Entrance Height

[TNhobbyfarmer]

I am going to build and erect a western style gate entrance, the kind with two vertical poles and a horizontal pole mounted on top of the side poles. I am debating on the height of the cross bar. I am thinking the major consideration will be the possibility of needing to get a dump truck under the entrance for gravel delivery. Does anyone know the height of a dump truck? I want to make sure I get it tall enough.

 

[David Ferguson]

14 foot high will allow nearly all semi-trucks to enter your property. You never know when you'll need a cement pumper...

 

[dbdartman]

13' 6" is max height without a permit, so anything over that should be good, but I'd consider 14'-15' just to be safe.

 

[EddieWalker]

Is the driveway finished with your permanent surface? If you just have gravel down, will you ever put asphalt or cemtent down? If so, you need to consider the added height of the road if you buid it up when determining your final height.

Dump trucks are not all that tall, but if you ever get a delivery from a freight company, they will need the full legal height depending on what type of trailer they are using. I've had all sorts of delivery trailers out to my place for things like a table saw, electrical panel and even decorative metal. It just depends on the carrier the business uses to make the deliveries.

Eddie

 

[orezok]

Also consider a tall 5th wheel RV. Some run close to 13'. Maybe not yours, but you wouldn't want to wipe the A/C off a friend's.

 

[YanmarFever]

TN,
14' minimum, 14 1/2 even better, I receive my neighbors shipments at our place, you can guess why.

 

[RobertN]

Does anyone know the height of a dump truck? I want to make sure I get it tall enough.

Who cares how tall a gravel truck is I wanna know how tall all the local Fire Engines are If things go bad, I wanna make sure emergency vehicles can get to me and/or my family. Of course, that's just because I've been on engines, where we had to stop for gates. Or, couldn't go down the driveway because the trees were so over-grown the engine couldn't fit through, and had to walk in to medical and fire emergencies.

 

[Ductape]

Make it fifteen feet. That will allow max height delivery trucks in with a foot to spare. That if you ever pave, re-pave, and re-pave..... you will still be able to get a truck in there.

 

[Dale_Alan]

Make it high enough to get a backhoe or dozer on a trailer into the property.

Firetrucks? Trust me by the time they get out there it will mostly be gone and if they put it out and save part of it the insurance company will rebuild around it. I've been there and done that, you want it down on the slab.

 

[wushaw]

My fifthwheel is 13' 2", I wouldn't go less than 14'.

 

[EddieWalker]

...with two vertical poles and a horizontal pole mounted on top of the side poles.

What are you going to use for the poles?

Metal pipe comes in differnt lengths with 20 feet being about the shortest that I'm aware of. I buy Four inch Galvanized heavy wall pipe for under $100 each from a fence supplier. I don't think you can get that price, but it's worth a try.

I was talking to a fence guy the other day and he pointed out that using used oil pipe fence is risky because the succer rods wear the pipe out from the inside and you never know how thick the walls are. You might get a good pipe, or you might have one with areas that are paper thin. Unless you cut it or weld on it, you won't know until if fails on you.

A 20 foot joint with four feet in the ground will give you a very impressive 16 foot height!!!! Four inch is strong enough to not bend on you, but bigger would sure have more impact on how impressive it looks. Of course, with 16 feet height, you could also hang something from the top with amost 2 feet to create a name or design and still have over 14 feet of clearance!!!!!

Eddie

 

[RobertN]

Make it high enough to get a backhoe or dozer on a trailer into the property.

Firetrucks? Trust me by the time they get out there it will mostly be gone and if they put it out and save part of it the insurance company will rebuild around it. I've been there and done that, you want it down on the slab.

I understand in some rural areas response time can be long. In many area's though, you will get a BLS(EMT), or sometimes an ALS(Paramedic) Engine on scene before a medic unit arrives. I wouldn't want an already prolonged response to a medical emergency to take even longer due to access limitations.