Best square truss?

J

Jeffrey Knorr

Honorary PhD
Jan 11, 2011
172
6
18
Berwick, PA 18603
jrklabs.com
We may be in the market for new trussing. I'm looking for the heavy duty square 12" variety. Give me your favorites and feel free to include the pros & cons of it. I'm leaning toward boxed end truss but am not against spigoted or other options if they work well.

I may need about 60' (total, not in a single span) or so... probably looking at six 10' sections.

Thank you,

Jeff
 
Re: Best square truss?

Hi Jeffrey,

Tomcat truss seems to be what alot of people are using. They also have a very indepth spec sheets. Spigot truss in the same size as gusset plated truss can actually support more weight. The gusset plates are the weakest link in the truss.
With that being said, I encounter more gusset truss in the 12" size then anything else. See what the local companies are using incase you have to rent more for a one off show.
 
Re: Best square truss?

The only 12" box truss I've seen used in any quantity is the bolt-together stuff, from either Tomcat or Thomas. Both can be used in the same run (although that may affect the load rating of the run).

From a handling perspective, the Tomcat stuff seems to be a bit heavier duty - it's certainly heavier and has more panel points (so more flexibility when rigging with roundslings).
 
Re: Best square truss?

Spigot truss is all fine and dandy until you have to put it together.

Tomcat and Thomas are both great choices.
Some off the heavier Applied stuff is also decent.


Even hearing Global mentioned is enough to give me nightmares.
 
Re: Best square truss?

The downside to the Applied truss is that it's a helluva lot heavier than the Tomcat/Thomas equivalent.

Thomas or Tomcat is the way to go. Better yet, find out what your crossrental vendors have and get the same thing. You can never have enough truss.
 
Re: Best square truss?

Spigot truss is fantastic as long as you never want to attach and detach your sticks. Though, on the upside, if everyone switched to spigot truss my mallet industry investments would make me millions. If I was going to purchase truss, I would get whatever is available from other local companies for cross rentals. I feel like that is Thomas in my case but I am not sure.
 
Re: Best square truss?

Not trying to hijack your thread Jeff, but does anyone know if there's an outfit like Lightbroker on the east coast? I've been tempted to buy some truss a couple times, but the thought of shipping truss cross-country isn't that appealing.
 
Re: Best square truss?

Jason Phair said:
The downside to the Applied truss is that it's a helluva lot heavier than the Tomcat/Thomas equivalent.

Thomas or Tomcat is the way to go. Better yet, find out what your crossrental vendors have and get the same thing. You can never have enough truss.
Click to expand...

Hmm....Tomcat 10ft. light duty plated truss is 61lbs. - Applied 10ft. heavy duty truss which is the same as the tomcat other than the end plate is turned is 62lbs.
basically the same. Applied uses a slightly thicker tube wall.

Tis true, you can almost never have enough truss

db
 
Re: Best square truss?

Just a heads-up, regardless of what brand you buy... INSPECT EVERY WELD. A friend from another city had brand new, off the pallet truss from a MAJOR manufacturer that had passed factory inspections but allegedly only had tack welds on the gusset plates. There is currently a lawsuit pending over the results and gag orders for everyone involved... so that's all I can say (because that's all I was told). That firm is now an Applied dealer/user and has sold off or scrapped all their previous inventory at great cost.

Applied has some interesting truss for heavy loads, the design was created in consultation with StagePro and Apex Stages... there is an I-beam *inside* each chord tube that is extruded as part of the tubing. I believe there is a patent application pending on either the design concept or the extrusion die... But this seriously ups the capacity of the truss. Applied also ships fast and has great technical assistance.

Have fun, stay safe.

Tim Mc
 
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Re: Best square truss?

Interesting, I remember Applied 12" (I only ever used the tower truss) being much heavier than the Thomas equivalents, but not according to the datasheets.

Guess I just got that much stronger over the years!

So I could edit this post, but I can't see a way to edit my other one to remove the misinformation.

Help anyone?
 
Re: Best square truss?

Global has worked just fine for me for years in medium duty applications. No, I wouldn't plan on building a roof structure using it, regardless of the rating.

And a note to people trying to assemble/disassemble it using a rubber mallet: Forget that. Get a 16 oz. claw hammer. I find the weight and balance to be perfect for popping the tapered pins with a single hit. I'll have to disagree with anyone who feels that this is more tedious or time consuming than properly bolting together gusseted segments.
 
Re: Best square truss?

Mike Pyle said:
Global has worked just fine for me for years in medium duty applications. No, I wouldn't plan on building a roof structure using it, regardless of the rating.

And a note to people trying to assemble/disassemble it using a rubber mallet: Forget that. Get a 16 oz. claw hammer. I find the weight and balance to be perfect for popping the tapered pins with a single hit. I'll have to disagree with anyone who feels that this is more tedious or time consuming than properly bolting together gusseted segments.
Click to expand...

I've used one of these for years in cabinetmaking, and other various "fine adjustment" operations-although not truss specifically. Would have thought this would be a preferred mallet-less marring of the aluminum.

Dead Blow Hammer, 3 Lb, Fiberglass - Mallets & Dead Blow Hammers - Hammers and Striking Tools - 4A103 : Grainger Industrial Supply

Best regards,

John
 
Re: Best square truss?

John Halliburton said:
I've used one of these for years in cabinetmaking, and other various "fine adjustment" operations-although not truss specifically. Would have thought this would be a preferred mallet-less marring of the aluminum.

Dead Blow Hammer, 3 Lb, Fiberglass - Mallets & Dead Blow Hammers - Hammers and Striking Tools - 4A103 : Grainger Industrial Supply

Best regards,

John
Click to expand...


+1 ....Also do not hit your finger with it for any reason or you will have a new appreciation for what the term "dead blow" means.
 
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