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[W1MOW]

I would strongly suggest that you go and help someone do a job that knows towers and learn a bit before tackling your first tower project.  People get hurt and sometimes die working on towers without any experience.

I personally will not climb a 30 foot Rohn 25G self supporting.  20 ft max then some king of guys, temporary or permanent.

Ed  N1UR

As a P.E. and someone who used to climb AM radio towers (In my young and stupid days) to change light bulbs, I concur with Ed's and some Rick's statements. Although I no longer climb that often, my limit is 40' on guyed or factory rated free standing towers. Think twice maybe three times before climbing, and only with a known good safety harness, and NEVER climb alone, DO NOT TAKE CHANCES!

I would talk to the "Code Enforcement Officer" and find out what your town requires. (permits/inspections.)

Don't just guess about what the base requires, get the drawings from Rohn, and follow them. What a lot of Hams do can get them into trouble. Well "Joe Ham" down the street just dug a 3' round hole, 4' deep put a tower section in the hole, then filled it with cement bags from HD/Lowes, attached it to his house. Then a year later during a heavy snow storm/thunder storm it came down. Tore a section of house apart, landed on his new truck, took down a neighbors fence. And to add insult to injury, because it was not inspected, or installed by the manufacturers instructions/design his homeowners insurance company denied his claims. Here on Eham, you're going to get a lot of opinions, mine being one of them, all well meaning, with a lot of guesses and short cuts.  Do it the right way the 1st time!

One last thought...Think about what you may want to put on the towers down the road. I will amost bet eventually you'll think about putting a yagi on the top of one of them.

Gary P.E. W1MOW

[K7MEM]

At one time I had a 50' crank-up that was free standing (Tri-Ex W51). For a base I dug a hole that was 3'x3' and 6' deep. That took about 2 yards of concrete. But I didn't keep it at full height all the time. I eventually sold it when I moved to another location.

At the new location I bought several sections (30' overall) of aluminum tower at a ham fest. I brought it home just strapped to the top of my car. The tower maker was unknown. It didn't have any base mount, so I made my own out of rebar and large fence hinges. The tower was so light I could carry it with the whole thing assembled. My shack was out in the barn, so I mounted it next to my shack entrance and secured it to the roof at about the 10' level. The home made mount was only imbedded in about 2' of concrete but it held up well. I only used it to hold up the center of a trap dipole. Because I could lower it easily, I never had the urge to try and climb it. Overall, it worked fine for 4 or 5 years.

[W3SLK]

W1MOW said:

One last thought...Think about what you may want to put on the towers down the road. I will amost bet eventually you'll think about putting a yagi on the top of one of them.

Indeed! All one has to do is look at the catastrophe that occurred at Arecibo!

[K4PVK]

would be awsome if the price was the same as the rohn25. that is free.. 70ft i have to take it down so the cost of crane to lift it and i take it sct by sct from bottom till can lean it over without crashin
[/quote]

How much will a crane cost? As Glenn says a self supporting aluminum tower is an option. Texas Towers sells the Universal Tower 4-30 for $529 plus shipping. It weighs in at 38 lbs.

Texas Towers   https://www.texastowers.com/towers/ss.htm
[/quote]

Re: the 30 foot Texas Towers free standing tower (per website describtion):

"Self-supporting aluminum tower. Supports 4 square feet of antenna load at 80 MPH"

What is square feet of antenna load at 80 MPH for a wire antenna? Not 4 square feet for sure, I would think.

[KH6AQ]

And a tower with a higher wind load rating is not terribly more expensive. For a 30' tower:

4 sq. ft: $529
9 sq. ft: $669
12 sq. ft: $819

For a bit more money and you have a tower capable of supporting an HF beam antenna. Note that more concrete is required for a higher wind loading rated tower. A tower base section ($149) is used. The recommended concrete base size for the 4 sq. ft. tower is 2'4" x 2'4" x 4'. The 9 sq. ft. tower base is 3' x 3' x 4' which is 65% more; 1.33 cubic yards.

The "free" tower may need a proper base section.

[KB2WVO]

2 of them is over 1000 bucks.. crane is 800 yet the owner of prop says he will toss in 300 so iam down to 500 out of pocket. if i cant get the crane price down another 100 lol ..

would be awsome if the price was the same as the rohn25. that is free.. 70ft i have to take it down so the cost of crane to lift it and i take it sct by sct from bottom till can lean it over without crashin
[/quote]

How much will a crane cost? As Glenn says a self supporting aluminum tower is an option. Texas Towers sells the Universal Tower 4-30 for $529 plus shipping. It weighs in at 38 lbs.

