Would an uncrated RV-10 empennage kit fit in a Minivan?

I'm considering the purchase of an RV-10 empennage kit. The kit was uncrated and the crate and packing materials were discarded. Would it be possible to transport this in a Plymouth Voyager Minivan? I see from the crating size that a least one part is 10'9", I'm not certain if the remainder of the parts would fit behind the 2 front seats.

It would help if you measured the distance from the back of the front seats, to the tailgate inside and reported back.

The spar is almost 11', and there are other parts like the elevator pushrod and various angle stock and J stiffeners that are also pretty long. The largest piece of sheet stock is the tail cone bottom-----IIRC. Most likely it could go on edge diagonally across the back of the van if needed. Other skins, ribs, and formers ETC should not be a problem, but remember that there are some pre-formed skin pieces that will not lay flat, thus eating up more space.

This all assumes the rear seats are removed.

Yes, easily. You will have to plan a bit, but the long parts (HS Spar, J-stringers, etc.) will be the most difficult. I don't know how the seats are managed in the Voyager, but if the mid seats can either be removed or laid flat, then pack the small parts and bags to make a surface for the skins. Flat skins first and the folded skins (HS and VS) should be taped together at the trailing edge, which will give them a springy strength. Pad with blankets. Long parts over everything else; I would not risk them on top of the van if I could help it. If the tail cone side skins are too long to fit flat behind the front seats, allow them to roll up a bit at one end or both; they are flexible enough to do that without taking a 'set'. Just don't put anything on top of them where they are not laying flat.

Approximate dimension of van

The Minivan that I plan to rent has 'stow away' seats in the back 2 rows so a 4x8 sheet of plywood should fit behind the 2 front seats. I'm not certain of the dimension from the tailgate to the dashboard. If anyone has a 2016 Chrysler Town and Country or a Plymouth Grand Caravan and can chime in, I'd appreciate the dimension from the tailgate to the dash. I could put the spar at an angle, but I'm not certain that I'd gain enough to keep inside the vehicle. I'll be driving a fair distance so I'd prefer that it didn't hang out the window.

Tim J

spar

As previously posted, the spar is right around 11 feet long...

Hi,
I just took delivery of my 10 Emp kit all laid out on garage floor ready for inventory if u need some exact measurements of the larger bits let us know,

James

I can't speak to that specific vehicle but I've got a Toyota Sienna which can also fit 4'x8' sheet materials flat behind the front row seats. I have on several occasions carried 12' lumber fully inside, probably about 4" to spare to the windshield. If the spar is only a few inches thick and you wrap the front end enough to protect the dash, you'll have no problems with a standard minivan. For 12', I have to have the back end of the lumber low at the back end, but it sounds like the spar is shorter than that so you should have plenty of room.

I have a 2007 Toyota Sienna and I picked up my empennage kit from Van's uncrated. I had to remove the 2 front passenger seats and fold down the back row of seats but everything fit in just fine!

Tim,

Having just uncrated and inventoried my own emp kit over the weekend, I would echo what Flion and Claude said: It should be very do-able; especially if you can remove the two forward passenger seats.

If you can't remove the two forward seats, I would recommend reclining them as much as possible and placing a 4X8 sheet of plywood over them. This will serve as a solid flat surface to lay the skins on. You can then store the smaller sub-kits and bags under the plywood.
Your only issue will be planning for the main spar subkit (#8). It's very well package and wrapped, so I would recommend leaving it intact and trying to get it in on the diagonal.

If you have a LONG drive planned, I would suggest bringing cardboard sheets to layer between the skins (some of them have raised/sharp surfaces).

Also: Bring a roll of wide (maybe 2") blue painters tape. You can tape the sandwiched layers of cardboard and aluminum skins together to keep them from shifting/scraping during the trip. [And, unlike the "Duct Tape of Death" that Van's uses; you'll be able to easily untape things when you get home...]

Good Luck!

As long as you're good at Tetris.....

Grand Caravan , from rear hatch to front center console, 10 ft. If you were to pad the pieces you could easily put spars on top of the dash and you could probably get 11' 6". Also if you do not have a front pass. , you could probably run them cross wise without going over the dash.

Just in case this hasn't come up yet: the two HS Spars are the longest pieces in the kit; they measure 133-1/2" long.

If you can get them in (without sticking them out the window), the rest of the kit should be pretty easy.

Also, as I mentioned before, the HS spars are part of Subkit #8, which is wrapped very well. If that part of the kit is still 'factory-wrapped', you could simply bungee the entire Subkit it to the roof rack and it would probably travel just fine.