Transporting a Partially Completed Kit

[Pilotjim77]

I’m purchasing an RV-8 kit that is partially complete, and I could use some advice on transporting it. Transport distance is about 85 miles. The fuselage is mostly complete with the landing gear and tail section attached as well as the engine. This obviously constitutes the largest part of the project. My first transport option is to use two large enclosed trailers. I would have to remove the tail section as it is too wide for the trailer. I do believe the landing gear would fit but would need to verify. How complex would it be to remove the horizontal stab?

Second option would be one enclosed trailer for the wings and several other boxes of parts, tools, etc. The fuse would go on an open trailer. I’m not crazy about this option because of the exposure to wind, weather, road debris, etc, but it would be doable.

Third option is to rent a box truck large enough for everything. Penske has 26 footers available near me. Not crazy about this either because the truck bed would be much higher than a trailer bed. Pushing the fuse up ramps or trying to use a lift gate could be very unstable or tricky.

Any thoughts, suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Jjackh10]

I used a Penske truck and something I hadn't considered was how light the load was. Basically no load as far as the truck was concerned. So the suspension was basically non-existent. That combined with poor road maintenance led to some significant damage that I'm still repairing.

Consider the road quality in your area. If it's not so good I'd lean toward the lightest duty trailer I could find. For only 85 miles I wouldn't hesitate to watch the weather and haul it in the open. Removing the empennage isn't a big deal at all. But it's more surfaces to package and hope they don't bang into each other.

In your neck of the woods you may be able to borrow an enclosed snowmobile trailer in trade for some beverages. Light duty suspension, relatively low deck height, and wide enough you may not need to remove the tail. They are the perfect airplane movers in my opinion.

 

[Mel]

If you decide to transport on open trailer, be aware of other traffic. Many years ago I had to transport an RV-6 about 50 miles.
Not too concerned about wind since I'll be traveling backroads at relatively slow speeds. What I didn't consider was the 18-wheeler driving 70 mph opposite direction. I got the opportunity to rebuild the elevators again!
Also heed the advice of jjack10!

 

[QuixoteAg]

When i moved my 6 (completed Fuselage with Engine mounted), completed wings, etc.. i used a 24' Uhaul truck - fit like a glove....PITA to get in and out with the height but we built some home made ramps with 2x8's forming 'i' beams to support the weight better and parked in a low spot to load/unload to get a gravity assist.


Strap down nice and tight and make sure the tail doesnt bounce up OR down - secure both the plane and if supporting the tail secure the support as well

there aren't enough tie down straps in the world sometimes

 

[andoman]

I have moved 2 project to AZ. A -4 from Canada and a Rocket from WA state.
I used similar flatbed trailers.
-fuselages on gear
-wings stacked under fuselage
-control surfaces in bed of truck
-stabs attached or not
-lots of foam and carefully snugged down ratchet straps.
-stopped often to check load
-surprised expressions of the gawkers in all the other vehicles was priceless

 

[fl-mike]

Removing the HS and VS is very easy if you have someone willing to get inside the tailcone. Took two of us about 20 minutes, of which 5 was me shimmying into the tailcone on pillows.
I would use the two enclosed trailers if wide enough for the gear. Remove the tail and tape the canopy closed, strap down good and stop to check after the first few miles. If a wood deck and you can screw into it, even better. Wings can get lashed to the sidewalls on straps (this is how Stewart/Cunningham does it) or laid horizontal on some mattresses or similar. Same for the HS, VS and control surfaces.
I have moved a 6 on gear in a 26' box truck, but the deck height was a complicator. I have moved wings on my small open utility trailer, one at a time for a few mile move. Easy. For that, the fuselage went on a rollback which is also easy, but your move distance is a lot more unless you have a friend with a rollback!

 

[DanH]

I've dragged 'em thousands of miles on open trailers, and never got a scratch. However, winter in your part of the US may include road salt.

Point is, given the right weather window, there's nothing wrong with hauling in the open.

 

[Pilotjim77]

I have moved 2 project to AZ. A -4 from Canada and a Rocket from WA state.
I used similar flatbed trailers.
-fuselages on gear
-wings stacked under fuselage
-control surfaces in bed of truck
-stabs attached or not
-lots of foam and carefully snugged down ratchet straps.
-stopped often to check load
-surprised expressions of the gawkers in all the other vehicles was priceless

How did the tape and plastic hold up to the wind going down the road? Any problems with the tail surfaces as far as road bumps? Any damage? Those are some pretty long distances you covered!

