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Transport in a Uhaul - Need Advice

WingsOnWheels

Well Known Member
Unfortunately, this post is not about my move to the airport. Still moving the RV, but to a new home instead. We are renting a large Uhaul truck to move the household goods. I'm planning to move the RV with the same truck. Today I went down to Uhaul to take a look inside and see what sort of tie-downs are on the floor. I had expected some D-rings or E-Track. There is nothing at all. And the floor is metal.

My RV is on the gear with the engine mounted. Has anyone moved a similar project in a box truck? How did you secure the aircraft? Pictures maybe? The upside, the move is only 10 miles and except for the train tracks, the roads are decent.
 
Be sure to measure the width of the gear legs, that they will fit into the truck.
I started to put my 7A into a car trailer and found out the gear was too wide. Did not measure first. i could not believe it would not fit. I never have checked a box truck. I eventually used an implement trailer and tied down the gear legs(wheels) and that was it. I strapped around the hub of the prop to the floor and hauled it 25 miles.
Just thought of a possible solution. Use 2x4 across each main gear to the side of the truck, tie it together with other 2x4's and the front gear.
Thus making a type triangle attach straps to the side of the truck to the fuselage and prop in front. Use some of that building brains and you will find a solution.
Dave
 
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I used Ryder trucks, they have a wood floor from which you can screw in some eyelets and secure the plane.
 
Former VAFer, Chris Hand, had moved his project across the country a few times because he was in the military. He also was a member of my EAA chapter so I had the pleasure of knowing him. Sadly, Chris passed away last year. However, his website is still up and he has some good pictures of at least one of his moves. He said that he got pretty good at moving his project. Here is the link:

http://rv6aproject.ckhand.com/MovingTheRV/WA-to-CAmove.htm

I hope this helps.
 
I'm military, so my RV-10 has moved across the country several times. I moved my RV-10 in a 26 foot Penske truck once, Norfolk to Quantico (sorry, no pictures). I chose the Penske because it has a wooden deck (so you can screw in tie-downs) and because it has no wheel wells, so once inside, I could roll it where I wanted it. The disadvantages were: 1) The Penske is really, really high in the air. It took 6 people pushing to get it up the ramps I made, and we were lucky that the ramps held up; 2) I had to squeeze the main gear with a strap and angle the plane to get the gear through the door; 3) I scraped the cabin top on the truck's door because although the opening is big enough, the door hangs down several inches unless you push up on it; and 4) it was still ridiculously hard to tie down well.

The advantages were: It didn't get wet when it rained. Seriously, that was the only one.

After that experience, and knowing I would move several more times before I finished, I bought a flatbed trailer for a few thousand dollars. It has paid for itself a few times over.

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Since you're not moving far, I'd try to rent/borrow something like this. I would highly recommend a flat-bed as opposed to the Uhaul, although it can be done in a Uhaul. If you do move it in a truck, remember to go slow and take it easy on the turns, especially if you're using anchors that are screwed in. I use a ton of straps, and I've broken a number straps moving my project when I've hit a bump on the interstate at 65mph. Those bumps at the start/end of a bridge don't seem like much, but they'll make an RV on the gear dance something fierce. Those wooden rails inside the truck won't take much abuse either, FYI. I cracked the ones on the Penske in a couple places.

I know you're out of the area, but I'm currently stationed in Albany, GA and anyone in the area is welcome to borrow my trailer for semi-local moves.

PJ Seipel
RV-10 #40032
 
Thanks for the replies. The last moving truck I rented before was a Penske. I had planned to run some bolts into the floor until I saw the metal floor on the Uhaul.

My initial plan was to rent a trailer, but I was having a hard time finding one. On top of that, the forecast is for rain during the two-day window I have to move the entire household.

Uhaul lists the door opening as 87", so at least the plane will roll in fine. Of course there are 4-5" wheel wells inside to get over. I made a winch setup and 10' ramps to get the plane in the truck. Sounds like I need to have some more 2x4s ready to go so I can build up some supports. I already have a large collection of tie-down straps.

Thanks!
 
I used 4'x8' sheets of plywood just laying on the floor of an enclosed trailer. I bolted stop blocks to the plywood that would capture the wheels of the aircraft and tied down the wheels to the blocks. The plywood is sized to "just fit" side to side and 2x4s ran parallel front to back attached to the plywood.

All of this kept the aircraft on the plywood, which could not move side to side or front to back. Nothing stopped the possibility of the aircraft from "jumping" up and down, but without the vs attached, it just was not a concern.
 
Moved my -7 five times

Before I finally finished it. For the Uhaul, isn't there a wooden railing around the inside of the truck about 3 foot off the floor? If so, use ratchet straps and attach them to the landin gear. Also chock it with aluminum angle with a bungee on the inside and outside of the tire. That should hold her.
 
I guess I was looking for something to keep the plane from taking flight in the back of the truck. I guess that as long as it is kept from moving laterally it can hop around a little without causing a problem.

I think straps for and aft + to the sides will do the job with chocks for good measure. I'll just take it slow to keep the hopping to a minimum.