Texas Towers   https://www.texastowers.com/towers/ss.htm
[/quote]

[KB2WVO]

ill have to put some more info out. my bad. there is a total of 70ft tower. when down i will break it into 2 towers 30ft each. for wire only. cost of the alum tower at 529 for 30ft times 2 is over a grand. crane is 800 owner of prop said he would put 300 towards it. so 500 out of pocket and if i can get the crane guy down 100 more then only 400.. ill try and post apic of the tower as it is standing now.

And a tower with a higher wind load rating is not terribly more expensive. For a 30' tower:

4 sq. ft: $529
9 sq. ft: $669
12 sq. ft: $819

For a bit more money and you have a tower capable of supporting an HF beam antenna. Note that more concrete is required for a higher wind loading rated tower. A tower base section ($149) is used. The recommended concrete base size for the 4 sq. ft. tower is 2'4" x 2'4" x 4'. The 9 sq. ft. tower base is 3' x 3' x 4' which is 65% more; 1.33 cubic yards.

The "free" tower may need a proper base section.

[KB2WVO]

ok here is the tower to take down. plan is to lift and remove sections from bottom 1 by 1 to get closer to 40ish ft. then lower it to ground. tho i havent spoke in detail to crane op. he will be the final call.. using a 35 ton crane. bigger company. not fly by nites.

so ill add more info in hopes it helps .. this tower broke down to 2 ..... 30ft free standing.. wire on them for antennas only. like a loop ... i have a rohn 25 or 45. i dont remember if it is 12 or 18 inch. but that will be a yagi tower guyed so on .. and the yagi's will be a mosley 33jr 20/15/10 3L  and a homebrew 3L 6m maybe not sure but a 8L 2m. but that bein said long long long time off for the 33jr and 2m yagi to go up.. no rotor to spin that  much .. only have rotor for 6m yagi.

from all info posted by folks so far. all awsome and thank you all very much .. i will get ahold of rohn and check all info so on .. i know not free standing by there manuals is 30ft tower is guyed at top .. i didnt check base info .
as guy or unguy is what i need to know 1st for placement in yard.. then work from there.

again thank you all for info . it all helps .. and no i wont be climbing nothing.. lol . i will be makin tilt base .

any other info needed just ask... thank you

as you see tower . been there few mins lol ... high winds off a lake.. stands on a 1 1/2ft round base who knows hwo far into the ground. tho its just for base as it is guyed .

[WA3SKN]

Will you need a building permit?  Most areas of the country now require them for towers.
Rohn will support up to 30 ft without guying.  Thats 30 ft from the last mounting point, usually bolted to a building or house.  But that gets fairly "springy" and I would not want to climb it.  It is best to guy every 20 to 30 feet.
Since you are getting "used", all bets are off... but it should handle wire OK.  And most non-guyed (free standing) towers use a LOT of concrete.  Tri-X used to recommend a 3ftx3ftx10ft mass as I recall.
For your planned use less would be OK if you don't need a permit.  But making sure no one later mounts a beam could be a problem.
Good luck with the project!

-Mike.

[W9IQ]

I believe it would be more nearly correct to say that most urban and suburban areas would likely require a permit. From a land mass perspective, that is in the minority as most rural areas have few or no permitting processes.

- Glenn W9IQ

[KB2WVO]

I believe it would be more nearly correct to say that most urban and suburban areas would likely require a permit. From a land mass perspective, that is in the minority as most rural areas have few or no permitting processes.

- Glenn W9IQ

to take it down yes permit.. to do what iam doin naaaa.. i live in the country were cows roam lol .. they dont say much around here.

[W1MOW]

I believe it would be more nearly correct to say that most urban and suburban areas would likely require a permit. From a land mass perspective, that is in the minority as most rural areas have few or no permitting processes.

- Glenn W9IQ

to take it down yes permit.. to do what iam doin naaaa.. i live in the country were cows roam lol .. they dont say much around here.

Call your Code guy and make sure you don't need a permit. No matter what you have been told by other people. Get it in writing for future reference. Here in New Hampshire (Live Free or Die state.) there is currently a bill going through the legislature requiring statewide code standards and inspections/permits.

Getting a letter saying no permit/inspection required could save you some headaches down the road.
Including being forced to take them down if you, or your loved ones, ever want to sell the property.

Gary P.E. W1MOW

[WB8PFZ]

I am pretty sure the Rohn tilt base requires the tower to be bracketed.

[KB2WVO]

i hit logged on WB8PFZ. never have before on anyone lol
so any mod sees that if its reporting logged.  was my mistake . he didnt do nuffin wrong lol .. sorry guys

[N1UR]

You do realize you can likely buy used Rohn 25 for $30 - $40 a stick.  50 ft is like $150 - $200.  I have sold and bought 150 ft of it over the years for these prices.  Pretty decent condition.  Slight surface rust on a few of them, nothing into the metal itself.

That crane will cost you a lot more.  Sounds like there is more to the story here.

Ed  N1UR