Dutch Hill -Carbon Graphic Tripods?

They will work fine, as long as you keep them tightened (I suggest at the beginning of each day).

I can think of dozens of fantastic applications for carbon fiber. Surveying isn't one of them.

I've been using the same three pair of fiberglass and poly head Dutch Hills tripods daily since 1999. As light and durable as they are, I don't see a need to spring for carbon fiber.

I had much better results with the Crain Tri-Max.

I admit, I love Dutch Hill legs. Been using the Tundra, Standard Dutch hills and carbon fiber for 15+ years with Leica robots and have had excellent results. Have used most other brands including crane and for my purposes Dutch Hill can’t be beat.
Haven’t had to deal with sun or hot weather here so can’t comment in that regard.
Could never understand why anyone would want to carry those expensive, awkward and heavy crain tripods.

flying solo:

Why not?

Stephen

Lee D:

Have you had any unsatisfactory results with the Dutch Hill Carbon Fiber Tripods.

I have a job where I have to walk in over a mile and this will be many times. It will also be very wet. Wood will swell and be destroyed if it stays out too many days. I have found that the regular fiber glass tripods from Dutch Hill are less stable than wood tripods. That is why I am asking about the carbon fiber ones.

Stephen

Bear Bait,

Thanks for the info and experience

Stephen

the frequency of impacts and pressure variations. carbon doesn't tend to forgive much, especially for the cost.

about to retire a carbon rover rod and i'll never buy another. bipod and collector clamps and the minimal leverage exerted by either/both made very short work of the rod.

my only other extended experience with CF is in the construction and riding of bike frames. while it generally works well in those applications, and even (in the case of mountain bikes) takes a fair amount of abuse- it is engineered specifically for those applications and a ton of r&d goes into it. i suspect, at least in the common surveying applications i've seen it so far- mainly rover rods and tripods- that it's more a case of buying some generic low-weave stock sitting on shelves somewhere and appropriating it for novelty's sake. not all CF is the same. again, i'm just guessing, but i'd bet most of the CF you see in surveying products is the bottom of the barrel stuff.

I used Dutch Hill legs with conventional total stations for years and loved them. When I went robotic (Trimble S3) my salesmen told me that Dutch Legs weren't good for robotics. I found that hard to believe but I also trust my salesman and wanted everything to "perfect" with my new setup. So I bought the recommended Crain legs with the Robot. I have had no problems. My good friend recently went robotic and bought an S6 intending to set it up on his Dutch Hill legs. He didn't make it very far. He said the robot sat there in a trance shaking back and forth. Maybe it's a Trimble thing. He ended up buying some wooden legs that have worked perfectly.

Jack

> about to retire a carbon rover rod and i'll never buy another. bipod and collector clamps and the minimal leverage exerted by either/both made very short work of the rod.

Clamp stress is a well-known problem with carbon-fiber rods, but the installation of an external sleeve (I used aluminum, I've heard of others using PVC) seems to prevent any damage. I've been using the same rod pretty much daily for 3-1/2 years now with no apparent cracking or deformation.

I do see a bit of abrasion on the part of the rod that rests on its storage tube in my truck, but it seems to be merely cosmetic -- the shiny coating has worn off in that area. If exposed fibers become a problem (I would think they'd be hard on the hands) I'll figure out a way to recoat the affected area, so I don't expect this to be a threat to the usability of the rod.

The weight saving over an aluminum equivalent -- about 6 ounces -- is significant enough to make the carbon-fiber version attractive to me.

Exposed fibers are definitely hard on the hands. Carbon fiber penetrating skin is a rather odd sensation. More of a "nails on chalkboard" x 2 than pain.

Coupla things:

1. If this is well known, makes one wonder why manufacturers aren't designing these rods with a 2 cent sleeve built-in.

2. Different strokes, I reckon. Part of what I love about my job is being in good shape. I'll gladly tote around a little more if it keeps me out of the 5th circle of hell- a gym.

Trimble robots are susceptible to vibtations, to a fault IMO. Wooden legs will mitigate the effect somewhat, but not completely. I've never ran Dutch Hill tripods (always wanted to try them, though), but I would wager Leica robots would see less problems.

> 1. If this is well known, makes one wonder why manufacturers aren't designing these rods with a 2 cent sleeve built-in.

It's a good question, and one I've never seen addressed by a manufacturer.

> 2. Different strokes, I reckon. Part of what I love about my job is being in good shape. I'll gladly tote around a little more if it keeps me out of the 5th circle of hell- a gym.

For me it isn't about being in shape so much as avoiding injury. For years I used to do 60 pull-ups every other day (10 sets of 6 with 90 seconds in between sets), but now if I do 5 pull-ups my elbows complain for a week. I'm old enough now that my joints don't take kindly to repetitive stress; carrying a pole/DC combo around one-handed all day is hard enough on my elbow that I want to get every bit of weight off it that I can.

If the carbon fiber tripods don't last I would hold off blaming carbon. It's more likely the bonding process. I have used carbon fiber arrows for years. They are like anything else. There are well made, cheap and in between...

Thanks for the info

Stephen

> Lee D:
>
> Have you had any unsatisfactory results with the Dutch Hill Carbon Fiber Tripods.
>
> I have a job where I have to walk in over a mile and this will be many times. It will also be very wet. Wood will swell and be destroyed if it stays out too many days. I have found that the regular fiber glass tripods from Dutch Hill are less stable than wood tripods. That is why I am asking about the carbon fiber ones.
>
> Stephen

Ouch. What about an ATV?