SkyWave Mobile Communications Shelters

Tower Direct’s inventory of shelters includes a wide variety of sizes and fabrications from the most familiar brand-name manufacturers. Each type of shelter material provides unique benefits for protecting equipment and, in some cases, a few challenges.

Aggregate: exposed aggregate exteriors can be applied to concrete, fiberglass, or aluminum shelter siding to give the shelter an enhanced aesthetic appearance.

Manufactured aggregate siding panels are typically backed with insulation that can help seal warm or cool air in, reduce dust intrusion, and provide additional soundproofing (noise entering or exiting the structure). Aggregate shelters protect equipment in all weather and environmental conditions, have high impact resistance, and are maintenance free.

Aggregate shelters are durable and blend well into nearly any city, suburban, or rural setting.

Aluminum: a light metal, corrosion-resistant material. Shelters (base, walls, roof) manufactured from aluminum extrusions can provide very rigid and durable structures for housing valuable and sensitive equipment. Some aluminum shelters can withstand high winds (up to 135mph) and seismic zone 4 conditions.

The lightweight properties of aluminum shelters help make them easy to transport, set-up – even in difficult-to-access locations, and easy to relocate. Aluminum has a high degree of heat reflectivity, meaning that it more easily reflects the sun’s infra-red rays and that the aluminum shelter remains cooler. Aluminum also is considered to be “acoustically dead” – it doesn’t transmit sound waves as freely as do other metals like galvanized steel.

Concrete: concrete-like deposits have been traced as far back as 2 million years. The Romans used a form of concrete between 300BC and 476AD. Today’s concrete shelters offer a number of important safety and performance values:

• Weather, bullet, fire, and vandalism resistant.
• Low maintenance.
• High thermal mass (concrete has the ability to absorb and release heat).
• Effective acoustic insulation.
• Vibration resistant (when properly installed).
• Low CO2 off gassing.
• Durability and longevity.
• Surface adaptability – concrete surfaces can be finished with stamps, dyes, and designer aggregates.

Fiberglass: a fiber of reinforced plastic (usually reinforced with glass fiber), fiberglass is strong yet lightweight. Its bulk strength and weight are greater than that of many metals, and fiberglass can be molded into many customized shapes and structures.

Fiberglass shelters are easy to move and relocate, are basically low/no maintenance, and do not sustain decay or rust damage.

Fiberglass shelters can withstand extreme temperatures, winds, snow loads, and corrosive environments like those of coastal locations. However, they are not as durable as concrete, aggregate, and metal shelters. Fiberglass can potentially develop leaks. Water will not affect the fiberglass but can cause water damage to wooden supports and the frame. If not quickly resolved, the wood can rot and the shelter can become structurally unstable.

Selecting the best shelter for valuable equipment is based on more than what the budget will bear. The environment in which the shelter will be located includes not only seasonal climate conditions but also the shelter’s ability to withstand extremes of weather as well as how well it can be equipped to allow authorized access while preventing unauthorized access. Many shelters in the Tower Direct inventory can be adapted to new purposes. Others may already be ideally suited to your new project purpose.