moving/transporting a concrete pad

[jaray]

I came across a mint condition 10' mesh Channel Master for a good price. Got this dish home, set up on a small temporary pole I have out back. Now I need to get the mount home :-(
The dish sat on a concrete pad with one of those mounts that was bolted to the pad with heavy threaded rod for adjustment when needed. I believe it is about 5' diameter, not sure how thick...gotta be about 4" thick.
I'm looking for suggestions of how to move this think and get it into a truck. There's plenty snow back there and I don't think we'll be getting the truck back there.
My plan so far, is to loosen it up with a heavy lining bar and get something underneath it to help it slide. Its got heavy wire "handles" sunk right into the concrete so I'm thinking a few guys and a heavy strap to those handles *should* be able to get this thing dragged up to the truck in the front yard.
From there, we'll winch it up using a come-along onto a couple 2x6's into the truck.
Any better suggestions anyone might have used? perhaps something better to slide under it to help it slide on the snow.
I'll have 4 guys to move it, one of them being my brother who could likely bench press me with 1 hand. He thinks it must weigh about 800lbs.

thoughts??

 

[brex2001]

2 six ft or longer pieces of "U" channel bolted together with 2 pieces of angle iron to form an "H" shape. Keep the open "U" facing down to form a sled that you could take there in pieces, use to move it, then disassemble. Some shovels to keep the way clear while moving. And a farm type high lift jack to raise the concrete pad.
Just a suggestion if the ground is frozen.

 

[Lone Gunman]

I'm wondering why you don't just plant a new post in the ground with concrete and mount it on that instead of going to all that trouble moving the concrete pad, which you'll likely NEVER get close to being level once it's moved to it's new spot?? You could probably dig a new hole in a couple of hours, plant that pole and be done with it.

 

[hwm]

Concrete weighs about 145 pounds per cubic foot. Also, research the tensile strength of your wire handles and decide if they will handle the weight of the concrete with a generous safety factor. Figuring 5 foot diameter and 4 inches thick I get a figure of 949 pounds.

I'll bet its more than 4 inches thick towards the middle, maybe a lot more. This also means it will not be flat on the bottom, which complicates moving it on slide rails.

I think I would unbolt the mount and pour new concrete at my place.

Might save somebody from getting smashed fingers, or worse.

 

[jaray]

The threaded rod is for leveling out the pole...these types of mounts were used all over this area when c-band was at it height. Apparently they forklifted the whole mount on a trailer when you purchased them, delivered it and a few guys would unload it manually somehow. Whats nice about these pads is you don't have to dig a huge hole and do concrete. With the leveling mechanism built into the legs they're quite nice. These can sit sunk into the ground a bit and the top is flush with the grass. I don't actually think the wire handles were for forking it though...maybe just to move it around.

 

[toucan-man]

How well do they remain plumb in a cold climate, over time?

 

[jaray]

I think that's why they were used more often here as we need to dig down quite a ways to get below the frost line. Obviously I've seen both ways but there's enough of them around here that they must have been favorable to people.

 

[Anole]

Well , at the risk of stating the obvious . . .
... rent a fork lift for an hour or two (maybe in the summer), snatch up the pad, and drop it at home.
That way, nobody gets hurt.

And, you'll have time to prep your home location to receive it.
Maybe you need to dig down a foot?
Maybe you want to line the new hole with sand?
I'm sure you can find the specs for how to properly install it.

Was there a building permit pulled for where it is now?
If so, there will be some details listed.
If not for this one, then surely for some around the area. -
Maybe you can locate one of the retired installers from back in the day.
He should have some good stories.

 

[FaT Air]

I gotta think that one is not flat on the bottom. Shallow dug out form, poured in place. BITD, We assembled the whole dish/mount/pad. Delivered assembled, to the customer, with a custom trailer that lifted the pad/pole/dish in one shot. Had pads ready to go, Customer could order and we could deliver, fully operational, the same day. Rectangle pad about 8 thick and 1.5 ton. Here's how we made our pads, for inspiration, if you decide on that route.

 

[oldfoggie]

I have a base similar to what you are talking about, the advantage is that if it goes off level, you can re-level it, to install it, there is a cement block at each corner, the earth was compacted under each block and the pad set on top of the blocks by a truck with a rear mounted boom such as a pulp truck, mine has a leveling bolt at each corner I have had it over 20 years and I may have re-leveled 3 times, I have a 10 ft solid Andrews dish which is heavier than the mesh ones but mine isn't bothered even by high winds

 

[Cham]

Large construction equipment... like one of those big front end loaders or a track excavator would work just fine. Maybe you know someone or can borrow one when the operator goes for coffee break.

Would likely be a lot easier to pour a new one in place. I like the idea of being able to re-level in case something shifts... I use three cement piles to hold my 10 footer in place. Used 3/4" threaded rod so I can level mine too but I never have had to touch it after initial setup. Frost doesn't bother it either.
-C.

 

[jaray]

I've found out that the ones used around here are flat bottoms. The original installer tells me they've moved them manually using a couple planks and some 1.5" pipe as rollers. Then winch it up onto a low trailer. They've also got them up on end and rolled them very carefully. So a couple good men and it'll get moved.
In my case, and I'm sure many others, getting a loader or forklift in to do this kind of work in a residential yard just isn't practical. Small yards, wires, lawns etc just aren't the right place for heavy equipment. These things got installed in some cases by hand and they can surely get moved again the same way
Thanks for everyone's suggestions...

 

[FaT Air]

If the bolts in the pad are not evenly spaced around the pole, make note of which bolt is situated towards true south. Then make sure it's re-located there. Will make pole adjustments easier. Good Save, nice BUD.

 

[jaray]

Good call on keeping the bolts in the same spots. This dish was an awesome find for me, very well cared for and the last time it was used was in 2005 at which time it had just had a brand new Von Weise actuator put on it to be pretty much parked. The actuator arm is still shiny! and the elevation degree sticker is still there and fully legible too. Only thing that I can't make out is the model # on the sticker. It is a button hook Channel Master though. A damn pretty site lol.
It was used with a dsr920 which I found out after the fact that the VC board battery had blown up and took out parts of the main board.
Oddly enough though, the dish had a c-band only Norsat lnb on it. Made me wonder why he had no KU when the guy was using it with a 4dtv ird.