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When trailers go bad OR How not to tow your Wright Brothers machine
In my last post, I mentioned that I was curently off the airshow circut
for a number of reasons. Greatest of which is the issue with the homebuilt trailer that formerly hauled my plane and equipment. Well, for those of you that havn't heard this before, here's the whole story. The trailer was originally intended to make (and last for) one trip from Covington, GA to Nag's Head, NC and back. Nothing more. It was also originally designed to be as small, light, and cheap as possible. My original tow vehicle was a 4-cyl. Chevy Cavalier, and anything resembling a "normal" trailer just wouldn't work. So I cobbled together a bunch of cheap junk. The rolling chasis started with a 4x8 bolt-together kit from Northern Tool. The kit was then stretched 13 ft. by replacing the factory tongue with an 11 ga. 2x3" steel box-tube. Add a pair of 12"x4.8" wheels and tires. The deck is 4'x18', pressure-treated 2x4s on 24" ctrs. covered with 3/4" pressure-treated plywood. Everything is screwed and glued and the corners are steel plate braced. The box was originally 4'w x 4 1/2' h, 1x2's covered with corrugated roofing steel. This configuration leaked like the Titanic was nearly unworkable due to the tight fit of the wings inside. I used the trailer like this for my first show in Raleigh and my second show in Atlanta. This configuration also proved nearly uncontrollable behind the little Cavalier, which had neither the horsepower, nor the brakes or suspension to handle the load. Following the second show, I tore off the original box using a sledgehammer. I then rebuilt the box using 26 ga. steel studs for framing, and 26 ga. steel "5-V" flat roofing pannels. I also added a 45-degree v-nose. The new demensions were now 4'w. x 6'h. x 18'l. with an additional 2' in the v-nose. I used the trailer in this confiruration for the remainder of the 2003 and 2004 seasons, towing it behind a rented Chevy 3500 Dually. It worked fairly well in this configuration in the light winds of the southeast, and recorded about 5,000 miles. I upgraded to a 2002 Dodge Dakota V-8 for the ferry-trip to Colorado. At about the 2,000 mile mark, I encountered a violent thunderstorm just outside of Byers, CO. Keep in mind that this territory is open plains with nothing to break the wind. I intended to turn the rig into the wind if I encountered a storm, since I knew the trailer was good for at least 100 MPH in tow. But, two lane roads aren't very accomodating and I had to turn broadside for 3/4 of a mile to reach the shelter of a truck stop. Of course, as soon as I turned, a 50+MPH gust hit me and rolled the trailer. Damage was limited to the coupler, left fender, and left front corner, and 2 hours later I was rolling again. Thank you, Byers citizens. Since then, I've experimented by loading the trailer with sandbags. At its max gross of 1150 lbs., its still uncontrollable in winds over 20 mph. There's not enough steel in the rolling chasis to change axles or go to a tandem-axle. Since the trailer is currently configured to haul my wings standing on their leading edges, ther's no real way to just cut a little off the top. And since ballast doesn't seem to help much, I'll have to concentrate on lowering the side profile. This means the wings will now have to be transported flat, rather than on edge. That will allow me to reduce the side profile by at least 1/2, if not more. But it also means the new trailer box will have to be about 6' wide, and the wings will need to ride in some sort of jig that will allow them to be packaged and loaded as a single protected unit. I'm currently working on various methods of accomplishing the new goal without spending too much cash. I think most of the steel framing and sheet metal can be used again. But I'll have to work out a new decking system, etc. Harry Frey Wright Brothers Enterprises Specialist in impractical aircraft and cheap junky trailers |
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