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RV-12 On A Pickup Truck

DonFromTX

DonFromTX

Well Known Member
Just in case someone wanted to do their own transportation of a 12 kit, here is a photo of my kit, complete except for avionics and powerplant, loaded on a pickup. It rode home very easily without any shifting or problems.
34pg7s9.jpg
 
Rode home from where? I'm not sure how far I'd wanna go with them there boxes stacked all up like that. :D
 
Wow! That's all I can say, Don. I hope the route was mainly straight as I'm sure it didn't feel so stable in curves...
 
Stability was never a part of the equation, it is a one ton dually truck with air bags, and after all, that load is just a tad over 1000 lbs. It drove the same as if nothing was there, I did not even inflate my airbags. My biggest worry was the spar box coming lose or shifting. I used to be a trucker, so securing a load is not a big deal for me. I would not hesitate to haul it home from Oregon to Brownsville TX, but for the $700 BAX Global/DB Schenker charged, I could not have driven the route for that.
Now for a week of inventory! (or more)
 
The inventory although cumbersome is not the major issue you will face. Once the parts are out of the neatly packed crates you have to store them (not a big deal if you have plenty of shelving space but most builders don't) but most importantly you have to organize the storage so that you can find the parts when you need them. From my experience just working on one kit at a time, this could be a challenge. Good luck!
 
I took the emp/tail crate and shortened it to 8 foot to fit on a wall. Then I am cutting the wing spar box into shelves to mount it it, when done it will be like a 32 by 8 ft book case, lots of shelves to put parts. I already had bought some compartment drawers to store the little stuff, with a map of what is where, photos in my KitLog.
 
To avoid this storage problem I put the parts all back into the crate after finishing inventory, close 'em up again and stack somewhere else. I always just kept the one crate open and close by the shop that I was working on. I kept the larger parts in the crate and only removed the small parts that were numerous and easy to organize on shelves. That way I got around the limitations of a one-car-garage shop.
 
Fasteners storage

FWIW, this type of storage box works really well for rivets, AN bolts, bearings and all the other stuff that comes in those little brown paper and plastic bags. Each compartment is labelled with the part ID and the original bag number, as there will be times when you want to check some parts against the inventory and then you need to know which bag it came in.

The compartments are removable and can be arranged any way you like, and taken out to sit on the workbench when you need them. Although everybody will have their own solution for parts storage, this box is compact and contains ALL the small parts that came with the empenage kit.

5395885958_e18735b6b9.jpg


Although it's not shown here, I also sorted and strung each different type of washer on a short length of thin plastic-coated garden tie wire with its own label and stored them in a couple of the compartments. Bolt sizes were written on the bolt head or shank with a Sharpie pen.
 
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Nice storage box for the hardware.

Could you please indicate the brand and model number for us. It's probably available via internet.

I'm starting to get organized for a RV-12 project myself.

Thank you in advance and happy building!
 
Driftdown said:
Nice storage box for the hardware.

Could you please indicate the brand and model number for us. It's probably available via internet.

I'm starting to get organized for a RV-12 project myself.

Thank you in advance and happy building!
Click to expand...

Home Depot has a selection of various storage solutions, such as:

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hardware-Tool-Storage-Organizers/Stanley/h_d1/N-5yc1vZar4hZ1f7/R-100375899/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

Cheers,
 
Also you can go to any big fishing store and there will be about 30 different varieties of tackle box organizers. many of them are around 3-5$, excellent bargain for how much help they are. buy them on sale by the dozen, you will end up using most of them.
 
I already have some storage arranged as shown, having the box to store some of the larger stuff I can see already is necessary. I am sort of using one garage bay for work, one for storage.
rh4jme.jpg
 
Ah these Texans!

Don, if you had not in your name that you are from Texas, I would have guessed it: you think big!
Watch out the 1320# limitation! :D
 
The red and blues are from Harbor Freight Aviation store, very inexpensive by the way, they unhook so you can take one to the job.
My best idea so far, was to take the emp/tailcone crate and by using the wing spar crate, made shelves for it, I had not noticed anyone else doing that yet. Worked out very well as you can see, lots of space for all that little stuff. OK, so it needs a coat of paint to be more presentable, but that will come with time.
xfdjic.jpg
 
WingedFrog said:
Don, if you had not in your name that you are from Texas, I would have guessed it: you think big!
Watch out the 1320# limitation! :D
Click to expand...
Texans don't have "limitations" like that. If it will lift off, it is below gross, if it will not lift off, it is over gross. Don't need no stinkin numbers to discover that;)
 
OK, so I just went low tech.

I got some small ziplok bags and wrote the bag number and the parts list on each bag. Then when I opened the paper bag for the inventory, I transferred the contents to the ziplok.

I also picked up some large ziplok (Hefty onezip 14 3/8 x 16) bags at target. When I cut the shrink wrap off the parts kits, I transferred the parts to the onezip bags.

I am building in a two car garage size shop, so I just stored everything in the crate with the lid off. I set the crate on a couple of saw horses to make everything easy to get to.

So far, this has worked out pretty well.
 
Driftdown said:
Nice storage box for the hardware.

Could you please indicate the brand and model number for us. It's probably available via internet.

I'm starting to get organized for a RV-12 project myself.

Thank you in advance and happy building!
Click to expand...

It's a `Stanley' item. Has H-1200130-E stamped on the lid and Art.No. 14325 on the underside of the box. Sontax make a copy, but it's not as good. I've also got a stack of fixed-compartment tackle boxes, but it's the modular removable containers in this one that make it a winner.

If you can find them, get 3 or 4 so you can mix/match containers. I got two (about $18 ea.) from your equivalent of Harbour Freight here in Australia, and when I went back recently to get a couple more, they'd sold out. Always happens!

Good luck with your build.
 
DonFromTX said:
Stability was never a part of the equation, it is a one ton dually truck with air bags, and after all, that load is just a tad over 1000 lbs. It drove the same as if nothing was there, I did not even inflate my airbags. My biggest worry was the spar box coming lose or shifting. I used to be a trucker, so securing a load is not a big deal for me. I would not hesitate to haul it home from Oregon to Brownsville TX, but for the $700 BAX Global/DB Schenker charged, I could not have driven the route for that.
Now for a week of inventory! (or more)
Click to expand...

Don, Do you have any idea how much you saved in shipping by getting the whole kit at once vs doing 2 partial shipments? Let's say you had just ordered the emp, wings, and fuse initially and then did the finish kit later. You paid $700 for your shipment to south Texas, but what would you have paid if you had split it up? Was it a huge savings or just marginal?
 
Yes, it was substantial in my opinion and I know exactly how much I saved. Quote from Vans for piece by piece was $1401, actual shipping all at once was $702. Although anxious to get started, being a professional tightwad made it a no brainer for me.
 
Wow, that is significant. Did you do much price shopping before choosing Bax Global? Just curious if others were very similar in price.
 
I did no shopping, Vans did that for me. With their volume they can barter for a better deal than I could have gotten, and I feel sure they are looking out for the buyer. This was not only cheap, it was all by air, and carefully handled all the way to my pickup.
For all I know, BAX just MIGHT have cut them a special deal to attract more business, and I came out the winner. I still can't believe I got all that stuff delivered for $702!
 
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