Anyone have insight or suggestions for moving a 15 foot metal base fiberglass Tower stand? This stand needs to go to another spot on our lease and I have to move it at least 300 yards. It has attached stairs, but I believe they can be removed. This thing weights a ton- literally.

Detach stairs and put on trailer. Use front end loader to move base. If no tractor access, then block/cable lower the tower over on to trailer and move. If can't get a trailer to it, then lower tower over, detach blind from base and drag the based with truck, utv. Build a lean to 2 pole drag with upper ends secured to truck/utv and then roll/winch the blind up on it, secure to poles so that blind doesn't drag and slowly drag to new location. Get some guys and have cooler on hand for job well done. Good luck.

Otherwise, call a professional to move & set up. Depending on where ranch is located there usually are such services.

Good luck.

Be careful and don't kill anyone.

Pictures would help us give you more ideas.

If you don’t have access to a tractor, some retailers that sell blinds have trailers for rent specifically designed just for what you are doing. I know mine does in San Angelo. Back the trailer up to it, pull the pins on the joints. Rear of the trailer digs into the ground, while the part close to the truck lifts up into the air up against the blind. Place straps around the blind and trailer and then move the vehicle foraward and the trailer & blind together lower down. Not too difficult.

Here's how we moved our 13' 4x8 wooden. Lifted with tractor bucket with 4x4x8' extensions pulled with truck with eye bolts in blind. Drove T posts in ground against bottom cross supports so it wouldn't slide. Pictures should be self explaining. Tried different ways but this worked Add safety line so truck doesn't pull over.Sorry picture is upside down
don't know why. Be careful and take your time!!!!!!

Atascosa Wildlife Supply in Jourdanton builds the heavy duty trailers mentioned above. They used to come out and move our big towers and blinds for us at $550 a pop. You might want to call them and ask about retailers who may have one of their trailers to rent.

http://www.awsblinds.com/

if you are going to pay someone to move it, then I would just buy a new one and have 2 places to hunt.

Don’t get in the way of the snapping straps or cables

search youtube raising tower blind or deer stand. This is of interest to me also. I have a 5X5 on a 10' tower that is super heavy. my small 4 wheeler would not tump it over when standing. mine also tends to want to tump over the other way once you get it moving raising it.

What has worked best for us so far it to elevate the blind a few feet first before raising it. Trying to raise it on the ground wants to drag it. I have built a fulcrum lever that I will try next time so the rope pulls more up than horizontal to the ground.

Tie off the legs on the ground so they don't slide. have a rope on the back end to keep it from going over too fast once you pass the point of weight balance.

some bad example on youtube show people walking around under the blind when they are half raised.

I've thought about renting once of those utility trucks with the crane on the back also. That would probably be cheaper than paying someone.

Need some pics of the type materials used on the tower and bracing. I have laid over a few of them with a winch on a pickup and laid them down on a mattress on top of gooseneck trailer. Had to tie each of the closest legs back to the trailer to keep it from kicking out. Then reverse to stand it back up. If the terrain is not to rocky or uneven I have made temporary skids out of 2x8's and then was able to drag the blind about 250 yards to its new location.

Two trucks and a trailer. First truck with trailer pulls it over, while second truck keeps it from falling down too fast. Second truck holds it in the air while the first truck backs the trailer under it. Probably have the blind rest on the front of the trailer and take to next destination. Do the same in reverse.

Built an i-beam out of a 2X6 and 2X4's with a heavy steel pipe inserted at the top with a thinner pipe around it that would turn. Used that as a fulcrum to change the angle of pulling on the stand from horizontal to vertical. See attached pics. Also drove a stake in the ground next to the legs with rope tied around it many times. The stand legs twisting on the rope also acted as a spring.

Going back up

Closer to show fulcrum- one end sticks in the ground, takes the weight off the stand legs

Pipe- didn't get a very good pic



going down

I got my arm caught between the blind and a truck bed about 5 years ago so we stopped making ours so heavy and have really been happy with the results. Our boxes disassemble in panels and the whole thing (12ft tower and 4x5 or 4x6 box) can be taken apart in about 30 minutes, loaded into a pickup and relocated. We can raise and lower our tower frames without any machines. Obviously if you have the equipment handy then there are several ways to go about it. We just don't have tractors or other heavy equipment accessible so we opted for lighter more mobile tower blinds.