I ordered a 102" (8.5) wide trailer which meets my requirements.
I ordered a 102" (8.5) wide trailer which meets my requirements.
Ray
Kitfox V Lycoming YO-233
I’m glad I was able to help. I had thought about ordering one, but I was able to rent a trailer from a guy that was having financial problems that had a highlander. When you get it I would recommend adding some wheel guides. See the attached photos. The black triangular pieces on the ramp and inside the trailer. Once the wheels were lined up between the two triangular tire guides. It made loading the plane extremely easy, the wheels stayed centered with no effort.
Paul Zimmermann
LSRM-A
Garland, Texas
Thanks Paul for the suggestion on the wheel guides and the pics. Do you know what material was used to make the wheel guides?
Ray
Ray
Kitfox V Lycoming YO-233
They were made out of a press board covered in black vinyl, looked like cheap countertop material. I don’t see why 5/8” plywood wouldn’t work fine. They wer 45 Degrees X 45 Degrees about 6 to 8 inches tall. It went up the ramp, all the way to the front door of the trailer. The wheels of the plane had about one inch clearance total, as we pushed tge plane up, it did a good job keeping the plane centered. I would recommend either installing permanent padding on the walls to protect the wings, or some packing blankets. My Kitfox has a aluminum tail spring and I did do anything to support the tail, and it did well. However, I did get some leading edge paint scratches in the paint on the co-pilots wing.
Paul Zimmermann
LSRM-A
Garland, Texas
Thanks Paul, I did ask Mark about the leading edge rubbing and he said he has had no problems with this. Tying the mains secure is very important in eliminating this problem. I guess I’ll find out.
When you transported your Kitfox had you converted it to a tail wheel.
Ray
Ray
Kitfox V Lycoming YO-233
Ray,
Yes I had already converted it to a tail wheel. Here is a photo with the fuel drained and wings folded. Notice I had some packing blankets for the wings. I was getting the plane ready to push it in the trailer. If you order a trailer make sure to get a personnel door in front of the trailer crawling under the plane is a pain. I would get a personnel door towards the back. You will need egress to tie down the in both the front & rear of the trailer, and once you close the cargo door, you will be reluctant to open it back up and sometimes will not have the space to open it up. It would make checking tie downs a lot easier when traveling, as I said crawling under the plane is a pain. On my way back I would open the front door check the tie downs then crawl to the tail and check the tail tie downs. Most of the times the tie downs are fine. I found one had worked loose on the trip.
Paul Zimmermann
LSRM-A
Garland, Texas
Paul,
I did order with two side doors, one forward and one rear for exactly what you have said about getting to the plane without opening the rear romp door. I'm also having two rear to front recessed floor E-Tracks plus four D-rings for tie downs. Also ordered a remote winch ramp door with removable cable. This was recommended because of the weight of the ramp door. I'll post some pics when I receive the trailer.
Ray
Ray
Kitfox V Lycoming YO-233
Will a nose gear 7 fit into a trailer, seems the height of the rudder would be a problem. I guess one could order a higher trailer.
When the wings fold on a nose wheel KF the weight shifts to the rear and the tail comes down ( sometimes sharply, don't ask how I know). A support of some sort should be used. I built a four wheeled cart with a bungee support system, the cart worked well in the shop on a smooth floor but not well on other surfaces. The best design I have seen is a stand with a single fully rotating wheel. It is possible to build the stand at a height that puts the top of the tail lower than front of the fuselage, be very maneuverable and fit into a similar trailer as a tail wheel model..
S7 Tri-gear 912iS - flying since 2015
Built by someone that did a much better job than I would have