Moving a 90% project 1000 miles

tomagin · #1 07-06-2008, 01:37 PM

The bad news was that here in NJ I have only hangar space for one plane -- my Maule M5. The RV-8 in my garage is pretty far along with the canopy and cowling the only real major items to go ---- but not something to rush.

The good news is that to solve the hangar problem I have bought a house at Spruce Creek with a hangar large enough for the two planes. It also solves the problem of transport to the airport!! My employer has cooperated by retiring me early.

So the new problem becomes moving the project the 1000 miles to Daytona. There have been a few threads I found on moving a project but most were focussed on projects with smaller pieces.

Perhaps someone in the group has done this and could critique my plan.

Currently I have in mind renting a 24-26 ft truck from Penske or Budget. I have only heard bad things about U-Haul. The fuselage will fit in the truck on the gear with several inches to spare on the sides and a couple feet front to back. Plan to get it in using 2x12s with "ramp fittings" at the top and the bottom --- cheaper than buying a set of all alum ramps. In theory these should hold about 800 lbs EACH but the fuselage with engine is less so I figure around 300-350 lbs per ramp. The fuselage would be hoisted in and then lowered out via a comealong [strength of the anchors in the truck to be determined -- maybe using two or three together]. I haven't measured the deck height of the various trucks but even at 4 ft the angle is not all that precarious.

With the fuselage in the rest is pretty straightforward. MY existing wing racks can hold the wings. The remaining parts can be bubble wrapped.

Anyone done this? Have a better idea? Thanks for your advice. I have maybe two months to formulate a plan. A trailer like the ones Tony Partain used to deliver my kit would be great but haven't seen these for one way rental.

RScott · #2 07-06-2008, 02:04 PM

Tom,

A guy around here who restores antiques for museums has moved several planes pretty much the same way you describe. Make sure the truck you rent has tie downs along the side--I have heard that some don't.

A friend who just moved 1,200 miles rented from U-Haul and to insure he got a good truck insisted on one that was almost new, a demand they met.

ThisOne · #3 07-06-2008, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomagin

The bad news was that here in NJ I have only hangar space for one plane -- my Maule M5. The RV-8 in my garage is pretty far along with the canopy and cowling the only real major items to go ---- but not something to rush.

The good news is that to solve the hangar problem I have bought a house at Spruce Creek with a hangar large enough for the two planes. It also solves the problem of transport to the airport!! My employer has cooperated by retiring me early.

So the new problem becomes moving the project the 1000 miles to Daytona. There have been a few threads I found on moving a project but most were focussed on projects with smaller pieces.

Perhaps someone in the group has done this and could critique my plan.

Currently I have in mind renting a 24-26 ft truck from Penske or Budget. I have only heard bad things about U-Haul. The fuselage will fit in the truck on the gear with several inches to spare on the sides and a couple feet front to back. Plan to get it in using 2x12s with "ramp fittings" at the top and the bottom --- cheaper than buying a set of all alum ramps. In theory these should hold about 800 lbs EACH but the fuselage with engine is less so I figure around 300-350 lbs per ramp. The fuselage would be hoisted in and then lowered out via a comealong [strength of the anchors in the truck to be determined -- maybe using two or three together]. I haven't measured the deck height of the various trucks but even at 4 ft the angle is not all that precarious.

With the fuselage in the rest is pretty straightforward. MY existing wing racks can hold the wings. The remaining parts can be bubble wrapped.

Anyone done this? Have a better idea? Thanks for your advice. I have maybe two months to formulate a plan. A trailer like the ones Tony Partain used to deliver my kit would be great but haven't seen these for one way rental.

Just a thought here, Craig (a mod here) now works for a company that transports aircraft. Can't hurt to drop him a line and ask for some tips.

As a possible idea, see if you can rent a "Toy Hauler" you will find that they are low to the ground, have a ramp, are enclosed and have a lot of tie downs built into the frame.