 

[andoman]

The taped up plastic held up fine. No damage. The duct tape on each side to keep the elevator and rudder secured in trail on the -4 worked perfectly. My biggest fear was dings from rocks thrown by passing trucks. Nary a ding or scratch at the end of either move.

 

[RV7 To Go]

I used a 26' Penske truck to haul my 7 to the paint shop and back. The nice thing about the truck was the extended lift gate. With 2 people one picks up the tail and rolls it onto the lift while the other operates the lift. Roll it into the truck and use ratchet straps anchored to the floor with 2x4's screwed to the floor on either side of the wheels and the tail. Wings in a rack trapped to the other sidewall and everything else strapped to the front wall or in boxes or the fuse. Hauled a partially built 8 1200 miles across Canada the same way. No issues at all. Yes, the tail must be off but removal is not difficult and the engine can stay.

 

[Ironflight]

Many ways to haul! If you do take the tail off (which is very quick and easy), and you plan on having the aircraft rest on the tailwheels, make sure to put the bottom Vetrical Stabs bolts (three of them) back into the aft fuselage bulkhead/tailwheel weldment! Failure to do so will let the tailwheel weldment ride “loose” and will bend up your rear bulkhead.

 

[Pilotjim77]

Thanks for all the replies. The move is set for next Tuesday. I'm leaning toward an open trailer and leaving the tail in place.

 

[JoeSeibert]

I transported a tricycle gear RV with wings off on a flatbed trailer approximately 600 miles over about 16 hours. Propeller and all fiberglass parts were stored inside a full-size suburban towing the trailer.

Lessons learned… Any strap that does not have a holding weight of 2000 pounds will break. You need seriously strong straps. Don’t even bother with 500 pound weight straps from Walmart. They will snap in five minutes. Even with the plane being lightweight the up-and-down motion of just the road trip itself will snap them. Particularly because you do need to keep some tension on everything to keep the plane from moving on the trailer.

And you need triple of every strap you think you need. If you think you have enough straps put more on you’ll be a believer in the first 30 minutes of that rule. And bring plenty of spares because you will discover early in the trip areas you need to reinforce.

I used multiple bungee cords to secure the stick absolutely in place such that airflow did not oscillate the elevator. Same with the rudder pedals to hold them neutral. If you do not do that, I guarantee you will damage your control surfaces and linkages very early in the trip.

I brought along a lot of masking tape to secure the excess strap ends so they don’t fly around. Wings were transported under aircraft with significant amounts of firm foam like you would find in a couch cushion and again strapped down to within a millimeter of movement. The gear itself will allow the aircraft to bounce a little bit so aircraft and everything else needs to be strapped down with tension.

The entire set up was checked probably every 5 to 10 minutes during the first two hours with a pullover at every exit or two.

After the first 10 checks in the first hour or two, I became a little more confident at going 60 minutes or so between pullovers for a recheck, with careful observation out the back window. But I didn’t go more than one hour between checks and even later in the trip I was making adjustments at every stop.

I also never exceeded 60 miles an hour going home so the entire trip was in the slow lane usually at about 55 miles an hour

Finally, I definitely taped over the N numbers. Plenty of gawkers and one or two people warned me that if the N number was exposed, some nitwit will complain just because they’re not used to seeing an airplane on a trailer. Or you make the local news story as a supposed crash or something just because the wings are off the aircraft.

All the straps were padded with foam as well. Finally be sure to remove the masking tape immediately upon arrival. It won’t hurt the paint for a day, but you don’t wanna leave it on for two weeks.

If I had to do it over, I wouldn’t for that distance. I would’ve got an enclosed trailer. I did not know better. I do now! Two hours yes… 16 hours no!

but even with an enclosed trailer… You still have to secure everything just as well, including the control surfaces. They will oscillate with every bump in the road and it will tear your control systems up

PM me if you wanna talk directly.

 

[Marlonyoung]

The enclosed trailer was nice, especially since it was several hundred miles, (the gear nor the tail feathers were installed) but the flatbed was easy for a shorter distance. Good luck, i’m flying one, and trying to finish up the second one.

 

[BenNabors]

I just called a flat bed tow truck, went exceptionally well. Trip distance was about 50 miles but would have been fine across country. Wings and horizontal - vertical tails transported in a Uhaul trailer.

 

[Scott Hersha]

I transported a tricycle gear RV with wings off on a flatbed trailer approximately 600 miles over about 16 hours. Propeller and all fiberglass parts were stored inside a full-size suburban towing the trailer.

