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Some photos of mine.  Updated often! Click a picture to see a larger version. (800x600)

The Amherstburg Radio Club wanted to build a Tower Trailer for use primarily on Field Day, but also available for any other events we might need it for. It's a 30ft collapsible tower mounted on a small utility trailer, which is small and lite enough to be pulled behind any car. The base of the tower sits on a hinged base, and is cranked upright via a hand crank. That's the main drawback: it does require three or more people to set this one up. All the members of the Amherstburg Radio Club, as well as other volunteers in Amherstburg helped put the tower together, drawing upon the main concept design from Dave, VE3HKO.

Here's a shot of said trailer at Field Day, June 27, 2009:

Dave wanted to improve upon this "first try" homemade design, and set out to do just that. He often jokes that the "squirrels in his head" are always pulling levers. It's not uncommon to visit Dave, only to be greeted with the words: "I was thinking last night about..." It's true. Dave is always thinking. Or, at least his "squirrels" are... :)

He wanted a one-person tower trailer design, and he wanted this one to be for ARES use, since he is the Emergency Coordinator for Essex South. To that end, he needed another trailer. With luck, he stumbled upon an old House Trailer that hadn't been used in a long while, and was up for sale. The owner had just replaced the wheels and tires, as the old ones had rotted away. He knew the trailer needed plenty of work, so the selling price was low. When Dave saw the trailer, he knew it would be perfect for the job, even though he only needed the frame and wheels. He told the former owner of his plans, and what it would be used for. Having a sense of Community, the trailer owner sold the trailer for even less. The trailer was stripped to it's frame, and the ARES Tower Trailer project was set into motion.

Princess Auto, the Candy Store for Hams, was the place for all of this trailer's needs. A 1-ton hydraulic engine lift arm was to be the key component in this new design. That arm, with some modifications, was going to be what lifted the tower upright. One person, pumping the jack, would be all it takes to get the tower upright once in position. The tower was another 30ft legth, but this time, two of the three lengths would be permanently mounted to the trailer. The third and top section would be the only one requiring one or two persons to setup. Once upright, the trailer's frame and stabilizer legs would keep the tower upright in most weather conditions. All lights were replaced with LED lights to cut down on power usage, and to prevent having to constantly change dead bulbs. All wiring is also brand new. Once again, this trailer is also lite enough to be pulled by any vehicle.

Here's some pictures of the trailer under assembly in Dave's carport, courtesy of Nelson, VA3NDJ:

Here's some shots of the "almost" finished product in use:

Just before Field Day 2010, more modifications and updates were made to both tower trailers.

On the ARES Tower Trailer, the three-section tube tower was replaced with a Rohn Aluminum telescoping tower. The full height of the new tower could have been 48ft,but that would have required too long a collapsed tower to safely install on a trailer. Hence, one section of the telescoping tower was left off, so the full height of the installed telescoping tower is now 40ft. Along with a long mastpipe, we can still easily get about 50ft. into the air with this updated design.

But the greatest benefit is that this Rohn tower can be put vertical while still collapsed. This makes the pumping of the hydraulic jack even easier, especially when using a long mastpipe. The only downside is that now, after putting the tower vertical, you now have to manually crank the tower upwards to it's full height. Two steps instead of one. We do have an electric winch that came with the tower for extending it, but there is currently no inverter installed on the tower trailer. Without a guaranteed supply of AC, that option is not a useful one at this time.

Having said that, future plans are to fit the trailer with a bank of deep cycle batteries, and solar panels to charge them with. We also still have the original inverter that was on the trailer when it was in it's original form as a camper trailer. A 12V winch along with those deep cycle batteries would be just the thing to make even that second step a peice of cake. Perhaps keeping the manual winch installed as a redundant backup would be the ultimate.

Here, then, is a picture of the "new and improved" ARES tower trailer, with the Rohn tower, at Field Day 2010:

Art, VE3AKJ / VA3RAE, also took a great picture of the tower early in the morning with all the morning mist of June:

On the first tower trailer, the original, the problem has always been that it required at least three people to get it setup. The cranking to get it vertical was also labour intensive, but it worked. Since the trailer is now about ten years old, it's starting to show it's age from being weathered and used. So, before Field Day 2010, Dave and I, with the help of Greg, VA3GDS, set out to make improvements to the design to make it easier to get setup.

The first change was to install a new, taller pole, to make a better fulcrum. To prevent the stress of the taller pole on the welded plate of the trailer bed, two guy wires were installed that anchor the top of that pole to the front corners of the trailer frame for stability. In addition, a compound pulley system was installed with the new wire, so that the actual crank up time was reduced. It still has the same tower as before, and that's where two people are required for the setup. There is a stand that holds up one end of the tower section when horizontal. In a pinch, one person can still set it up, if they don't mind moving that stand multiple times as they attach the three sections one at a time.

Along with the taller fulcrum pole and new cable and compound pulley system, a chain was used to replace the old wire that the winch cable attached to. This proved to be a pre-emptive maintenance move, since that cable was begining to let go. Had we not made that change, it may have given way on the next crankup attempt. Not only dangerous to those on the ground, but damaging to whatever antennae are installed at that time. One last improvement was the same "quick-disconnect" pipe for the 2M / 70cm J-pole. We now have the ability to attach the J-pole to whichever tower we need it on, without having to move mounting hardware from one to the other. We can, of course, also mount a different antenna on the second mount. Versatility and ease of use are the rule!

Here's a shot of the original tower trailer, with improvements, at Field Day 2010: