cost to move a center pivot

[cowhater]

what's the going rate to tear down a 7 tower 1250' pivot loaded on a trailer and then re-install at new location. Trucking is not important, short haul (39 miles) and can use my tractor trailer. Probably would rely on person/crew doing it to use their own forklift, boom truck, or loader. thanks. towing is out of the question due to major highways, towns, street signs, etc. It needs new gaskets anyway.

[arnfarm735]

Just talked to "my" pivot dealer. He said they figure $7.00 ($3.50 to take down and $3.50 to put back together) per foot to take down, transport and rebuild a pivot. Another additional cost that is sometimes not thought of is using new bolts and gaskets. He said that can run between an additional $1000 - $2500. I think you definately need new gaskets while you are taking it apart. Reusing lock nuts may be another thing to stay away from.

We usually put the pivots we buy together ourselves. It is not rocket science -- a lot like a big erector set, if you remember those as a kid. We don't get it done in one day like a lot of the crews do, but it saves some money and allows us to put some of those savings into buying tools like generators, impacts, three-point booms, etc. that we can use on other projects. I takes us about 5 days. A four man crew works best.

We did go get a three tower pivot several years ago, take it down and put it back up ourselves. That wasn't too bad. We also bought another 3 tower pivot that we towed about 20 miles to our field. We won't do that again; will leave that to the professionals.

Good luck.

[arnfarm735]

Just noticed that the "bolt/gasket figure" high end should have been $1500 instead of $2500.

[Nebrfarmr]

If it is a 'short haul' why take it all apart?  They don't do that around here.

They take the towers apart, where they couple together, and hook one end to a pickup (usually have to build a 'stand' in the bed, to raise it up higher for clearance). 
The 'wheels' of the pivot are strapped down to something 'steerable', anything from a specially made cart, to an old pickup with the engine and drivetrain removed (the lighter the better, as you put less stress on the pivot). 
I have seen pivots moved 40-50 miles this way, one tower at a time, by a father and son over the course of a couple weekends.

You don't have to replace bolts and gaskets, assembly/disassembly goes fast, and it works well.  About the only downside is that it would take you a trip for each span, plus another trip for the center point, and miscellaneous parts.  However, once you figure it out, it only takes about an hour per span to get one span off the transport, and the other one one.  Figure a couple hours for the first span, though.

http://chocolateonmycranium.blogspot.com/2011/09/moving-pivot-spans.html

[cowhater]

that picture you posted looks NOTHING like my area. I have towns, major highways, street signs, and lots of traffic that I have to go through or at least around. It simply is impossible. I would be thrown in jail. The pivot needs all new gaskets anyway. The seller has already told me that.

[Nebrfarmr]

Yea, it isn't practical with lots of traffic.