Wheel fairings and gravel runways

[Mark Albery]

I'm planning a trip in a few weeks time that will take in a couple of gravel runways.

I'm considering applying paint protection bra film just to the undersides of the wheel pants to give a little extra protection.

Has anyone else tried that?

If so, how easy does it go on to double curved surfaces without wrinkling?

How easy is it to remove without pulling the paint and re-applying if needed?

How likely am I to get damage if I leave them unprotected?

Any recommendations on type of bra?

[F1R]

Post a photo of how high your pants sit on your wheels/tires.

Generally, AC tires are smooth straight ribbed and they do not lift stones.

However, a gravel runway can be anything from hard packed and smooth with grass growing on it to loose 3/4" crush to nightmare coarse 30MM / 1 1/8" crush rock. Normally most gravel runwways are mostly like the first. The latter 2 I would rather take the pants off if I was planning a journey there.

Wheel pants take more abuse than any other part on an RV. I have never had any issues with wheel pants on gravel. However, the runway I am now on has pavement joint cracks that are large enough they have fatigued and broken the wheel pant hangar brackets completely off. In fact I am welding them up right now. The pant is OK as the spat and the axel bolt held it and prevented the tire from eating the pant. The other side is just cracked and not as much work. The pants are fine.

But if you have show quality paint.... do as makes you happy. Careful it is not a strip for large water bombers with 30MM razor sharp gravel.

Yorkton, Sask. has a cross wind gravel runway with large nasty sharp gravel that perforated a HD 6.00 x6" and tube on a 1600Lb AC that I witnessed.

If I were you I would check with the locals and see. Most gravel runways are well packed, smooth and easy for an RV with 5" mains and wheel pants.

A bigger concern is the propellor on take off. Perhaps easier with a TW, ease the power on below 1500 RPM until rolling a good speed. As the tail starts to lift, hold the TW just off the runway and progressively add power and RPM until you lift off when you can go full power if needed for obstacle clearance.

Check with the people that use those runways.

Ideally I will one day be back on a farm with my own grass runway. I am very tired of massive tax increases and less and less airport upkeep.

Enjoy your trip & Good Luck!

[rvbuilder2002]

Depending on the specifics of the gravel runways you will use, the bottom surface of your flaps, directly behind the tires, is a lot more likely to get paint damage than the wheel pants are (at least an area of the wheel pant that will be visible on the ground).

[Mark Albery]

Thanks for the replies.

The pants are standard Vans pressure recovery type with a bit of extra clearance for Desser re-treads. They have already had a few repairs, but I'm hoping to get a bit more life out of them.

One of the runways is described as firmly packed fine sand and gravel.
The other, I have flown on before but only when the ground was frozen, so may be different in summer conditions.

[Steve Barnes]

Would this be a trip from UK to California?

Steve

[Mark Albery]

Originally Posted by Steve Barnes

Would this be a trip from UK to California?

Steve

You're not wrong!
I'll elaborate a bit later.

[davidkarlsberg]

Just came across this old thread looking for wheel pants clearance. I guess your paint protection didn't go quite as planned. Did you ever get new pants? On a side note what are you guys using for tire to wheel pants clearance?

[mike newall]

My pants.....!

Twice I lovingly repaired those.... they were like kids to me.

Now, cast off and abandoned in an arctic wilserness, scorched, burned... gone

[Mark Albery]

Dave,

Yes I have got new wheel fairings, but not fitted yet.

I used my thumb as the clearance gauge.