For erection, one person is on each set of the 3 guy sets and 2-3 more walk the pole up. It tends to bow a lot before it reaches the 45° point and the guy crew should try to minimize that bending by putting tension on the guy ropes. The AB 155 has some really slick guy tensioner mechanisms. They are sort of hard to figure out how to use, but once you do, you really appreciate how great they are. My hat is off to the designers of the AB 155. It is really slick how everything goes together. If you are in the market for military mast and find one in good condition at a good price, pick it up! They don’t show up often and the last one I saw was about $125. The other masts I use came as just pole sections and I needed to come up with the guy parts and stakes. I have several different styles. Of these, the ribbed aluminum ones are my favorite. They are very rugged. Some fiberglass masts have sleeves on the receiving end. If you have a choice of fiberglass mast, get the ones with the sleeves. Fiberglass masks can’t handle much side stress without splitting. I had some of mine split when they were not handled properly. After that happened a few times I strengthened them. I took some nylon string and wound it tightly around the base until I had a couple of inches wound. Then I covered it with a few coats of fiberglass resin. This is the stuff used to repair fiberglass boats. I have not had any split since I did that, but I still use a lot of care in setting up and taking down these masts, and don’t use them in situations where there will be much side stress. For stakes, I use 1” conduit. I use a 4’ piece as the base and 3’ pieces for the stakes. I spray the ends with orange paint so they are easy to find in tall grass. The 4’ piece is pounded into the ground about ½ way in where I want the pole to be. It is not really there to support the pole, but just to prevent it from sliding. |