Looks like I'll be setting a flagpole for a neighbor Saturday morning, part of my "do whatever it takes to have great relations with your rural neighbors, to preserve your airstrip." That attitude has allowed me to fly off my own place for the last 40 years, with zero issues. Then, as long as the National is on the mountain, another neighbor needs two propane tanks set on a pad, and though he has 5 or maybe 10 acres.....the tanks are right under the powerlines of course! A designated spotter, with a rock in hand to throw at me, will make it doable.
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Just some work pics
- Thread starter crane operator
- Start date
HATCHEQUIP
Senior Member
We shut the whole company down the week of the 4th and Christmas and give everyone two envelops . Got the idea from the last employer I had before I went into business .
crane operator
Senior Member
Cell tower is done, but not really. After installing all the new antenna, and the endless run around from the engineers, they come up with a doozy of a plan. Unbolt the whole antenna assembly- the three arms with all the wiring and antenna's attached, and rotate it 10" around the tower and reclamp.
It didnt' go well. The weight on the arms twists the clamps enough that it didn't want to spin. I think the only way it would have spun was if the all thread was almost totally loose, which the tower climbers understandably didn't want to take it all that loose. I think all the weight and clamps of the wiring- and its overall stiffness and resistance to bending, made it not want to spin also. We could get it loose and wiggle, but even with comalong pressure couldnt' get it to spin.
I told them to tell the engineers if they want it spun 10", the antennas and wiring all has to come back off, spin it, then reinstall. If they want it spun that bad, its going to cost them.
I made it to the cabin, I was a couple hours behind the wife and kids, but I made it. Cabins were CCC built, and down 15 miles of gravel road. Electric and water in the cabin, but no A/C, but being on the edge of the cliff, there's a constant updraft so a decent breeze all the time. View was great off the back porch. And with only 3 cabins there and a small camping area- its not very busy.
Had a good time, was a little warm but not bad for july. Went hiking sunday to a waterfall/ pool area back in the sticks.
It didnt' go well. The weight on the arms twists the clamps enough that it didn't want to spin. I think the only way it would have spun was if the all thread was almost totally loose, which the tower climbers understandably didn't want to take it all that loose. I think all the weight and clamps of the wiring- and its overall stiffness and resistance to bending, made it not want to spin also. We could get it loose and wiggle, but even with comalong pressure couldnt' get it to spin.
I told them to tell the engineers if they want it spun 10", the antennas and wiring all has to come back off, spin it, then reinstall. If they want it spun that bad, its going to cost them.
I made it to the cabin, I was a couple hours behind the wife and kids, but I made it. Cabins were CCC built, and down 15 miles of gravel road. Electric and water in the cabin, but no A/C, but being on the edge of the cliff, there's a constant updraft so a decent breeze all the time. View was great off the back porch. And with only 3 cabins there and a small camping area- its not very busy.
Had a good time, was a little warm but not bad for july. Went hiking sunday to a waterfall/ pool area back in the sticks.
crane operator
Senior Member
Feed mill repairs.
crane operator
Senior Member
Changing out some units with the link belt.
kshansen
Senior Member
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2012
- Messages
- 11,164
- Location
- Central New York, USA
- Occupation
- Retired Mechanic in Stone Quarry
Guess you have to have faith in who ever is directing you when working blind like at the steak house! Then again it's a two way street!
There's been some people I would trust in that and others I have had to plane ignore while making a lift, often the latter was a "boss"!
And the lifts I dealt with were usually using a pair of frontend loaders so that adds a bit of "fun" to the mix!
crane operator
Senior Member
Unless its a customer that I know, and that they know what they are doing, we won't do any out of sight work without our own signal man. I just tell the customer up front its going to be a job that includes a rigger/ signalman, and charge accordingly. These units sat right on the far wall of the building, so no clearance. Its just not worth the liability to do it without our own guys.
skyking1
Senior Member
Agreed. It takes a little time to build that trust. Glad you got away as planned 
Could you rotate that cell tower gear with a spreader to take out the bending moments at the clamp?
On that trust note, I have had the pleasure the last two weeks of working under a tower crane that I could just signal. Pretty soon the company bellman would give fewer and fewer radio signals and he knew what I wanted. He was also smooth like glass.
Could you rotate that cell tower gear with a spreader to take out the bending moments at the clamp?
On that trust note, I have had the pleasure the last two weeks of working under a tower crane that I could just signal. Pretty soon the company bellman would give fewer and fewer radio signals and he knew what I wanted. He was also smooth like glass.
crane operator
Senior Member
Twin spreader bars to make a triangle and three chokers on each of the unbalanced t bars to make a nine point pick. I wasn't in the tree and on a july 4th weekend the tower climbers were ready for home. I really think the wiring was hanging it up the most. I had also brought along a chain comalong to help them try to drag it around.
It would have helped if the antenna and such on the arms were balanced, but they aren't. It also would have been easier if they had told us to turn it before all the new antenna were mounted.
