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trailering a 12.

bobnoffs

Well Known Member
in 3 weeks i plan to trailer my 12 35 miles to the hangar. vert. stab. is in place with the rudder. originally my plan was to put is on an 8' x 10' snowmobile trailer, knock down tire pressure and away i go. the trip is good road, little traffic and i planned on keeping it under 35 mph.
i little while ago i read mention of the tailcone becoming damaged if not attached rigidly to the trailer bed. anybody know more? i just can't picture this with my sceenario.
 
We have transported two.

One on a 16' trailer however the bed was only just wide enough and we needed to strap the main to the bed.

Wasn't a problem. Stabilator was lashed to approx neutral with light $15 orange ratchet straps from Despot.

Second one we called a local recovery company and they quoted $100 for around a 35 mile delivery. Arrived with a slide off bed, loaded, strapped, we followed - much less risky.

Call around some local car recovery places and just say it is a three wheel carriage of some value :D
 
Let the pros do it

What Mike said. I used a company that moves heavy farm equipment. My 900 lb. RV9A wasn't difficult.

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I was able to rent a tilt trailer from a local heavy equipment rental company. You can buy an inexpensive portable electric winch from Harbor Freight to do a controlled lift.

fuseleageOnTrailer.jpg


Jeff
 
hi all,
in another life i drove a semi and became pretty good at securing everything from x ray machines to the family boat and trailer. i can get the plane loaded and secured. my question is about the ''whiplash'' effect someone wrote about which can damage the tailcone if the tailcone is not rigidly secured. is this a real danger?
 
Standard roll on wreaker trucks is the only way to go. They tilt the ramp down winch it up and tie it down securely and unlike a trailer, they have a dampened suspension. Moved four RV's that way about 20 mile distance from my shop. The most recent one, a RV-7A in June cost $85. Best money spent for a safe no hassle ride. When I moved the 12 I noticed no bouncing movement to the tail at all. This last time I should have removed the vertical stabilizer since some branches had grown in the neighborhood but they moved aside and did no damage to the paint. Something to consider because tri-gear RVs ride tall on these trucks.

I should have added that I did move the 12 without any of the tail installed and that the nose gear was tied down tightly and the tail was also secured by the tail hook. The 7A I recently moved had the vertical and Horizonal stabilizers installed and tied down at the 3 wheels but with the heavy CS prop there also was no tail movement.
 
Last edited:
hi all,
in another life i drove a semi and became pretty good at securing everything from x ray machines to the family boat and trailer. i can get the plane loaded and secured. my question is about the ''whiplash'' effect someone wrote about which can damage the tailcone if the tailcone is not rigidly secured. is this a real danger?

RV2002 posted about need to support/secure tailcone sometime ago. Van?s would be able to tell you their suggestion.
 
in 3 weeks i plan to trailer my 12 35 miles to the hangar. vert. stab. is in place with the rudder. originally my plan was to put is on an 8' x 10' snowmobile trailer, knock down tire pressure and away i go. the trip is good road, little traffic and i planned on keeping it under 35 mph.
i little while ago i read mention of the tailcone becoming damaged if not attached rigidly to the trailer bed. anybody know more? i just can't picture this with my sceenario.

My recommendation (based on personal experience) has always been to restrain the tail in some way. Ideally with a solid support so that it can?t bounce up and down at all. If you look at the photos in this thread and elsewhere you will see that the tail was at least tied down tightly to resist any bouncing up and down.

Others have done it with a short trailer and an unsupported / restrained tail but it has usually been for short distances at slow speeds. If the stabilator is not installed you will probably be ok if you keep the speed down and tie it to the trailer in a way that assures it can?t start bobbing up and down (having the stabilator installed adds a lot more weight to the back of the fuselage and greatly indices the tendency for it to bounce around). Making a board to insert through the spar openings and be pinned by the spar pins, with stubs sticking out beyond the sides of the fuselage is a good idea. Make sure it is narrow enough that all of the down load from the straps is on the spar pins and no baring on the skins at the bottom of the spar openings.
 
Waited until I was at the hangar

Here is how I did my move. I waited to attach the tail until I was at the hangar. I also wrapped it in plastic wrap. The cowling was off.
oFo.jpg
 
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