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What size of cargo van would I need to ship home a complete kit?

kevinsky18

Well Known Member
I live just across the border in Canada and I was thinking of ordering my complete kit, less the Fire Wall Forward and picking it all up from Vans factory.

What would be the minimum size of cargo van that I would need to fit everything in. I'm looking at both complete quick build options and well as slow build. I'm assuming I would need a bigger Van for the Quick Build option.

Cheers,
Kevinsky18
 
VAns can tell you

I picked up my QB kit and Vans told me what size lorry (Truck to those of a colonial heritage..:)..) to bring.

It was a bit too big, like about 6 ft too long.

Frank
 
One thing to consider is the length of the wing spar crate (if you go slow-build). If I remember correctly it's 15 feet long.

When you say van...do you mean a moving truck like U-haul or Ryder?

You could definitely move a full standard kit in one of those -- I'm not sure about a QB. The main problem would be lifting/lowering the crates into and out of the truck.

You can click here for all the crate dimensions.
 
If QB...

I used a 26' Uhaul, which was way too big, but the per day cost is the same and I wasn't worried about space.

If you're going quickbuild, and picking up directly from Van's you can still transport in a van/truck/lorry a la Partain, and have it quite manageable from a load / unload perspective, if you don't crate it (also saving, by the way, $500 in crating charges).

The trick is securing it so that it isn't damaged. If you call Van's, someone in their shipping department can explain how they pack them (my source). When I picked up my QB from Partain (having driven across the border myself), this is what we did...

Wing strapped to each wall, with cargo straps, and tie off the spar to the wall so that it can't slide fore or aft. Use lots of furniture blankets to protect from rubbing on the wall, straps, etc. Of course, the inside of the van will have to have good and appropriate tie spots (I rented a Uhaul).

Fuse was easy. First, fold the 4 loose skins (QB) in blankets, and set them in the center (width) of the floor near the front of the truck box. Put the cardboard box with parts on top of the blanketed skins. Then load the fuse, tail first, so that the tailcone rests on the box and the center section of the fuse just rests on furniture pads. Use more folded furniture pads on top of the box under the tailcone to prop up the tail until the center section sits flat, then tie off both ends of the fuse to all four corners of the box to keep it from sliding around. A bunch of other stuff (wing tips, etc.) stay packed in the fuse itself.

I didn't get my finish kit when I picked up my QB, but have had it recommended to have four folks to lift/load the crate it comes in. I don't know if you could unpack it to load more easily or not. We loaded/unloaded the wings and fuse with three, and I wouldn't want to do it with two (can unload with two, but holding the wings to the wall while you strap it really requires three).

I don't know how far across the border you have to go to get to Van's, but if you want to shorten your trip, you can get Partain to haul it to the border for you, and then just zip across to trans-load it and bring it home. That worked well for me, and Partain gave excellent service. Don't forget to factor in the cost of fuel in your rented truck. I'm not sure what engine the one I used had, but I'm not sure it needed a radiator because it seemed to be 'gas cooled'. :eek:

Good luck.
 
18' enclosed trailer

We purchased a RV9-A past the QB stage and dismantled it and moved the complete plane, with engine in an 18 foot enclosed trailer.
We got it to all fit and used two large rolls of 18" continuous bubble wrap. Fuse was QB style, with slider canopy complete, wings were done minus wingtips, empennage was removed, HS and VS separate and gear off. We moved this from South Dakota to Wichita Kansas and it did not move a fraction of an inch. It all fit in an 18 foot enclosed trailer.

Pat Garboden
Ozark, MO
 
Well I'm not thinking of renting a van I'm thinking of buying. I have a few other needs for a van so I thought if I got one just big enough to fit the kit in then it would serve a dual purpose.

I found the specs on a GMC extended cargo van. Inside from rear door to back of seats is 12.25? From rear door to engine cover is 14.4? Just a hair shy of being long enough to accommodate the 15.5? length of the wing crate. However, if I remove the front passenger seat or angle the wing crate I may be able to get that extra foot of clearance to get the door shut. I?m strongly leaning towards just removing the front passenger seat.

The biggest issue will be manhandling those heavy boxes. To get everything positioned just right.

Also can any of these boxes be stacked on top of each other or do they all need their own separate floor space?
 
I drafted up how a RV-8 slow build can be packed into a GMC 3500 extended cargo van. See below for blue print. It all fits "if" I'm allowd to orient the crates in any way that I like.

 
kevinsky18 said:
I drafted up how a RV-8 slow build can be packed into a GMC 3500 extended cargo van. See below for blue print. It all fits "if" I'm allowd to orient the crates in any way that I like.
While Van's does have orientation arrows on the crates, I know that the ABF freight people don't pay a lot of attention to them. None of my packages from them have arrived with the up arrows pointing up.
-mike
 
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