge of the driveway that I could maneuver the tower almost into position for attachment to the base. I did have to call upon a neighbor to nudge the tower the final few inches so that I could insert bolts.

Good luck with your delivery. I'm sure that at least some of the suggestions you've received will apply to your situation.

73,

de k0myw




     On Wednesday, September 11, 2019, 6:16:26 PM CDT, Art Greenberg <art at artg.tv> wrote:  
 
 I'm in the research & planning stages of a crank-up (telescoping) tower purchase. It would be my first such tower. I'm looking at "small" towers (for < 12 square feet of antenna) in the vicinity of 50 feet height. Considering both steel and aluminum, but at the moment the steel tower seems to be in the lead. I'll probably post questions during the selection process. But for now, I have some questions that pertain whatever the choice.

The manufacturer of the steel tower told me that the shipping weight of the tower is around 1,000 pounds, and that it will be shipped fully assembled and crated in an enclosed truck (probably a tractor-trailer, going cross country). The length of the assembled and crated tower as-shipped will be about 25 feet.

I live on a narrow street, and there is zero chance that the delivery driver will be able to bring his truck (assuming a tractor-trailer) onto my driveway. My property is fenced with a lot of trees, meaning the best route onto the property is though the gate at the end of the driveway and then following the not-at-all-straight driveway to its closest approach to the tower installation location. But to do that, the tower would have to travel down the driveway lengthwise - crosswise on a forklift won't work too well due to the trees along the driveway.

My questions:

1. How the heck do I get a 25-foot long 1,000 pound crated tower off of the truck? A reach forklift? Something else?

1a. I'm not a forklift operator. Any suggestion as to where to look for one for hire? Do such people provide their own equipment, rigging and tools?

1b. What (other) tools/rigging am I likely to need?

1c. I'm twisting myself into a pretzel obsessing over how to coordinate the forklift with truck arrival. Is it really as difficult as I imagine?

2. How do I get the tower through my gate and to a suitable spot on my property to await installation?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions and advice!

-- 
Art Greenberg
WA2LLN
art at artg.tv
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