Trailer decision time.

On Apr 8, 8:51 am, "Wayne Paul" wrote:
"Bob Kuykendall" wrote in message

...



On Apr 6, 2:55 pm, wrote:

So the question to RAS is: What are my best options? Anyone have any
good ideas on how to build a glider trailer for cheap? I could
probably make a 4 or 5 foot wide and 22 foot long trailer work. I
understand steel prices are pretty high nowdays. Is anyone building
their own trailers anymore or just buying factory built? Thanks!

I've made things shaped like trailers, but fortunately never a whole
trailer:

http://www.hpaircraft.com/hp%2D24/up...9_March_06.htm

Buy yourself a nice 180 amp MIG welder and set it up for flux core (no
shielding gas) welding. I recommend the Hobart, not one of those cheap
Harbor Freight zot boxes. Get a good auto-darkening hood and a mask
for the particulates (lots of Manganese). You'll be making perfectly
serviceable welds inside a couple hours. Also get a cheap 14" chop saw
(HF will do for that). After that, copy any trailer you like.

Thanks, Bob K.

Here is another idea.http://www.soaridaho.com/Schreder/Co...Design_1/Trail...

Waynehttp://www.soaridaho.com/

Tony, this nice clamshell homebuilt trailer design is on the 1-26
association's classifieds page: http://www.126association.org/graphics/126trlr.jpg.
I can not get the link for the trailer guy's webpage to work from the
1-26 classifieds, but there is contact info in the title block on the
picture I linked. Text from the 1-26 classifieds ad:

"This fully enclosed lift top trailer is designed for the 1-26. It is
constructed of steel tube frame and covered with pre-painted aluminum.
A complete set of drawings showing trailer construction which provides
a means of restraining the wings, fuselage and stabilizer for
transport. The fittings allow easy loading and unloading of the
components.
This design is lifted from our very successful 15 meter sailplane
trailer series. The 1-26 plans set includes ½ scale drawings, bills of
material, source of material, individual part drawings showing
necessary details and construction instructions."
"Build time is approximately 100 hours.
A drawing set is provided for your exclusive use, not to be resold or
distributed.
Cost is $100.00 per drawing set."

It looks like a straightforward construction project, and since nearly
any trailer you make will take appx the same amount of time, cost the
same amount of money, so pick a good design from the getgo. The shape
trailer you need is probably halfway between the 1-26 clamshell
(similar root cord size= similar trailer hight) and the 15m trailer
(length) they offer plans for. Use A 500 structural steel (grade b if
available) for the frame and steel components. It has appx 80%-90% the
strength of chromemoly, at appx 5% the cost. I too have a clamshell
trailer design, but it is not intended to be a cheap or quick build.
However, if I do pony up the cash and build it, my trailer will be
several notches up on a Cobra, (mostly due to not being designed
around cost effective repetitive construction, but also using far more
exotic materials for most of it than can be justified as a
commercially viable product).

I disagree with the earlier poster recommending torsion axles. Without
adding additional reinforcement to the frame above the axle, (or
designing the trailer around a specific setup) these usually cause
trailers to sag at the pinpoint fulcrum the whole burrito is balanced
on. They will not have as much travel, and it has a much steeper
progression to the suspension travel than do leaf springs. Trailer
sales people love torsion axles because they are cheaper than a leaf
setup in most cases, and you only have to pay for half the welding to
install it. Leaf springs are also easy to install though (just take a
little longer due to more parts and attach points) and distribute the
weight of the trailer across a larger area, and usually do not require
the trailer to be reinforced there. Best of all though, if you use a
drop axle you have lots of room for suspension travel. If one wanted
the ultimate in performance though, one would use independent
suspension (available in both leaf or torsion), but I digress, this is
an exotic, unnecessary, and expensive solution to a practically non
existent problem.

Lastly, I highly recommend against the notion of adding surge brakes
to whatever trailer option you go with. A while back I posted 10 good
reasons to use electric brakes instead, and I have not changed my
position. In fact, I have only had longer to reinforce my opinion,
based on more direct observation. I have a non published article I
wrote on the subject I would be happy to forward you if interested, or
anyone else for that matter.

Paul Hanson

Paul

On Apr 8, 12:03 pm, sisu1a wrote:
On Apr 8, 8:51 am, "Wayne Paul" wrote:



"Bob Kuykendall" wrote in message

...

On Apr 6, 2:55 pm, wrote:

So the question to RAS is: What are my best options? Anyone have any
good ideas on how to build a glider trailer for cheap? I could
probably make a 4 or 5 foot wide and 22 foot long trailer work. I
understand steel prices are pretty high nowdays. Is anyone building
their own trailers anymore or just buying factory built? Thanks!

I've made things shaped like trailers, but fortunately never a whole
trailer:

http://www.hpaircraft.com/hp%2D24/up...9_March_06.htm

Buy yourself a nice 180 amp MIG welder and set it up for flux core (no
shielding gas) welding. I recommend the Hobart, not one of those cheap
Harbor Freight zot boxes. Get a good auto-darkening hood and a mask
for the particulates (lots of Manganese). You'll be making perfectly
serviceable welds inside a couple hours. Also get a cheap 14" chop saw
(HF will do for that). After that, copy any trailer you like.

