House Stuck at top of pole

[Thomas Maddox]

I just set up a Trendsetter 16 compartment house on a 16 foot, 3 inch aluminum pole. My wife cranked it to top and it is stuck. The cable looks fine, but the house won't lower. How can we fix this? Thank you.

[John Miller]

Please take care you don't get hurt. Keep your hand on the winch while it's "open" in case the house comes loose. Suspect you have cranked too hard and "stops" at top of pole have become wedged into the house. Best to consult with the manufactuer. I can't give his direct no. here, but call the PMCA Monday, 814 833 7656 and tell them the situation and ask for the no. or they may want to call him.

I paint a spot of white or red paint on the cable when the house is up, so I can watch the spot moving along when I raise the house and know when I'm at or near the top to try to avoid over cranking.

John Miller

[Thomas Maddox]

Definitely over cranked it. She feels horrible, but I'm not mad. I have the protective covering over the house, so I really can't see the top. The pole is placed over a ground stake, so we can remove it, but I am concerned as with the house at the very top, its very top heavy. Thanks for your input and advice!

[Matt F.]

Wondering if you could back the winch down just a couple of cranks, and possibly toss a rope over the top of the house - taking care to not catch the top perches or the roof cap. You could use the rope to provide just enough downward force to get it unstuck.
It probably would not take very much downward force, so something easy to attach to a tennis ball and throw over like twine, mason line, etc.

[John Miller]

Sounds reasonable... Maybe could lift rope up over house with a long pole....tree pruning pole if have one might work.

[Matt F.]

John - you have much more experience with Trendsetter systems than myself (actually I have no experience with them).
If for any reason that sounds like a bad idea, I promise I won't be offended if you say so.

[John Miller]

Matt

I hope there will be some consulting with the manufactuer, Mel. But most immediate concern is safety...Thomas, don't get hurt, and please let us know how you get the house down.

John M

[Thomas Maddox]

Thanks guys. I am not going to try to force it and will call the manufacturer first. I will definitely let you know how it goes

[brent]

I have a Trendsetter 8. It got stuck where the top section and bottom section of the pole meet in the middle. With the winch secure and the cable just slightly loose I had to use an extention pole to nudge it by lifting it from the underneath. It worked. Probably not the case here but wanted to share an experience. As mentioned earlier safety is a must. Those houses come down fast if not secure. I did call PMCA and they contacted the manufacturer who called me the same day. They suggested sanding and possibly replacing the poles. I sanded and learned to work it. It all worked out. Brent

[Thomas Maddox]

Thanks for sharing Brent. I called both yesterday, but haven't heard back from them yet. Maybe off for Thanksgiving? I didn't think about the house possibly free falling, so thanks to all of you who gave me the advice. I wonder if wrapping some blanks above the winch would soften the blow to the house if it were to fall. I'll report back when I hear from them.

[Matt F.]

I would crank the winch back up, to where to you just take the slack out of the cable, but it's not very tight.
That way if it does dislodge on its own, it may only drop 4 or 5 inches or so.
Hopefully your better half is not being too hard on herself about it.

[John Miller]

If you saved any of the paperwork when you bought the house, you have the manufactuer's phone no...Mel at Hilltop Manufacturing. Small business and he usually answers or will call you back. If you want to email me, I can provide it; talked with him last week. I consulted on how to convert an 8 unit house with with two inch pole to a three inch pole. Mel explained it all to me, but I decided 27 or so pop rivets in the top floor are beyond my skill level - h a.

[John Miller]

[quote="John Miller" post_id=299663 time=1637760967 user_id=1100]
If you saved the paperwork when you bought the house, you may have the manufactuer's phone no...Mel at Hilltop Manufacturing. Small business and he usually answers or will call you back. If you want to email me, I can provide it; talked with him last week. I consulted on how to convert an 8 unit house with with two inch pole to a three inch pole. Mel explained it all to me, but I decided 27 or so pop rivets in the top floor are beyond my skill level - h a.
[/quote]

[Thomas Maddox]

After talking to Mel(a great guy by the way), he told me to pull down on the house to get it passed the stop bolt. I saw a guy using a bucket lift hanging Christmas lights down the street and asked for help. He kindly said he would help and came over. It was a 1 man bucket so he went up. He pulled gently: nothing. He pulled harder: nothing. He pulled really hard :nothing. He pushed from the top down: nothing. He twisted, turned and nothing. After about 30 minutes, we decided to lift the house and pole off of the ground stake and did so. We did some more pushing and pulling; but again, nothing. Finally, we slid a saw in the crack at the top of the house and cut off the stop bolt. So, she is up and back in business. We painted markings on pole and cable to know when to stop. I will call Mel and share my experience. Thanks again for your advice.

[Thomas Maddox]

Oh and no, I didn't and won't place another stop bolt back on.

[Matt F.]

Great update Thomas!
Those one-person buckets are worth their weight in gold!
That neighbor of yours is also worth his weight in gold!

[brent]

Happy to hear you have it working again. I keep my houses lower than the highest I can raise it, about 12 feet instead of 16 feet. The reason is because I would have to lower it often due to extreme windy weather. Someone on the site suggested that and it pays off because I might not be home or it's late at night when it might need to be lowered. Brent

[Thomas Maddox]

Thanks. What a nice guy. He strongly refused any type of payment. I still slipped him some money in his truck. I better get some damn birds after what we've been through! Ha. Now. I may have to reattach some Christmas lights tomorrow. It's all good though.

[alfie]

Hi y’all - somebody said they know how to contact Mel at Hilltop. Can you supply me with his contact info please. I purchased the Add-a-Level from PMCA and it came from Hilltop. I have a 3” pole and one of the parts that was sent was for a 2” pole. The phone number I have doesn’t work and I don’t have an email for him. Any help would be appreciated.

[Knots]

Call boom truck guy.