advice for forum on trailering kitfox to tour US

[teamkitfox7788]

OK guys, a little help please.

I do forums at S N F, OSH, Sebring and Copper State among others on having fun combining touring the US by motorhome and Kitfox,

Some of you have probably attended one or more forums that I have done or seen my display of the plane, trailer and conversion van.

Here is the deal, An A&P buddy is rebuilding a Fox that went over on its back and commented that the tube steel in the fuselage behind the cabin is thin and was kinked in several places. This reinforced One of the points I harp on in the forums which is to drain weight/fuel from wings, use a soft riding trailer, and make sure the Kitfox factory brace is in place between the vertical stabilizer and wing strut in order to transfer some shock to the stronger tail area rather than thru the fuselage when trailering the plane long distances and on rough roads. There have been many reports of bent fuselage tubes while trailering a kitfox from not doing these things.

Are there serious problems that others have had when trailering a Kitfox (Avid, Just, Aerotrek, etc) that I should include in my forums? What went wrong and how do you prevent it?

I know of course not to strap or wrap over the wings or attach straps to the wings to hold the plane still or hold the folded wing up. And I show the forward braces between rear float attach points and leading edge spar where it would connect to the tubular steel cabin structure when the wings are in flying position. But there may be other things that other folks know about that I have not heard about.

I have learned a lot of little tricks over 95,000 miles and 12 years of traveling all over the US each year with my BABY PLANE inside a trailer so I've got my act together but it never hurts to pick the brains of the group.

Love to hear good stuff to share with others and hope to see some brother Kitfox owners at Sun N Fun, OSH, Copper State, Sebring etc.

This is an aside but may be of interest. I will not have the plane, trailer and motorhome on display this year like I usually do at Sun N Fun. I constantly hear from folks who see the display that they are delighted to see that touring the US by motorhome and plane can be done so successfully. The display really opens their eyes to something of a pilots dream. However, since Sun N Fun is no longer run by EAA, the policy is now to charge volunteers who are sharing info and technical assistance but not selling anything, like me, $1,500 or more for outdoor display space. Good news is, Air Venture is still delighted to provide space at no charge as are the other events I listed.

BJ
Kitfox IV 912, enclosed 9 foot wide trailer/hanger
443-480-1023
bjones@dmv.com

[SkyPirate]

I did this rough drawing a few years back..my intent to make a camper in the front section and "kitfox garage" in the rear..and if planned right you could either stack 2 kitfox or put a kitfox,golf cart and or small car in the Garage area,..the trailer could be stretched to 50' goose neck to tail end of trailer

[SkyPirate]

in the above trailer..the plane would be strapped down at the landing gear points only but add to the existing transport kit to put tabs out past the folded wing so the wing doesn't rub against the inside walls of the trailer

[DesertFox4]

B.J. here are some thoughts I posted a few years back in response to a model 2 owner wanting to trailer his Kitfox. This talks more about an open trailer but the securing of the aircraft is the same for enclosed or open trailer. I've heard of a couple early Kitfoxs being damaged when using too heavy a trailer and letting the tail wheel take all the loads instead of supporting the tail as the designer intended. Damaged tail posts were usually the result. There have been a couple instances of wings coming unsecured and extending into traffic or being destroyed by road signs or bridge abutments. These of course were on open trailers.

I will assume that you want to trailer over a long distance and not just a mile or two to the nearest airport.

First off, use a light trailer. A car hauler will transfer every road bump into your airframe since it is sprung for cars and light truck loads. Lightly sprung boat trailers work great with some modifications like longer tongue, winch for pulling the Kitfox up onto the trailer, ramp decking for main gear tires, tool box ect. Remember you are only hauling 600lbs. approx.

1. Make sure fuel tanks are 1/2 empty or better completely empty. This will reduce the stressed on the rear wing spar attach points.

2. Remove and safely store the turtle deck in your tow vehicle.

3. Winch the Kitfox up on the trailer before folding the wings.

4. Elevate the tail onto a support bracket that attaches securely to the trailer and utilizes the through tube near the front of the tail wheel spring attach bracket. This is also done before the wings are folded otherwise the tail will be very heavy and hard to align the support bracket. This can be a homemade bracket. This through tube will accept a length of redi-bolt that you will run through the support bracket and the Kitfox fuselage. This support will take the weight of the folded wings and tail section of fuselage. The tail wheel and rear fuselage will not be able to handle the shifted weight of the folded wings during transport. This is how vertical tail posts got broken in combination with too heavy of a trailer suspension. Damaged tail posts are not always easy to detect just by visual inspection.