Thanks
 
if you need a hand...

Colin - if you need a hand when you do this, let me know and I can try to be there. PM me your contact info and we can talk more.
 
Everyone is thinking it, so I'm just going to say it:

Self Tapping metal screws, D-Rings, and a prepared "It was like that when I rented it" statement.
 
Colin - if you need a hand when you do this, let me know and I can try to be there. PM me your contact info and we can talk more.

Dave,

I appriciate the offer. I have to make the move next Monday which doesn't work well for most folks schedule. My father-in-law will be here to help. He is a career A&P so he will be of great use and knows where not to push. I already picked up a hand winch to help get the plane up the ramps. The Uhaul has a pretty low deck (33"), that along with 10' ramps should make it pretty easy to get in the truck (famous last words).
 
Exact same scenario.....

I recently delivered an RV-12 from Texas all the way up to the middle of Iowa. This was a LONG LONG trip, and totaled about 14-hours of drive-time one-way in a 26' U-Haul. This was less than a week ago, so I can offer first-hand advice: it is NO big deal!

I was real worried when I saw the aluminum floor. I had envisioned a wood floor, and had thought I could easily screw down strapping points to the floor. But with the aluminum floor that of course wasn't an option. I also thought about self-tapping screws into the floor but it was NOT needed!

Use the wooded slats on the walls to secure your straps. And use a ton of blankets! U-Haul rented me moving blankets for $6 per dozen. I rented 8-dozen blankets (cheap insurance!) and used every single one of them. I secured the fuselage into the U-Haul, with the nosewheel all the way to the front. The vertical on the RV-12 is VERY tall and wouldn't clear the roof of the truck. So using a bag of the moving blankets for the nosewheel, I secured the fuselage with the nosewheel about a foot in the air. This allowed plenty of clearance for the vertical. Secure the fuselage to the front bulkhead of the truck, using the horizontal wooden slats. Works great!

When I tell you this, I am not joking: the haul from Texas to Iowa was long, but getting across Oklahoma was brutal. Oklahoma has some of the worst highways in the country, as far as being smooth. No joke, at one point it was so violent that I thought I had a flat. I pulled over to check, and sure enough, it was simply the dismal road construction in Oklahoma. No flats! Rest assured, that the plane never moved an inch during these rough road conditions, nor did it move at all during the entire 14-hour drive. The cheap rental of the moving blankets was also worth its weight in gold! I am attaching a photo. Don't worry at all about tying anything to the floor. Get creative and use the wooden side slats in the walls of the U-Haul. I secured nothing to the floor. I ONLY used straps (about 16 of them) to the side slats and got zero movement. Use an 'X' pattern to hold the aft fuselage as seen in my photo. Wrap a blanket around the fuselage first, at the location of a bulkhead. No problems! Hope this helps, but again, don't worry about not being able to secure anything to the floor itself. It is not necessary!

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transport

I moved my RV8 project on the gears in a Budget 26'. It will fit. I transported over 700 miles. If you are going 10 miles I would use a trailer. MUCH easier and cheaper.
 
I moved my RV8 project on the gears in a Budget 26'. It will fit. I transported over 700 miles. If you are going 10 miles I would use a trailer. MUCH easier and cheaper.

True, but if he already has the U-Haul rented for moving the house stuff, it will be a big piece of cake moving it only a few miles!
 
True, but if he already has the U-Haul rented for moving the house stuff, it will be a big piece of cake moving it only a few miles!


Looks like the Uhaul will work great for my purposes, floor tie-downs or not. I was just over thinking things.

The Uhaul is actually cheaper than the trailer for a short distance. The uhaul is $39.95 a day plus $0.79/mile, so about $60 for two trims between houses and the return (plus gas or course). The only trailer rental I found for one wide enough was $65 a day and almost an hour away. Just better to keep things simple I guess.

I plan to take the fuselage on one trip with a few boxes and lightweight items. A second trip will bring the wings and all my shop equipment.

I really appreciate all the great tips members have provided. I'm not very worried about this haul at all anymore.
 
When I tell you this, I am not joking: the haul from Texas to Iowa was long, but getting across Oklahoma was brutal. Oklahoma has some of the worst highways in the country, as far as being smooth.

No kidding. I'll never plan a route through Oklahoma again. There were times I looked in the rearview at my RV-10 on the trailer and swore it was taking off the trailer was bouncing so bad.


One piece of advice for the wings: Either lay them down or make sure your wing stands are solid and strapped/blocked really good. I had a set of wing stands come apart on me during one move and the wings fell over in the truck. Cost me building a new flap.

PJ Seipel
RV-10 #40032
 
Just wanted to say thanks for all the advice. I made the move on Monday and it went fine. In all reality, the RV was the easiest part of the entire move. The door of the 26' Uhaul is about 3" narrower than the axle nuts on the -6A gear. However, we were able to just twist the plane to the side a bit, get one leg through and then drag it over and put the oter leg through. The two of use got it done with the help of a small trailer-type hand winch.

Thanks,
 
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