Lessons learned… Any strap that does not have a holding weight of 2000 pounds will break. You need seriously strong straps. Don’t even bother with 500 pound weight straps from Walmart. They will snap in five minutes. Even with the plane being lightweight the up-and-down motion of just the road trip itself will snap them. Particularly because you do need to keep some tension on everything to keep the plane from moving on the trailer.

And you need triple of every strap you think you need. If you think you have enough straps put more on you’ll be a believer in the first 30 minutes of that rule. And bring plenty of spares because you will discover early in the trip areas you need to reinforce.

I used multiple bungee cords to secure the stick absolutely in place such that airflow did not oscillate the elevator. Same with the rudder pedals to hold them neutral. If you do not do that, I guarantee you will damage your control surfaces and linkages very early in the trip.

I brought along a lot of masking tape to secure the excess strap ends so they don’t fly around. Wings were transported under aircraft with significant amounts of firm foam like you would find in a couch cushion and again strapped down to within a millimeter of movement. The gear itself will allow the aircraft to bounce a little bit so aircraft and everything else needs to be strapped down with tension.

The entire set up was checked probably every 5 to 10 minutes during the first two hours with a pullover at every exit or two.

After the first 10 checks in the first hour or two, I became a little more confident at going 60 minutes or so between pullovers for a recheck, with careful observation out the back window. But I didn’t go more than one hour between checks and even later in the trip I was making adjustments at every stop.

I also never exceeded 60 miles an hour going home so the entire trip was in the slow lane usually at about 55 miles an hour

Finally, I definitely taped over the N numbers. Plenty of gawkers and one or two people warned me that if the N number was exposed, some nitwit will complain just because they’re not used to seeing an airplane on a trailer. Or you make the local news story as a supposed crash or something just because the wings are off the aircraft.

All the straps were padded with foam as well. Finally be sure to remove the masking tape immediately upon arrival. It won’t hurt the paint for a day, but you don’t wanna leave it on for two weeks.

If I had to do it over, I wouldn’t for that distance. I would’ve got an enclosed trailer. I did not know better. I do now! Two hours yes… 16 hours no!

but even with an enclosed trailer… You still have to secure everything just as well, including the control surfaces. They will oscillate with every bump in the road and it will tear your control systems up

PM me if you wanna talk directly.

I will vouch for Dr Seibert’s thorough handling of this shipment. The plane arrived at HAO totally undamaged. I was there to help unload, but there was quite a gaggle of help available to do that - probably due to interest in seeing a relatively “unique” airplane - possibly the only “A” model RV3 in existence. Joe is go-getter. He doesn’t sit idle for long. He will most likely be flying this RV3A by this summer, after substantial upgrades and improvements. Stay tuned…..

 

[JoeSeibert]

. The plane arrived at HAO totally undamaged. I was there to help unload, but there was quite a gaggle of help available to do that - probably due to interest in seeing a relatively “unique” airplane - possibly the only “A” model RV3 in existence.

Scott is being characteristically modest here. He has listened to my endless questions and helped me a great deal already with my RV3 project.

If any of you are not involved with your local EAA chapter, you’re missing out on great camaraderie, support, and technical skill. Scott is one of multiple helpful and very experienced members we have at a great chapter here at Butler County Airport / Hogan Field in Cincinnati.

It was a great feeling to show up with a trailer and with just one group Email sent out, 10 or 12 members showed up to “supervise“ and lend a hand. We all need these kinds of friends in our lives!

VAF enjoys the same reputation built on interpersonal help and trust.

 

[Pilotjim77]

Thanks again to everyone for the suggestions. The move went very well, no issues.

 

[Lucmac]

With respect to the propeller attached or removed just for transporting, any considerations/tips to transporting a -14A with the prop attached and the empennage off the plane on an open flatbed trailer for about 20 miles (30 minute drive)? I wouldn’t leave the prop on if moving this way ‘cross country’ but any real issues for a short move? Spark plugs are in and plug harness caps removed and battery disconnected. I can’t see it windmilling or accidentally firing.

 

[DanH]

With respect to the propeller attached or removed just for transporting, any considerations/tips to transporting a -14A with the prop attached...

It's unlikely to move. I've hauled a bunch and don't recall any of them windmilling. Even if it moved a little, it's not a problem if the blade arc is clear.

Here you go, blast from the past, 2010, at home and later same day, at the airport. Prop hasn't moved.

 

[Sportquattro]

I moved my RV9A in two trips on a trailer, the hardest bit was finding a trailer wide enough for the RV9A track. The one we used wss just wide enough with literally millimeters to spare each side:-





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