Thanks, Bob K.

Here is another idea.http://www.soaridaho.com/Schreder/Co...Design_1/Trail...

Waynehttp://www.soaridaho.com/

Tony, this nice clamshell homebuilt trailer design is on the 1-26
association's classifieds page:http://www.126association.org/graphics/126trlr.jpg.
I can not get the link for the trailer guy's webpage to work from the
1-26 classifieds, but there is contact info in the title block on the
picture I linked. Text from the 1-26 classifieds ad:

"This fully enclosed lift top trailer is designed for the 1-26. It is
constructed of steel tube frame and covered with pre-painted aluminum.
A complete set of drawings showing trailer construction which provides
a means of restraining the wings, fuselage and stabilizer for
transport. The fittings allow easy loading and unloading of the
components.
This design is lifted from our very successful 15 meter sailplane
trailer series. The 1-26 plans set includes ½ scale drawings, bills of
material, source of material, individual part drawings showing
necessary details and construction instructions."
"Build time is approximately 100 hours.
A drawing set is provided for your exclusive use, not to be resold or
distributed.
Cost is $100.00 per drawing set."

It looks like a straightforward construction project, and since nearly
any trailer you make will take appx the same amount of time, cost the
same amount of money, so pick a good design from the getgo. The shape
trailer you need is probably halfway between the 1-26 clamshell
(similar root cord size= similar trailer hight) and the 15m trailer
(length) they offer plans for. Use A 500 structural steel (grade b if
available) for the frame and steel components. It has appx 80%-90% the
strength of chromemoly, at appx 5% the cost. I too have a clamshell
trailer design, but it is not intended to be a cheap or quick build.
However, if I do pony up the cash and build it, my trailer will be
several notches up on a Cobra, (mostly due to not being designed
around cost effective repetitive construction, but also using far more
exotic materials for most of it than can be justified as a
commercially viable product).

I disagree with the earlier poster recommending torsion axles. Without
adding additional reinforcement to the frame above the axle, (or
designing the trailer around a specific setup) these usually cause
trailers to sag at the pinpoint fulcrum the whole burrito is balanced
on. They will not have as much travel, and it has a much steeper
progression to the suspension travel than do leaf springs. Trailer
sales people love torsion axles because they are cheaper than a leaf
setup in most cases, and you only have to pay for half the welding to
install it. Leaf springs are also easy to install though (just take a
little longer due to more parts and attach points) and distribute the
weight of the trailer across a larger area, and usually do not require
the trailer to be reinforced there. Best of all though, if you use a
drop axle you have lots of room for suspension travel. If one wanted
the ultimate in performance though, one would use independent
suspension (available in both leaf or torsion), but I digress, this is
an exotic, unnecessary, and expensive solution to a practically non
existent problem.

Lastly, I highly recommend against the notion of adding surge brakes
to whatever trailer option you go with. A while back I posted 10 good
reasons to use electric brakes instead, and I have not changed my
position. In fact, I have only had longer to reinforce my opinion,
based on more direct observation. I have a non published article I
wrote on the subject I would be happy to forward you if interested, or
anyone else for that matter.

Paul Hanson

Paul

paul,

please forward, and thanks for the suggestions.

wrote:
\
There is a Cherokee in an enclosed trailer at our airport that hasn't
flown in decades. I can put you in contact with the owner, and maybe you
can buy a trailer and Cherokee for less money and effort that building
your own! \

Oh please do! Tony and I will take good care of it.

I sent you an email with the contact info a few minutes ago.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

* Updated! "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* New Jan '08 - sections on Mode S, TPAS, ADS-B, Flarm, more

* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org

wrote:

So the question to RAS is: What are my best options? Anyone have any
good ideas on how to build a glider trailer for cheap? I could
probably make a 4 or 5 foot wide and 22 foot long trailer work. I
understand steel prices are pretty high nowdays. Is anyone building
their own trailers anymore or just buying factory built? Thanks!

One other option might be an all wood trailer (well the axle assy and
tongue would be metal). Johann Kuhn had a generic all-wood covered
monocoque design that can be scaled up or down to suit the glider. My
hangar mate built one for his AC-4C and he loved it. One nice thing is
the all wood construction means no expensive tools like a welder or
metal fabrication stuff. Get your materials at Home Depot. Not sure
how to get plans or even if they are still available.

Regards,

-Doug

Btw, here is a past posting from RAS:

BEGIN QUOTE
At 16:06 19 December 2005, Wallace Berry wrote:
In article ,
Ray Lovinggood wrote:

Ok, time to change threads from 'Where are you from'
to 'Ugly trailer.

Well, the elegant version of what you're describing is the Kuhn
trailer. It's made of wood, tapers wider from front to rear. Fuselage
goes in head first, wings tip first. On the road, nothing's better. An
old hand once told me if you ordered Johann's plans & bought materials
according to his parts list, you'd end up with nothing but a great
trailer & sawdust. I'm very fortunate to have a well built one for my
LS-4.
END QUOTE