RV-12 Trailer Size

[rgmwa]

My nearest airfield is about 45 minutes drive away and two others where I could possibly keep it are about an hour and 15 mins away. I'd like the convenience of having the aircraft at home if I could find the right type of trailer, but on the downside is the risk of someone running into the back of your very expensive pride and joy on the way to the airport, and getting insurance for trailering your aircraft. Has anyone looked into how trailering would affect your insurance costs?

[heiri_ch]

Last week's transport to the airport. It was snowing
My trailer is 7 1/2 feet wide (outside) and it is enough space between the railing and the wheel pants.


http://www.sagenweid.ch/rv-12/6_Certification

[kevinl4000]

Originally Posted by heiri_ch

Last week's transport to the airport. It was snowing
My trailer is 7 1/2 feet wide (outside) and it is enough space between the railing and the wheel pants.

I have heard (read) that having the tail unsupported like that can be dangerous if the trailer bounces on the road, and that you're asking for trouble. Any comments? This is important. Thx.

[DonFromTX]

I heard that as well. Tony Partain who transports them often, says he has NEVER tied down the tail, and others have towed them across the continent with no bad effects from no tail tied down either.
I have only a single axle trailer, but the ride would be far better with an equalizer tandem axle setup.
Something that HAS happend bad to a 12 is you do not want to winch on the mains, forward or backwards! Might not be as bad now with the landing gear beef up service bulletin.

[dmasys]

When I tried to fly my RV-12 across the Montana Rockies in March of 2011, and got grounded by weather in Missoula MT, I discovered that a 17 foot U-Haul truck handles the bird and its wings quite well. I used some nylon rope to keep the tail from wagging side to side, and ropes around the brake assemblies (wheelpants removed) to keep the rest of it in place, and drove the last roughly 600 miles on I-90 and other regional roads to get to Sequim, WA. No problems of damage to wings or fuselage, though it was winter and I got a load of snow and highway salt all over the thing. Not recommending one get a used 17 foot box van or truck, but it worked fine! And a great conversation piece wherever you stop to refuel. ;-)



-Dan Masys
RV-12 N122LD 165 flt hrs
RV-10 N104LD 590 flt hrs

[bhassel]

Since this thread started a while back, I'm wondering if anyone has had any experience with trailering their RV-12 back and forth to an airport yet?

Hanger rates are still going up and since the aircraft was obviously designed with trailering in mind it will be put the test sooner or later. I hope to be flying late next year and really this is the best option for me.

Thanks,

Bob

[climbingduo]

Well, here is our solution to trailer our RV-12 to the airport. It worked great. Plane was stable and by leveling it out as seen on the attached photos, tail height was at about 9 feet (plenty of clearance for going down the road).

We used an 83" by 16 foot trailer. Overhang was about 4 feet; could have bought a longer trailer if we wanted to trailer regularly.

Welded the wheel anchors as shown. Extended the ramps as shown so we didn't have to worry about the tail on the way up or down. Used a winch to get the plane on and off the trailer without any additional help. Tie downs as shown.

Hope this helps others out.

Started this in October 2012; hope to be flying in the next few weeks once FAA paperwork set.


http://s1347.photobucket.com/user/ik...?sort=3&page=1

[rjtjrt]

Gary
Well done.
One thing for others who would like to use your method. I may be mistaken but I seem to recall RV2002 from Vans staff seems to strongly suggest the tail cone needs to be supported when moved by road. Maybe he will post here.
John
PS I see posts 43 and 44 above seem to have discussed this, so I will defer to more expert opinion than mine.

[climbingduo]

The way that we raised the front tire combined with the way it was tied down, there was no up and down movement of the tail (even on bumpy roads) or any other part of the plane. What is not shown is that we did lock down the control sticks so that there was no movement of the stabilator. Hope this helps others out.

[Bob Kibby]

March 2014 Sport Aviation has an article titled "The Ultimate Road Warrior". David Kroner has designed and built a trailer for his RV-12 "N775DJ". He addresses several design challenges to secure the airplane safely and two small photos in the article provide a glimpse of the trailer. David's e-mail (hemlockfield@windstream.net) is provided in the article so I have included it here for those that may not have the EAA magazine handy. I think David has a real winner here and I am e-mailing him before I post this because I think he will be receiving several e-mails wanting more information on his trailer.

Bob Kibby, RV-12 "N712BK" 170 hrs