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Re: [TowerTalk] Receiving a crank-up tower

To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Receiving a crank-up tower
From: Les Kalmus <w2lk@bk-lk.com>
Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2019 19:44:44 -0400
List-post: <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
Hire a heavy duty wrecker. He should be able to lift the tower on his hook and move it where you need it. That's what I did.

Les W2LK


On 9/11/2019 7:08 PM, Art Greenberg 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!

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