Entry Gate advice appreciated.

[redman135]

Eddie, one thing that has not been mentioned , reccess the gate by the maximum legal length, in a funnel shape ie (new zealand)25 metre reccess by about 18 metre at the road. This will minimise the chance of some moron hitting the posts or gate as they turn in with a long trailer.

 

[EddieWalker]

Redman135, that's not going to be an issue. The way my entrance is laid out is kind of like a large upside down letter U. I have two entries about 100 feet apart that are 20 feet wide. They are 60 feet from the pavement, and will be wide open. Then another 100 feet you come to my second fence line. If you come in on the right side entrance, you will have a road that goes down to my pond and my wedding gazebo. If you come in on the left side, you will go 100 feet and come to where this gate is going to be located.

I'm actually building three gates. One on the right side that will be a swing gate and only tall enough to keep out vehicles. Then there will be the gate we are talking about here that will be 8 feet tall, coyote proof, and able to keep in the deer I want to raise. The third gate will be off to the side of this one and also be a swing gate that will be for walking around, or driving through if there is a problem with the powered gate not swinging or sliding like it should.

The other two gates are going to be fairly simple and locked in place by a chain with a lock. The one we are discussing is the one we will use every day, coming and going to the house and barns.

So to reply to your comment, there will be about 160 feet from the pavement to this gate.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I think the biggest problem with swing gates is getting them to lock together effectively to prevent someone or something from forcing them apart enough to squeeze thru. Electronic locks seem to malfunction all the time and can cause damage to the gate or opener when they don't unlock.
I would go with a sliding gate if at all possible. I think the opener would be cheaper also especially with a heavy gate and you only need one rather than 2 for a swing gate.

 

[txdon]

Eddie it sounds like you have plenty of space. My gate is the bare minimum for an 18wheeler to enter from a one lane gravel road. I have watch a lot come it. it is 36' wide funneling down to an 18' gate 60 feet from the road.

 

[JRobyn]

14ft is about what I'd consider the max for a decent quality (heavy) swing. Mine is either a 12' or 14' (I forget), and is the super-duty model from our local farm coop. It has served very well, mostly because the hinge post is 4" steel drilled into rock, filled with grout, and anchored with a couple of 1/2" x about 12" pieces of rebar. And the hinges are super duty, pictured below. And it is precisely leveled. I drilled and tapped a hole on each of the 3 hinge collars to add a zerk. One or two squirts of decent grease a year is all it takes to keep it swinging totally smooth and easy all through its whole range with very little force. Makes for low load on the Apollo solar operator.

Our plain galvanized "farm" gate looks a little industrial, and we like it that way. It looks like a serious gate, not something haphazardly thrown up by local yahoos. IMHO, this discourages ne'er-do-wells just a little bit. I've toyed with the idea of painting it a nice dark forest green or maybe even black.

 

[dragoneggs]

Also thinking out loud here... sliding gates don't tend to see the stress and abuse that swinging gates do. Like kids swinging, cantilever weight/sag...

 

[redman135]

Hello Eddie, good to see you have anticipated me. I often ran into "today" thinking when I was working for a contractor, with no thought to future proof things.

 

[weldingisfun]

By the size of the gate you say you want, IMO, go with a sliding gate.

 

[EddieWalker]

14 feet does sound small to me. I'm rethinking that and wondering if I go with a slider, why not just make it the full length of the steel and go 20 feet? The weight is going to be considerable, but if it's on concrete and a track, weight wont matter. If I go with a swing, then that's just too much weight. Double gates really don't appeal to me.

As mentioned, I can see where a sliding gate might be more secure. In a big storm, or strong wind, or just somebody trying to push the gate open, I think a swing gate would be easier to move then a slider when in the closed position.

I've been looking at tracks and wheels.

 

[weldingisfun]

14 feet does sound small to me. I'm rethinking that and wondering if I go with a slider, why not just make it the full length of the steel and go 20 feet? The weight is going to be considerable, but if it's on concrete and a track, weight wont matter. If I go with a swing, then that's just too much weight. Double gates really don't appeal to me.

As mentioned, I can see where a sliding gate might be more secure. In a big storm, or strong wind, or just somebody trying to push the gate open, I think a swing gate would be easier to move then a slider when in the closed position.

I've been looking at tracks and wheels.

:thumbsup:

 

[jmc]

The only problem with my swinging gate is my impatience. It has to swing about 60 of its 90 degree travel until it's open wide enough for a passenger car. Even though it's a fair sized motor and a light (chain link panel) gate, it takes about 8 seconds. I never tried a faster sprocket diameter though.

