What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Finish Kit

C

civengpe

Well Known Member
I am about to place my order for the finish kit and have tried to read everything I can get my hands on regarding which items to delete from the order. so far here is what I have come up with:

Door Seals
Tires and Tubes
Front Axle and Wheel
Wheel Pant extensions
Windows
Fuel Pump
Fuel Selector Switch

I have also seen the stand offs for the main gear pants sold somewhere else as well, but cannot find them. Are there any other items that you guys would suggest?

Thanks,
Shannon
 
Last edited:
I would let Van's keep

at a minimum the wheel pant extensions. Those can be purchased from Plane Innovations for $39 plus shpg for the set.
I think the standard door seal would work just fine even if it does not come in black and mount like your car's seal. The bulb will seal near the same exact area and probably better at the door hinge area. Attaching with silicone per plans may not hold up for as many years though, so you would need some pop rivets/large area washers to help.

Tires/tubes- they work but are definitely lower quality. I'll use them for until the first tire change or until I get tired of doing the "RV Shimmy".

Ordered Matco axle. Kept the wheel. No clearance issues on several I have spoke to.

Windows= perfect fit. I don't know what more anyone could ask for other than heated winshield like in the Blackhawk or tenting or Canadian goose proofing.

Fuel pump= it was easy peezy with 3/8" tubing bender and plenty of extra 5052 for mistakes (added a few pieces to my scrap heap in that section)

Fuel selector= ran a tap into 1/4" npt threads as I did not think they went deep enough. Works as advertised. Good detents. Plenty of fuel lube and had it installed in an evening.

It really comes down to how much you want to spend and how soon you want to finish. I wanted to spend as little as possible for a good ifr aircraft with just a few modifications from the plans. I have done more head scratching with these doors and avionics than anything else during the build. The avionics/electrical is 90% complete except for wiring up all those expensive boxes this summer(once they are purchased- still saving). The door headscratching is just about over. The rear windows and winshield are all downhill. Hopefully the rest of the build is downhill. 100 hrs a month plus work is getting old. I know it will be worth it though!!!
 
I agree with Wayne, You can purchase the Vans door seal in black from Mcmaster Carr if you don't like the grey.

Wayne, has the wheel shimmy been traced to the tire? I would sure like to see a fix for this soon

Bill
 
Finish kit replacements

If given the chance take the windscreen off the fusellage kit order- Cee Baileys offers a fitted windscreen for the same price and the product is better, not to mention no need to cut and trim to fit. This alone will save you hours of work.
Door seals are to be avoided-Get the custom fit seals from rvtraining.com
buy the tires from Desser they offer a huge selection for the RV-10,
get the leakguard tubes for the tires
Get the side windows from Cee Baileys, they are a better quality,
Matco front wheel rim
I have the fuel pump and valve from Vans- they are fine with the new valve handle.
buy teflon coated hoses versus the aluminum tubes for the brakes (down the landing gear)
 
Last edited:
FYI I just spoke with Vans, and the credit for the Windscreen is $310, the door windows $110 each, the side windows $100 each. The Vans windows are tinted Grey.
 
Finish Kit Upgrades

I purchased the complete finish kit and then decided to return a bunch of stuff when I found upgrades later. It's definitely smarter to omit the items from your order up front though... Here are the items I found "aftermarket" that were clearly better in my mind;

Front wheel and axle (Matco)
Axle extensions (RVbits.com)
Flexible brake lines (RVbits.com)
Gear intersection fairings (RVbits.com)
Wing tip lenses (Cee Baileys)
Windshield & windows (Cee Baileys)
Stainless heater boxes (Avery)
Door Seal (McMaster)

The gear intersection fairings I got from Vans I considered simply unusable. The ones from Jan at RVbits are a work of art by comparison. Similarly, with the glass from Cee Baileys, their stuff is plug & play and top notch quality, I can see no reason to mess with the Vans ones when there's a better choice available for close to the same price.
 
Does anybody know how much shipping cost

for all five of Cee Bailey's transparencies. I already have all of mine cut but one would need to consider shipping costs. I am sure Van's shipping would be less, but then paying someone else to crate/ship them separate would probably cost a little more in the long run. I spent about 7-8 hrs cutting all 5 windows and they fit close enough for me. Even if they don't fit perfect we are going to go around them with epoxy/micro filler then layer of glass over top of all joints.

Bill- On the shimmy topic...there are many posts about it. I think there are many reasons, tires just being one of those. Tubular gear tends to move in strange ways, out of balance wheels/tires, flat spots, warped rotors, tire pressure, runway uneveness. I think maybe this style of gear will be a little more sensitive compared to what I am used to in the 172 and will have to be treated with more care.
 
Bill.Peyton said:
FYI I just spoke with Vans, and the credit for the Windscreen is $310, the door windows $110 each, the side windows $100 each. The Vans windows are tinted Grey.
Click to expand...