I'm sure also for them in the tower, its would be worrying that if you take it all too loose, and can't get it where you want it, and then what do you do if you can't get it back to where it was. There's not much for a platform up there, they are sitting in sling chairs on their harness. Its not like they can manhandle it back into place.
skyking1
Senior Member
thank you for the picture, that is what I was thinking. It is all that you could do. If they had a manlift to work come-alongs out of it would probably get balanced enough, but on chairs in the middle they could not really reach to run them.
crane operator
Senior Member
Pros for linkbelt- prefer the jake to the exhaust brake, also prefer the cummins to the cat. Charts are pretty much the same, but linkbelt has more main, and all the jib. I prefer its two speed winches. Its in better shape than my grove is. link belt has a heavier boom which is better for up close work, but it hurts it some at radius.
Pros to the grove- its lighter (probably close to 8-10,000lbs lighter) , shorter wheebase, faster setting trusses (it booms up pretty fast) with all its counterweight and light boom you can really throw it around. It will also get set up in a smaller place- mostly due to the wheelbase, it also has a little better ground clearance on the rear and slightly longer jacks.
In reality- its a coin toss between the two. I gave one of my guys the choice of which crane he wanted when I hired a new operator- and he wanted the grove. I found myself for a lot of work preferring the link belt- but I sent the other guy to do most of the truss work, and I tend to do the heavy work.
I would really like to buy one more 40 truck crane, and get rid of my mack, and I think it will come down to what's available price wise, more than that I prefer one over the other.
Its really nice in some ways having the similar but slightly different cranes, because it gives me options on which crane I send to which job. We have a current job setting mostly trusses in a horrible location, we take the grove over there, because its easier to get in and out with being smaller. But we had a 90' away beam there the other day, and the link belt will do that on main, so it went.
crane operator
Senior Member
I guess two other things-
#1- the grove came with only one winch and no jib, and if there's any way ($$$) - I wouldn't do that again. You don't need two winches very often, but when you do its nice having it right there.
I have a jib now for the grove, but no brackets for it and the computer isn't set up for it either, but eventually it will have the jib. With the 95' main it will do most of our truss work, but without the option of the jib, you do limit yourself.
#2 Rust. My grove came from NY and the link belt from nevada. Grove has rust and the link belt has been baked to death. But link belt uses fiberglass cabs, and that's a big help. Also- it seems like 80% of the tms500e's that I've looked at for sale- have rust issues very similar to mine. Maybe not as bad, but I don't think grove was using the best primer in the early 2000's.
#1- the grove came with only one winch and no jib, and if there's any way ($$$) - I wouldn't do that again. You don't need two winches very often, but when you do its nice having it right there.
I have a jib now for the grove, but no brackets for it and the computer isn't set up for it either, but eventually it will have the jib. With the 95' main it will do most of our truss work, but without the option of the jib, you do limit yourself.
#2 Rust. My grove came from NY and the link belt from nevada. Grove has rust and the link belt has been baked to death. But link belt uses fiberglass cabs, and that's a big help. Also- it seems like 80% of the tms500e's that I've looked at for sale- have rust issues very similar to mine. Maybe not as bad, but I don't think grove was using the best primer in the early 2000's.
crane operator
Senior Member
Monday's issues- 100 ton has to come back home, then I've got to go fix the RT
Its on a job, they got finished friday, but it will only stay running in reverse. As soon as it shifts into forward, it blows a fuse and it takes out the solenoid on the fuel to the engine. Operator says it will run in reverse all day, but no forward.
Sounds like its time for some tester work, about a month ago someone tried to hotwire it by pulling wires out of the ignition below the dash, so I'm guessing this is related to that mess. We put in a new ignition at that time to get back running, but may have other wires pulled out. Fun Fun.
Its on a job, they got finished friday, but it will only stay running in reverse. As soon as it shifts into forward, it blows a fuse and it takes out the solenoid on the fuel to the engine. Operator says it will run in reverse all day, but no forward.
Sounds like its time for some tester work, about a month ago someone tried to hotwire it by pulling wires out of the ignition below the dash, so I'm guessing this is related to that mess. We put in a new ignition at that time to get back running, but may have other wires pulled out. Fun Fun.
Truck Shop
Senior Member
A kid I went to high school with moved to LA some years later, in two years he had two cars stolen.
On the third car he sealed the glove box except for a few small holes. As life would have it about two
months later his third car was found about six blocks from his house in the early am hours abandoned.
Glove box door open---They found the rattle snake.
crane operator
Senior Member
I like the way you're thinking, but no glove box in the crane, and I'm not sure I'm up for putting one in there if I found a no shoulders.
skyking1
Senior Member
If you know where to look you can get a rattler in pretty much anywhere Eastern WA.
Truck Shop
Senior Member
You would have to known Ricky, his clock was wound a different direction and slightly tight.
crane operator
Senior Member
Well its been a busy week here. If this was grade school, i would have brought treats for everyone, because wednesday was my birthday- and I'm now half way to a hundred. So here's a imaginary cupcake for each and every one of you--- WHOO HOOH.
In other news, its been hot, with a side of hot, and supposed to be even hotter this coming week. I'm ready for fall.
Did a creek crossing for the county. We tried to do this one the first time in January, and it rained every time we rescheduled it for 3 months. So we gave up and waited for drier weather. July was it.
In other news, its been hot, with a side of hot, and supposed to be even hotter this coming week. I'm ready for fall.
Did a creek crossing for the county. We tried to do this one the first time in January, and it rained every time we rescheduled it for 3 months. So we gave up and waited for drier weather. July was it.