 

[dragoneggs]

Put a drive system on your gate so you can open remotely. And yep might as well go big with 20ft metal sticks!

 

[Tompet]

14 feet does sound small to me. I'm rethinking that and wondering if I go with a slider, why not just make it the full length of the steel and go 20 feet? The weight is going to be considerable, but if it's on concrete and a track, weight wont matter. If I go with a swing, then that's just too much weight. Double gates really don't appeal to me.

As mentioned, I can see where a sliding gate might be more secure. In a big storm, or strong wind, or just somebody trying to push the gate open, I think a swing gate would be easier to move then a slider when in the closed position.

I've been looking at tracks and wheels.

Wider than 14 does sound better. As a lot of things that are possible, would it be practical to have two 8 or 10 foot sliders meet in middle like a swing gate? Would it have some of aesthetics of a swing gate w/o some of weight etc. concerns?

 

[flyerdan]

Eddie, if you went with a cantilever, you wouldn't need any track across the road, they roll on 4 rolls like a drawer slide. A rough estimate is the gate opening plus 1/3 for the tail. Two posts need to be set that the gate will roll on, and an opener that runs a chain drive is fairly common. Based on your wanting to keep deer in, I'd like to see what fencing you're going to match to get an idea of what type of gate would be best. They don't need to be heavy if they are engineered correctly.

 

[aczlan]

Eddie, if you went with a cantilever, you wouldn't need any track across the road, they roll on 4 rolls like a drawer slide. A rough estimate is the gate opening plus 1/3 for the tail. Two posts need to be set that the gate will roll on, and an opener that runs a chain drive is fairly common. Based on your wanting to keep deer in, I'd like to see what fencing you're going to match to get an idea of what type of gate would be best. They don't need to be heavy if they are engineered correctly.

Yep, around here, they commonly do a 8' fence made of 2" galvanized pipe that is the width of the opening + 1/3 and put chainlink on the part across the opening.
Then they have 4 rollers (two on top, two on bottom) for it to ride on.

Aaron Z

 

[txdon]

The underground opening wand on the inside of the gate is a must for you and guest. One thing I did not understand when Harvey was installing it - he wanted to put the wand far away from the gate. Now I understand. The farther from the gate the greater chance the gate will be in the open position when you are at it. You will not have to come to a stop and wait for it to cycle open. If I would have understood the concept I would have doubled the distance, it is about 80' from the gate now.

On the outside the owners remotes, one for each vehicle in the family and one for frequent guest, and the code box that can accept multiple codes and can change codes are a must. When we have a gathering of friends or relatives we just leave the gate open that day. My gate is on a cattle guard so the gate does not have to be closed to keep the cattle in.

 

[PILOON]

Another consideration has to be wind.
Strong gusts can play **** on a gate.
While I admit sliding can be kinda industrial looking I think that they are the most stable and rugged by design.
If sliding opens parallel to an existing fence section the 'industrial' look would be minimized.

Friend has a slider and it uses remote codes to open for entry but vehicle proximity is detected for automatic exit.
I presume entry could also be detection operated.

 

[txdon]

Friend has a slider and it uses remote codes to open for entry but vehicle proximity is detected for automatic exit.
I presume entry could also be detection operated.

Then you loose all security and an opening gate invites whoever pulls into the drive. Why have a gate?

 

[Looking4new]

If all you are trying to do is keep animals in, then why not go with a cattle guard/texas gate?

 

[EddieWalker]

Eddie, if you went with a cantilever, you wouldn't need any track across the road, they roll on 4 rolls like a drawer slide. A rough estimate is the gate opening plus 1/3 for the tail. Two posts need to be set that the gate will roll on, and an opener that runs a chain drive is fairly common. Based on your wanting to keep deer in, I'd like to see what fencing you're going to match to get an idea of what type of gate would be best. They don't need to be heavy if they are engineered correctly.

I've seen some pictures of this while searching for ideas and they all seem pretty high off of the ground. Whatever I end up doing, it has to be coyote proof. I like the idea of the sliding gate being on wheels and just an inch or two up from the track. If I go with a swing gate, it will also have to be close to the ground, but I do that on my other gates by pouring concrete after the gate is installed and building the concrete up to the bottom of the gate. So either way works for me and keeping out coyotes. I just don't see how I could do this with a cantilever gate.