Trailering an RV10

[BrandonDixon]

I am purchasing an RV10 project. The wings and tail are off, but it is on the gear and complete firewall forward.

I have an enclosed race car trailer that would be my preferred way to get it home. I need some help determining if it will fit.

My trailer is a 38' long gooseneck, so 30' on the floor. It has some extra height inside at 90" from the floor to the ceiling. The trailer is 98" wide inside with a 90" wide door opening. The door opening is slightly smaller than a 26' Uhaul and the ceiling is a few inches lower. It's bigger than a 20' Uhaul.

Any opinions on whether this will work?

 

[Kyle Boatright]

I think you're gonna need an 8 1/2 foot wide trailer to accommodate the gear. I don't have an exact height measurement, but mine went in and out of our garage numerous times and the clearance is under 7 1/2'.

 

[rocketman1988]

If the axle nut extensions are on it likely will not fit.

 

[Watzlavick]

I just moved my RV-10 project to the airport this weekend. I rented a 24 ft deckover (no tire protrusions) tilt flatbed trailer with a winch ($150) and towed it with a 3/4 ton pickup ($90). The trailer width was 102 inches, barely enough, there were only a few inches on each side of the tires. Maybe it was overkill but I added some 2x4 boards to cradle the wheels to act as chocks. If you're in the DFW area, check out Trinity Rental Pro, Chad went way out of his way to make the move smooth for me. I had determined beforehand that with the trailer tilted at 16 deg, the tail wouldn't have enough clearance so he provided some additional ramps that I used to reduce the deck angle. We traveled slow on the back roads and made it without any issues. Much easier than I anticipated.

 

[lr172]

96 won’t do it. Maybe with heavy straps pulling the legs together. Doesn’t really matter as the 90” door is an absolute no go. I used a 4 place snowmobile trailer and worked great Other option is to remove the gear legs. Not very difficult.

 

[Chukill]

I hauled my RV 10 to the airport on a tilting tow truck. Winched it on and off by the mains. $100 charge for a 20 mile tow. Told the tow truck driver what I wanted to do and he thought it was cool and he took his time and did a great job. We did it early in the morning to minimize traffic as we drove about 50 mph on the freeway.

 

[Bearman]

It will not fit on the width. Find out what size pipe diameter will fit up into the main gear weldment and you can fabricate a new straight gear leg with a large caster wheel from somewhere like Tractor Supply. Use a thin wall pipe so it will be easy to drill the bolt hole after you slide it in the gear weldment using it as your drill guide. You should only have to do it on one gear leg. You can design it complicated and fancy or make it simple just as long as it is strong enough to withstand the journey.

 

[BrandonDixon]

Thanks for all the help and advice. We made it home from the 740 mile trip safely. We brought the fuselage on the open trailer and the wings, tail, and all the loose stuff in my enclosed trailer.

The engine is already in the process of a full rebuild and I’m starting to go through the rest. I’ve already got a few questions that I’ll ask in a different thread.

Thanks again!

 

[jessicas_other_half]

How did the windshield fare? Any issues with rocks or debris scratching or nicking anything? Did you do anything to protect it?

 

[rockwoodrv9]

How did the windshield fare? Any issues with rocks or debris scratching or nicking anything? Did you do anything to protect it?

When I moved my plane from Colorado to Idaho, I put a microfiber sheet over the canopy then packing foam, then a tarp to protect it. It may have been overkill but it worked.