4. Unpin the front spar and fold one wing back , then the other. Secure the wings with supplied hardware that should come with the aircraft. Caution! Before folding, on my model 3, I had to have the flap handle in a specified setting and the control stick centered to avoid damaging the linkages from control rods to flapperons during wing folding. Your model 2 has the same control system if memory serves.

5. When securing the airframe to the trailer use ratchet straps to secure only the main gear tires to the trailer deck. This allows the aircraft to bounce on the main gear/tires to absorb road shock. Do not use other strong points on the airframe to tie the airframe to the trailer. This will override the main gear suspension and again transmit road shock to the airframe. Securing the airframe incorrectly will put more stress on the airframe during a moderate distance haul than likely a lifetime of flying.

6. Secure flight controls, rudder and elevator with padded boards or the like to prevent them from moving during transport. I'm making the assumption that you have loaded the Kitfox to have the tail forward and not the the nose. Secure the stick too with with bungee straps or seat belts.
If you have a two-stroke motor you may need to secure the prop so it does not windmill the whole trip.

7. Use support rods for the forward spar attach points down to your strut attach points on the fuselage. This will take stress off the unsupported front spar during transport.

8. Some owners like to seal up the open turtle deck area against rain and debris during long hauls. Shrink plastic could be used.

9. Make sure all switches are off on the panel and secure the doors.

[SkyPirate]

what you will find with most trailers..open and enclosed that haul kitfox,,the suspension is set up for allot more weight then the kitfox itself..options are reduce the payload spec by using lighter trailer springs..,..use 4 ply instead of 10 vply trailer tires..softer side walls which would take out allot of the jarring..or use a torsional axle instead of a leaf spring axle.. or load the trailer down so its closer to its designed capacity.

[SkyPirate]

if I ever have this trailer built,. I have a mini pontoon boat that has retractable trailer wheels and hitch,..I would probably have it made to carry the kitfox,..the boat,,and a Polaris ranger or similar UTV

[ken nougaret]

I bought a used aluminum boat trailer, 24' long. I chopped 4' off the back and moved the pieces inboard to be inside the gear legs. I moved the axle to be as far back as possible. The ramps stay attached and pivot as the plane rolls up or down. I havent finished construction yet. I plan to use a scissor jack at the front under the tailwheel channel so i can raise the tail to travel position and lower it when i get home and back the whole rig in my garage. I chose the aluminum for corrosion resistance, looks, weight, and everything bolts together.

[ken nougaret]

My airport is about 4 miles away, 45mph speed. Its my plan to trailer for each flight. I welcome any additional advice for my rig.

[teamkitfox7788]

Ken & SkyPirate,

Thanks for the comments, photos and ideas about multiple toys. I love the creativity within the Kitfox community

I stopped by Just to see if Troy had modified the Highlander to increase fuselage or tail structure strength, which might be better for trailering. He said no.

Also flew with Stick & Rudder, Idaho, and was impressed at how much more refined the Kitfox 7 is compared to my model IV.

Any idea if the tail on model 2 and 3 Kitfox was a bit weaker contributing to the trailering damage mentioned.

Still want to hear any other comments folks have to make about trailering issues and solutions, of course

BJ

[HighWing]

When I first flew my current Model IV, The local FSDO sent me to Lincoln Harder about 50 miles away over California roads - Definitely not bragging. We tried to stay pretty much on streets, but there was some freeway in the mix.

The only trailer available was a "car hauler". Previous online comments raised the giant red flag. I had some 1 inch diameter heavy load springs and decided to make a tail support damper set-up. Since the trailer had a wood plank deck, I fastened the damper to a steel plate that I could then screw to the trailer deck.

I used a piece of drilled and shaped Delron rod to protect the threads of the tailwheel bolt that nested into it. I think if I were to be trailering on a regular basis, I would use a slightly longer tailwheel bolt and tap the Delron so I could screw it to the bolt. This might help avoid the dreaded bouncing off the support scenario. As it was, everything arrived at Lincoln undamaged.

Two photos below.