Enclosed trailer for transporting RV12iS

[CWW]

I believe I've read every post on the site relating to this subject, but I'm not finding anyone who's been successful. I'm hoping to revive this conversation from years ago to see if anyone is successfully hauling their RV12 in an enclosed trailer. If so, we'd love any tips or tricks for building out the interior to load/unload and safely house the aircraft for travel.
We just picked up our trailer that was built with a custom 97" ramp door opening. We plan to build it out making any modifications needed along the way. We'd love to learn from others who may have already done this.

 

[dbhill916]

I believe that somewhere in the depths of the site you should find a very innovative trailer that 'checked all of the boxes'. It employed a ramp at the front wherein the nose wheel would travel up the ramp and thus lower the tail such that the rudder didn't require the trailer to be unreasonably high or have a custom fairing. The wings were hung from the sides and strapped to the walls to prevent movement. The fuselage sat in the middle. The wheels traveled in rails to ensure alignment. The plane was winched in using the attachment on the nose wheel.

When I transported my fuselage from home to the airport (only 1 trip), I made plywood wing spar stubs that engaged in the attach points but only extended a foot or so outside of the fuselage. I used those to secure the fuselage to the trailer deck.

 

[Invicto89]

I believe I've read every post on the site relating to this subject, but I'm not finding anyone who's been successful. I'm hoping to revive this conversation from years ago to see if anyone is successfully hauling their RV12 in an enclosed trailer. If so, we'd love any tips or tricks for building out the interior to load/unload and safely house the aircraft for travel.
We just picked up our trailer that was built with a custom 97" ramp door opening. We plan to build it out making any modifications needed along the way. We'd love to learn from others who may have already done this.

See post #28 from:

RV-12's stored on trailers?

Just curious, any idea how many of the RV-12 regularly get de-winged for trailering or whatever reason? I'm wondering if it's a measurable percentage or if it's approaching zero.... Does anyone regularly or seasonally keep them in or on a trailer like sail plane pilots sometimes do?

vansairforce.net

 

[Nashpdman]

I believe I've read every post on the site relating to this subject, but I'm not finding anyone who's been successful. I'm hoping to revive this conversation from years ago to see if anyone is successfully hauling their RV12 in an enclosed trailer. If so, we'd love any tips or tricks for building out the interior to load/unload and safely house the aircraft for travel.
We just picked up our trailer that was built with a custom 97" ramp door opening. We plan to build it out making any modifications needed along the way. We'd love to learn from others who may have already done this.

I asked a similar question a while back, here's the thread.

How many actually trailer their RV12 to the airport regularly?

As the title ask, how many folks regularly trailer their RV12 back and forth from home to the airport? I live in Nashville TN where there is no hanger space and years long waiting list. So, is it even practical to consider trailering and storing the RV12 in said trailer? Is the RV12 built for...

vansairforce.net

 

[Rich@PineBarons]

Pictures below show how i crossed the country on the road. It works well but wish suspension on dual axle trailer was better.

 

[N8DAV8R]

Pictures below show how i crossed the country on the road. It works well but wish suspension on dual axle trailer was better.

Better in this case, probably means designed for the lighter load. Most dual axle trailers are tuned with stiffer springs for the heavy loads that a dual axle would more commonly carry. This is worth discussing with the trailer dealer/builder if buying something specifically for this purpose.

 

[CWW]

I believe that somewhere in the depths of the site you should find a very innovative trailer that 'checked all of the boxes'. It employed a ramp at the front wherein the nose wheel would travel up the ramp and thus lower the tail such that the rudder didn't require the trailer to be unreasonably high or have a custom fairing. The wings were hung from the sides and strapped to the walls to prevent movement. The fuselage sat in the middle. The wheels traveled in rails to ensure alignment. The plane was winched in using the attachment on the nose wheel.

When I transported my fuselage from home to the airport (only 1 trip), I made plywood wing spar stubs that engaged in the attach points but only extended a foot or so outside of the fuselage. I used those to secure the fuselage to the trailer deck.

Thanks for your response. Great idea making the plywood spar stubs.

 

[CWW]

See post #28 from:

RV-12's stored on trailers?

Just curious, any idea how many of the RV-12 regularly get de-winged for trailering or whatever reason? I'm wondering if it's a measurable percentage or if it's approaching zero.... Does anyone regularly or seasonally keep them in or on a trailer like sail plane pilots sometimes do?

vansairforce.net

Thank you. Yes, I saw this post before, but was not able to see the pictures for some reason. So glad you redirected me because I'm able to see them now. We're coming along in our trailer build and I'm excited to see the spar mounts. I was having trouble designing them. This helps a lot. Thanks again for your post.

 

[CWW]

I asked a similar question a while back, here's the thread.

How many actually trailer their RV12 to the airport regularly?

As the title ask, how many folks regularly trailer their RV12 back and forth from home to the airport? I live in Nashville TN where there is no hanger space and years long waiting list. So, is it even practical to consider trailering and storing the RV12 in said trailer? Is the RV12 built for...

vansairforce.net

There's some great info on ghat thread. Did you end up doing a trailer of some sort?

 

[Nashpdman]

There's some great info on ghat thread. Did you end up doing a trailer of some sort?

I did not. Toyed with the idea of buying a 12 to train in and then ended just putting all my time into a 10 build.

 

[DanH]

I believe I've read every post on the site relating to this subject, but I'm not finding anyone who's been successful. I'm hoping to revive this conversation from years ago to see if anyone is successfully hauling their RV12 in an enclosed trailer. If so, we'd love any tips or tricks for building out the interior to load/unload and safely house the aircraft for travel.
We just picked up our trailer that was built with a custom 97" ramp door opening. We plan to build it out making any modifications needed along the way. We'd love to learn from others who may have already done this.

If I may...

Have you heard of a concept called "Normalization of Deviance"?

Lots of folks appear to do it (normalization), but padding the ends of a stabilator and allowing it to ride against the walls is a very poor idea. The stabilator's hinge assembly is not designed for significant lateral loading (side to side), and here, the loads can be high impulse...as in wham, bam, slam. Out on the highway, construction zones with temporary surfaces can rock the trailer with considerable violence.

This guy has a good start on the right idea...positive side-to-side fixation with a frame attached to the tailcone. However, the pink foam caps should be for loading protection only, and never touch the sides of the trailer when in motion.

If I planned to haul my -12 in an enclosed trailer, I would make one specific change during construction: incorporate a truly substantial attach point on the underside of the tailcone, something which bolts solid to the support frame. Why? Just like the stabilator hinge, the tail tiedown point on many nosewheel airplanes isn't really robust enough for high lateral loads. Plus, it is generally a ring, which means some freedom of movement, thus impact loads.



The horizontal frame shown above is fundamentally excellent for the lateral loads, but surely allows vertical bounce. A better approach would be a steel A-frame, as it would lock the tail both horizontally and vertically. I've pulled taildraggers with such an A-frame many thousands of miles, bolted firmly through the tailwheel socket as the attach point. IIRC, it's built from 1 x 3 16 gauge rectangular tube. Mine is hinged at the base so it lays flat on the floor when not in use.