Crane service in Wittmann, AZ

Wittmann is where the Valley gives way to open country. It sits along US 60 about 35 miles northwest of central Phoenix and only about 15 miles up Grand Avenue from our base in Surprise. That makes it the nearest rural community we serve, and a regular stop on our service area.

Wittmann is small and unincorporated, with a 2020 census population of 684 and an elevation of about 1,683 feet. It started out as Nadaburg in the 1920s and was renamed in 1929 for Joseph Wittmann, who backed a Hassayampa River dam and irrigation project that was never finished. Farming has been part of life here ever since, and today the area is a mix of acreage homes, horse properties, small farms and open desert.

Call 602-615-0712 to schedule or text 623-258-8361. Send the weight of the item, how far it needs to go and where the truck can park, and Don will confirm the lift.

Out here, most homes run on private wells. When a pump fails or a well needs work, the equipment that comes out of the hole is heavy and long. We provide the lift for the well crew; the well company handles the well work.

• Pumps, motors and column pipe coming out or going back in
• Pressure tanks and related well equipment
• Moving heavy equipment from a trailer to the wellhead

Tell us where the well sits relative to the driveway, whether power runs overhead to the pump, and the weights involved. See well equipment lifts for more.

Acreage owners call us for the things that are too heavy for a tractor and too big for a few friends:

• Water storage tanks set on a pad or stand near the well or barn
• Prebuilt storage sheds and tack rooms set exactly where you want them, without dragging them across the property
• Shop and garage materials such as steel, beams and building materials staged for the crew
• Heavy items like equipment, troughs and machinery that need to go over a fence or corral

Every lift is different. If a job is beyond our truck, we have trusted relationships with other crane companies.

Metal shops, horse barns, garages and custom homes are common projects on Wittmann acreage. Setting trusses by hand is slow and risky work. With the crane, the framing crew can have trusses lifted from the delivery stack and set where they need them, one after another.

For truss lifts, send us the building layout, truss lengths and approximate weights, and where the delivery will be dropped. We also lift roofing materials onto the roof once framing is done.

Rooftop heating and cooling equipment is our main work, and we lift it for lots and lots of HVAC companies. Around Wittmann, that includes manufactured homes as well as site-built houses, shops and casitas.

• Evaporative coolers going up on or coming off manufactured home roofs
• Rooftop package units and heat pumps, old and new
• Condensers set on pads behind the house
• Units for shops and outbuildings set back from the road

On a manufactured home, roof structure matters. The HVAC contractor should confirm the roof or stand is ready for the unit; we set it where the crew directs. Your crew rigs and guides, and we aim to set the unit in one shot. See HVAC crane lifts and our guide for HVAC contractors.

Bigger lots do not always mean easy access. Spas often go on a back patio behind the house, inside a block wall or past a pool fence, and soft dirt can make a dolly or forklift a bad idea. A crane lifts the spa off the trailer and sets it on the pad. See spa and hot tub lifts for how to prepare.

On rural lifts, the big question is where the truck sets up. Check these before we come out:

1. Dirt roads and driveways. Firm, dry dirt and gravel are usually fine. Soft sand, recent rain and wash crossings need to be pointed out.
2. Septic tanks and leach fields. A loaded crane truck should stay off septic systems. Mark where yours is so we can plan around it.
3. Gates and turns. Measure gate openings and note tight turns, cattle guards or low branches on the way in.
4. Overhead lines. Power lines often cross rural properties to wells, barns and houses. OSHA requires crane equipment and loads to stay at least 20 feet from lines up to 350 kV unless specific procedures are used (29 CFR 1926.1408).
5. Animals. Keep horses, livestock and dogs secured away from the lift area.

Wittmann is unincorporated, so there is no town hall. If the truck would need to set up on a public road, check with Maricopa County about permits first.

Wittmann sits on the stretch of US 60 that links our Surprise base with Morristown and Wickenburg. Circle City and Morristown are farther up the highway, and at Morristown, State Route 74 (the Carefree Highway) branches east toward Lake Pleasant Regional Park, so we cover rural properties along that whole corridor.

Skyhook Crane is licensed and insured. Don handles scheduling, and he and his son Bryce, a professional crane operator Don trained himself, both run the crane. Call 602-615-0712 to schedule or text 623-258-8361, or email skyhookcranedon@gmail.com. Closer to the Valley, see our pages for Surprise, Sun City West and Waddell.