I had a tripod come apart on me today. Thankfully the robot was not on it at the time. So that has got me looking at getting a new tripod for my robot. What I have now are what I believe to be dealer branded wood/plastic CST tripods, but I am not sure.
What is the difference between cheap (maybe I should say less expensive) tripods like the standard CST and SECO tripods and the more expensive ones like the Crain Tri-Max and Dutch Hill?
You can't beat a Tri-Max, especially for robotics. They're just made better; they're sturdy, the clamps are more robust and I've found that even the quick releases don't slip when properly adjusted. But the most important thing is that they don't vibrate and the heads won't twist from the torque that the robot applies. They're so good that they come serialized with a 5-year warranty.
I second the Crain/Tri-Max. Money well spent. I've yet to see one go bad.
The Tri-Max is a great tripod, but man is it heavy! I'd been using one for about ten years, and as I got older, it seemed to get heavier. Finally, after one brutal winter, I decided to try a Dutch Hill, and man am I glad I did! Five pounds lighter, seemingly just as sturdy, and MUCH easier to adjust the legs. The Tri-Max has been relegated to backsight only duty!;-)
Both are good, but I prefer Dutch Hill for the same reasons.
The Dutch Hill and Trimax tripods are great, but if you're like me and like to go with something a little less expensive, I recommend the Topcon/Nedo tripods from Hayes. I purchased one when I got my robot, and was satisfied enough with it that I just recently purchased two more. They work well with my Topcon robot, and cost about $165 each.
We're still using about 6 of the old Wild CST-20 tripods, which are very solid, light, and are about 20 years old. I think we had the screw locks rebuilt 10 years ago. We also have the Crain Tri-max, which is heavier, but by far solid, and have not had to make any adjustments or tightening to it in 5 years.
I have several of the cheap clamp style from CST sitting in the store and lock as they won't clamp and can't fix. You can have them for free if you want them.
I will second that selection. I have checked out the trimax, way too heavy for my everyday use. My topcon has been going strong with everyday use and abuse for almost 15 years. Just about time for a new one, but it is still perfectly usable.
Trimax are certainly the best, only ones certified, around $300.00.
Dutch Hill - great too. Not sure what they are going for anymore. I hate the locks on the inside of the legs.
Leica GST120-9 - always been good. Around $350.00.
I've had issues with Nedo, don't care of them.
Seco has some new Ash Wood Tripods they are marketing as higher quality. I haven't seen them but if they're as good as they say, for the price it would be a great deal.
I will also vouch (sp?) for the TriMax and the Dutch Hill units for the same reasons.
The one Trimax I had, had sticky leg and no matter of adjusting I did on it seemed to make a difference.
The one company I was at had a supervisor who knew of me before hiring me and he teamed me up with everyone to find the "best fit". When he did, he paired me and Victor up by ourselves and equipped us with good shii.. stuff. DutchHill was part of that. I sure did appreciate the lighter weight. We weren't using robots then. Just plain ole work-horse Topcons.
Crain or Dutch Hill - I wouldn't imagine you could go wrong.
Got one of these https://surveying.com/Products/Instrument-Tripods/Wood-Fiberglass-Tripods/5220-11-ORG recently.
It's branded Crain and looks similar to the tri-max but is all wood and probably lacks some of the best quality of the tri-max.
Was a lot cheaper though. £122 instead of £300.
Wild/Leica GST-20 is also very solid against twist and quite a bit lighter.
> Dutch Hill - great too. Not sure what they are going for anymore. I hate the locks on the inside of the legs.
>
I have 4 Dutch Hill and really like them, and 1 old CST tripod. The CST works fine, but is heavy, and has the locks on the OUTSIDE of the legs. Every time I use it, I appreciate the leg locks on the INSIDE of the Dutch Hill tripod, which permit you to level it up without having to walk around the tripod. Not a big deal, but a nice touch.
If you go with Dutch Hill, be sure to get the aluminum head, not the plastic composite, if they even still make that one.
Ken
Another Leica GST-20 user, have used the old Dutch Hill's, not a fan, maybe they are better now, Topcon and Sokkia wood legs and my preference is the Leica to all of them, I haven't tried the Tri-Max, hear good things, one thing to check out is how much space they take up, I know a guy that said they didn't fit in the same space as others because of the large feet so storing them in the survey chariot may be any issue or not for you.
SHG
I've had mainly GST-20s, for the last 35 years. About every ten years they are stripped right down and fully repainted using a Yacht Varnish - at least three top coats. After five years they need minor touching up.
Highly reliable, virtually no twisting in the sun: just need a little care and attention once in a while. At the moment we have ten of them and four of the GST-40 centre-pods.
> Another Leica GST-20 user....
I really like the Leica GST-120, much like the GST-20 except that it has the "pockets" which keep the legs closed when fully collapsed for carrying and stowing.
I ran into that issue. My truck organizer was based on the Topcon/Nedo legs that came with my instrument and a couple of CST sets I had as spares. All had similar dimensions. The Trimax legs do have larger feet and will not fit feet first into the allowed space. In my case I'm able to slide the legs in head first and leave just the feet protruding from the box. I protect the head with the supplied hard plastic cover so that sliding the edge of the head along the organizer doesn't damage the edge of the tripod head.
Re Dutch Hill: Don't take a chance on buying their older, used tripods. The older ones (maybe someone else can back me up here with the approximate year spread) were useless with the robot due to the head torquing and vibrating from the gun's movements. It's nice to know that Dutch Hill apparently has made improvements to their tripods. We use Crains and yes, they're on the heavy side, but solid. No complaints.
Not only did the Dutch Hill that I tried with a Trimble S6 vibrate AND twist, the spring clamps on the inside of the legs slipped.
> the spring clamps on the inside of the legs slipped.
I had a vendor show me that at a conference: "these are no good, see, they slip."
All you have to do is adjust the tension of the clamp with an allen wrench and you will be good for a very long time. Like all equipment, it has to be adjusted once in a while.