FYI They credit you for discounted price of the kit.
Windscreen $282
side windows $89.50
the door windows 99.50

Note: I have ordered the finishing kit just before the price increase and finalized it today.
 
Last edited:
G34U said:
FYI They credit you for discounted price of the kit.
Windscreen $282
side windows $89.50
the door windows 99.50

Note: I have ordered the finishing kit just before the price increase and finalized it today.
Click to expand...


My experience is that it really depends on who processes your order. If Barbara processes you can count on the discount being applied. I found that others have just given credit as defined on "The List" on the webstore.

bob
 
I placed my order this morning. Thank you all for your advice. I couldn't imagine trying to do something like this without you guys.
 
Just about to order finishing kit, is this still generally thought to be a good list? I plan on the regular windshield as it came with fuselage kit.


Paddy said:
I purchased the complete finish kit and then decided to return a bunch of stuff when I found upgrades later. It's definitely smarter to omit the items from your order up front though... Here are the items I found "aftermarket" that were clearly better in my mind;

Front wheel and axle (Matco)
Axle extensions (RVbits.com)
Flexible brake lines (RVbits.com)
Gear intersection fairings (RVbits.com)
Wing tip lenses (Cee Baileys)
Windshield & windows (Cee Baileys)
Stainless heater boxes (Avery)
Door Seal (McMaster)

The gear intersection fairings I got from Vans I considered simply unusable. The ones from Jan at RVbits are a work of art by comparison. Similarly, with the glass from Cee Baileys, their stuff is plug & play and top notch quality, I can see no reason to mess with the Vans ones when there's a better choice available for close to the same price.
Click to expand...
 
Finish kit

When deciding on the finish kit for my 8 , found it was a lot cheaper ordering what I needed instead of deleting what I did not .
I used a Sam James Cowl and Wheel pants, Todd's Canopy , Cleveland Wheels , Goodyear Tires, Brake lines from Summitt Racing . Got all the upgrades for less than the advertised price of a Finish Kit .
Tom
 
I would update this list a little bit to reflect the current market:

Front wheel and axle (Beringer Nose Wheel - now available at Vans)
Main Tires (Dessor - http://www.desser.com/store/products/15{47}600%2d6-6-PLY-HIGH-PERFORMANCE-RETREAD-AIRCRAFT-TIRE.html)
Main Tubes (Dessor - http://www.desser.com/store/product...GUARD"-BUTYL-TUBE-(NEW-EASY-FLATE-VALVE).html)
Axle extensions (RVbits.com)
Flexible brake lines (TSFlightlines)
Gear intersection fairings (RVbits.com)
Wing tip lenses (Cee Baileys)
Windshield & windows (Cee Baileys)
Stainless heater boxes (Avery)
Door Seal (McMaster)
Replacement Center Latch (PlaneAround)
Replacement Latch guides and Pins (PlaneAround)
Door Strut Bracket if using alternate style door seals (PlaneAround)
Heavy Duty Door Struts (http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?p=595598#post595598)
Wheel Spacers (PlaneAround)
 
Thanks for the info, now I am just waiting on the new finish kit parts list from Vans so I can adjust and place the order. Door seal fun here I come. :)
 
Just got a copy of the packing list for the Finish Kit, for the nosewheel it includes U-00011 Grove wheel & Brake 6X6.00 while it used to be Cleveland 190-104A 6" RV-10 wheels sets. Is the CW that the grove wheel should still be replaced with the Beringer, or was that the Cleveland?
 
The beringer is a much better engineered and lighter wheel than the Cleveland/Matco setup. But it is a small price increase over the stock setup.
 
Pushing this topic back up. As the number of available options for the RV-10 has become almost overwhelming, I thought that a list of recommended modifications would be quite helpful.

CharlieWaffles said:
I would update this list a little bit to reflect the current market:

Front wheel and axle (Beringer Nose Wheel - now available at Vans)
Main Tires (Dessor - http://www.desser.com/store/products/15{47}600%2d6-6-PLY-HIGH-PERFORMANCE-RETREAD-AIRCRAFT-TIRE.html)
Main Tubes (Dessor - http://www.desser.com/store/product...GUARD"-BUTYL-TUBE-(NEW-EASY-FLATE-VALVE).html)
Axle extensions (RVbits.com)
Flexible brake lines (TSFlightlines)
Gear intersection fairings (RVbits.com)
Wing tip lenses (Cee Baileys)
Windshield & windows (Cee Baileys)
Stainless heater boxes (Avery)
Door Seal (McMaster)
Replacement Center Latch (PlaneAround)
Replacement Latch guides and Pins (PlaneAround)
Door Strut Bracket if using alternate style door seals (PlaneAround)
Heavy Duty Door Struts (http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?p=595598#post595598)
Wheel Spacers (PlaneAround)
Click to expand...

Would you still consider this list to be current?
 
Absolutely

The gas struts can be obtained from Bansbach Easy Lift in FL. The HD version is ~$53 versus Van's $130.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top