Best of luck on the upcoming move.

morlino · #4 07-06-2008, 02:37 PM

A few years ago I helped a friend move an almost completed RV6 from his garage to the airport in a similar manner. I think it was a 24' budget truck. Rather than ramps, he got a truck with a hydraulic lift gate on the back. 5 or 6 of us rolled the mains onto the gate, held it steady and lifted the tail while he raised the lift gate and then we just rolled it in to the truck.

The lift gate also made it really easy to get tool boxes and other heavy items loaded.

Also in addition to tying it down we cut some 4"x4" blocks of wood on the diagonal for chocks and nailed them to the wooden floor of the truck around both main wheels. Budget would probably frown on that but they didn't notice

We only went 10 miles instead of 1000 but it didn't move during the trip.

For what it will cost to rent a truck and fuel, it is probably worth at least getting a quote from a professional. It might not be too much more money and a lot less for you to worry about.

Good Luck and congratulations on moving out of NJ

I sure don't regret leaving that state.

RV7Guy · #5 07-06-2008, 02:50 PM

Call Tony Partain. I just received a project on Friday that was in Atlanta. The driver had made a couple of deliveries in Florida and was working his way back to AZ. Worked perfect.

He may have a situation that would work out. There was no way I could do it cheaper myself with all factors considered. Plus the BS factor was removed. All I had to do was make a couple of calls and spend an hour unloading when it arrived.

jasperlv · #6 07-06-2008, 06:02 PM

a couple years ago i was faced with a similar airplane move and found i could purchase a flat bed motorcycle trailer for not much more than the cost to rent a 24' truck for a one-way trip. a friend did the same and after finishing the move sold the trailer for the same as paid.

check your local vendor for a flatbed trailer. i bought the 18' big tex 50LA.

http://www.bigtextrailers.com/pdf/50la.pdf

a lighter weight single axle trailer would do as well. doesn't take much of a trailer to carry a #1,000 plane.

tomagin · #7 07-06-2008, 06:44 PM

thanks for all the suggestions. I did consider buying a trailer but don't really want it out in the breeze going down the highway. An enclosed trailer is a bit more expensive.

I'll be measuring the clearance on the Budget lift gate 26ft truck. If it is a 5 ft wide lift gate it is enough to handle a RV-8 with the engine on as in the RV-6 example cited.

I have also sent a note to Tony Partain to see if there is any interest there. Tony did a great job delivering my kit and it would be a good option if it fit into the schedule.

steve murray · #8 07-06-2008, 07:32 PM

I moved my RV8 fuselage with engine from California to Atlanta. I used a car trailer rented from U-Haul. If you have an 8 vs an 8a I would not let the unit ride on the tailwheel. I busted a few rivets on my RV8 tailwheel attach bracket during the transport. I would also deflate the tires to a lower pressure once the plane is loaded to soften up the ride. If I had to do it again, I would go with an enclosed truck, a large hail storm going across the mid-west gave me a heck of a fright.

Steve

OneCharlieKilo · #9 07-06-2008, 09:24 PM

Tom -
I had good luck using a U-Haul 26 foot truck for a 750 mile move of the fuselage on gear with engine mounted and then again more recently for the 35 mile move to the airport. I agree with what you said on U-Haul if you end up with one of the older trucks; if you can get one of the newer 26 foot trucks, which is what I used both times, they are pretty nice to drive and everything fit well for my RV-6A.

I used same ramp setup you described:

You can see what I did for tie down on the longer move at:

http://www.ckhand.com/RV6Aproject/Mo...-to-CAmove.htm

And here for the final move to the airport:

http://www.ckhand.com/RV6Aproject/fi...AirportPg1.htm

Chris
RV-6A, N731CK
"final assembly"

Scream · #10 03-22-2009, 11:45 AM

A 7x16' enclosed V-nose trailer fell into my lap this weekend. Any chance of moving a RV-8 wings, elevator, and fuselage (FW aft only) with it? Planning for the future...