Mobile Training Tower for First Responders

2025 marks a significant fifteen (15) year milestone for Mobile Training Towers. In 2011, they designed and fabricated a four (4) story portable training simulator (MTT) for Palm Beach, FL for their first responders. This milestone is commemorative of Mobile Training Towers conception and decision to hot dip galvanize the entire framework of each MTT fabricated and is the main reason as to why this MTT continues to stand strong long after it was built over a decade ago.

During the design phase of the project, the team decided that they wanted a piece of equipment that could endure years of rigorous use and exposure to the elements. It needed to outlast the Florida heatwaves and weather shifts while also providing stability to those that use it. The people that use this structure aren’t just local citizens but are heroes in their communities. Local fire departments, law enforcement and first responders use the 4 ½-story portable training simulator to train for rappelling, fires and rescues. Raised to position in minutes and transported by a low-boy trailer, first responders receive excellent, hands-on training from using the tower.

The customer found the galvanizer's impressive tank size to be perfect for this project. The ability to fully immerse the large frame in one piece and in a single dip was extremely beneficial to the customer because it meant the steel would receive complete coverage across all welds and joints with no unsightly overlap lines. Using paint instead would not maximize coverage of the steel to the extent that galvanizing would provide and lead to flaking or corrosion within a short period of time. In 2025, Tripp Joiner, VP/Mechanical Engineer at Mobile Trailing Towers, LLC and the galvanizer visited the tower to complete a maintenance review. Upon arrival, he found something very interesting; every galvanized component had held up over the last 15 years. However, the painted and chrome-plated components (pictured in gallery below) had rusted and cracked from corrosion. In fact, the galvanizing had held up so well that the fabricator offered the customer a trade-in, reclaiming the original galvanized frame to reuse in their rental fleet.

Mil readings were recorded in 2025 for the framework that was galvanized, and the findings further prove the long-term durability and strength of choosing this premium coating solution. Coating thickness measured from 4.78 mils to 8.74 mils, averaging 6.76 mils, far exceeding ASTM-123 standards.

Mobile Training Tower showcases the unmatched value that galvanizing provides in the long-term. Not only has the tower proven to stand after 15 years of rigorous use, but its sustainability allows them to recycle and reuse material all thanks to the durability of hot-dip galvanizing. This project also highlights the strong collaboration from project conception to final delivery between the galvanizer, fabricator, and customer to achieve the quality coating we continue to appreciate today.

Upon an inspection of one of our units originally delivered in May 2011 everything except the hot-dip galvanized frame was severely rusted/corroded as customer keeps it a few hundred yards from the beach.

Upon an inspection of one of our units originally delivered in May 2011 everything except the hot-dip galvanized frame was severely rusted/corroded as customer keeps it a few hundred yards from the beach.

Coating Thickness