DIY Project Move: Lessons Learned

[claycookiemonster]

Yesterday a friend and I drove 10 hours to pick up an RV-8 project. It took 4 hours to pack things up and another 10 hours to make the drive home. I thought I was all done with all-nighters after college, but I guess not!

Some lessons learned:

1. Don't even think about doing it yourself. There's enough stress already, don't try to do the driving and packing and lifting and strapping down solo. Another set of eyes watching can make all the difference!
2. You will never have too much padding and protection; bring more. Strip the blankets from all the beds in your house, sleeping bag pads, carpet remnants, carpet pads. Those pool/beach "noodles" are great padding and dirt cheap. You also will never have too many ratchet straps. Nothing good ever happens without Duct tape.
3. Clecoes are dangerous when adjacent pieces interact. Duct tape will hold things temporarily without poking holes in other things. Remove them whenever possible.
4. We hung the wings from the wooden rails along the side of the rented box truck and it worked pretty well, but you need to use alot of care to protect trailing edges and to keep the ratchets away from delicate parts. Anything that could allow metal-to-metal contact is very bad. Once hung, the wings then need to be strapped down so they don't swing and bounce around.
5. The Fuselage sat on a fold-out couch mattress in the center and was strapped to stay there. That part worked well, but there was so much vertical movement in the mattress that it bounced up and down over the long drive and ruined a rudder we thought was protected beneath the fuselage. Blankets can protect well, but repeated bouncing at the same spot over a long time will wear a hole in the blanket, and then wear a hole in your part. We should have used a more substantial foam pad or doubled up on the blankets.
6. If your trip involves crossing a border, our project was located in Ontario Canada, start asking questions a week or more in advance regarding Customs. There are heightened measures in place on both sides: a man arriving at the border driving a box truck full of metal will raise eyebrows if you haven't prepared them for your arrival. Find a Customs Broker to lead you through it, well worth the $165 they charged.
7. Make sure your travel partner's passport hasn't expired!

I'm excited to be back in the game. I've got alot of organizing to do, and sadly a rudder to rebuild, but for the first time in 5 years, I've got a builder's number in my name!

[BillL]

Your conclusions are heartily endorsed!!

Now you will find, literally find, all the things and pieces you might have or don't have. Lots of inventory, cross checking, and organizing. Hopefully, it was from a person who gave you everything. I had to do inventory and compare to the "list" to see what was missing. Having each work session be short washers or rivets or something in a bag makes it very hard to focus on building.

Congratulations on your new (to you) project!!

I had decided on a 7A and slider, I bought a 7, tip up.

[Vlad]

Thanks Clay for reminder. I am about to move an RV8 project for about 30 miles and I am already worried. May enlist some VAFers to help..

[spark68]

One of the best tips I've seen on VAF for cushioning the parts while moving is to utilize fiberglass insulation found in home improvement stores. Not too expensive and fills up the spaces to keep the aluminum parts from touching one another. I bought a bunch of moving blankets at Harbour Freight when they were on sale, $5 each I think. Large cardboard boxes from an auto body shop helped, set the aluminum sheets in and duck tape closed.

[rv8gibbo]

Here's how I moved my 8 to the paint shop to spray the inside! Don't forget that if you tie the back down around the tail spring or over the tail make sure the vertical stab rear spar attach point (on the fuse) is supported with the vertical stab in place or a makeshift post!
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I got my 7 in Duluth Mn and drove straight through to Naples Fl, alone.