Heavy Equipment

[teppy]

Last year Habitat for Insanity put up our main dome using scaffolding (bottom-up construction.) This year I'd like to explore using heavy equipment instead, and hoping someone on the forum has knowledge of how this works.

Vital information: The dome is a 47' 5/12 4v, weighing 2200 lbs. We'll have at least 6 people in-camp by Friday Noon, and 14 people by Saturday Noon.

I know that there's a "heavy equipment camp," though mostly they seem to deal with the Temple and other major projects. Are they likely to help out with an individual camp? We do have some money budgeted for this (~$1000); assuming Heavy Equipment Camp is reserved just for official projects, are there private companies that provide such service?

Teppy

[gibson_]

I had always assumed that heavy equipment was a part of DPW...

Tha fuck? Who the hell funds that?

[trilobyte]

Heavy Equipment Camp is indeed for things like temple, big art, and other big/registered projects. If you're a registered theme camp then your theme camp coordinator should pay attention to the emails that will start going out once placement is announced (typically in early July), as well as get in touch with your placer to have them point you in the right direction. DPW has extremely limited resources though, and even if you're a registered theme camp on Esplanade or 2:00/10:00 the odds of them being able to accommodate you are slim. In your case it's probably even more slim, because what you're looking for is the use of the machine for the entire time it takes you to set it up and tear it down. You probably should plan to rent your own equipment for the event if you're going to need it.

[gyre]

There will be some private heavy stuff out there.
If you can work around someone else's schedule, that might work out.

[lemur]

[Turtleburp]

CITIZENS ARE REQUIRED TO REPORT TO THE WASH VAT FOR RENDERING

[gyre]

[teppy]

Yeah, I'm fine with renting, or going in on a rental with another camp. I guess what I'm looking for is a pointer to which companies are used to sending their equipment to Burning Man. I can start by googling for places in Reno, but for all I know there's some company in Sacramento that always sends a fleet of cranes to the playa every year for setup and schedules them hourly.

[gyre]

Ask the reno burners and dpw, and the BIG projects.

[teppy]

Ok, in case it helps others: I've rented this: http://www.skytrak.com/models/10054.htm

If any other camps would like to go in on the rental, contact me - I'm hoping this makes dome construction much easier. (And I plan to go for a ride on the thing, 58 feet over the playa!)

[Captain Goddammit]

I'm a heavy equipment operator...
You're renting the wrong machine.
What you rented is not designed for lifting people.
Equipment for lifting people has fail-safe hydraulic valving among other things, to prevent catastrophic collapse in the event of a hose failure or other unplanned plot complication.

It sounds like you want a "bucket lift" or man lift. It would work better for dome construction anyway, and you could still go for your ride from 58 feet, and you'd be able to drive from up there.

[Captain Goddammit]

I'll even add that anyone who gets in that machine and drives it anywhere at all with a person on the forks at full extension does NOT know what they're doing on a piece of heavy machinery.

Will everything be fine and you live to tell about it? Most likely. But it's considered VERY bad practice in the world of machinery and would get you fired on the spot from any real jobsite.

I'm kinda' goin' off about it cuz you could just as easily rent the right machine. That's the wrong one.

Also, that SkyTrac needs it's outrigger stabilizers to be down when operating at full extension. Driving it at full extension is very risky, it should never be done at all but if you do it anyway at least there should be someone who really knows what they're doing at the controls. But of course, catch-22, said professional wouldn't do that.

[teppy]

By "ride" i meant ground->sky, not driving around with me up there. But, point taken.

This machine seemed appropriate for top-down dome construction: Hang the whole dome from the top vertex (or maybe the top 5 vertices; 2200 lbs is right around the safe working load of a grade 5 eye bolt.

[Captain Goddammit]

Oh... Yeah, if you're gonna build it from the top down and use the forklift to hold the dome up and add lower pieces as you go, then it's a fine machine. I figured you were doing it the other way, starting at the ground and using the lift to reach the higher parts. I guess i'm more familiar with machines than I am with domes!

[teppy]

Just bumping this thread to see if any other camps might need an extendable boom forklift for anywhere from a few hours to a day. I've rented one with a 58' reach, capable of lifting 3000 lb at full extension and 10,000 lb close-in. I expect that we'll need it for 5 hours, which means that we'll have 3 hours unused.

[unjonharley]

That single I bolt is an "if"..

Add a 5 ton Nylon lift safety strap.. just in case..

[Elorrum]

That single I bolt is an "if"..

Add a 5 ton Nylon lift safety strap.. just in case..

right, static ratings are different from hanging bouncing ratings.

[Caralayne18]

Good Morning, Camp Walter at 3 and Extraterrestrial is in need of a rental share on a Forklift. Please contact me as soon as possible. Thank You Carol (602) 717-4565 or [email protected]