View Full Version : Trailer decision time.
The trailer for the Cherokee has always been so-so. Its an old
Gehrlein (sp?) that was probably purchased new when the glider was
built in 1965. Its the EXACT same type of trailer that Glub
Djerjinksi used for his Open Cirrus in the Sunship Games. its heavy,
really long, and pretty old. I had the door hinge rebuilt a couple
years ago which caused a smoldering fire in the plywood floorboards.
they werent burnt completely but the inside of them is gone. then the
hitch got jackknifed by someone somehow. The hitch has always been
kind of bogus anyway. a few broken welds and some cracks have never
given me a lot of faith in it.
I loaned it to my college flying club this last weekend to transport
some tables and chairs for their fly in. the hitch had a catastrophic
failure, but held together long enough for them to limp to the
airport. No worries, they didnt destroy my trailer, the glider wasn't
in the trailer when the failure occured, and now I am forced to
address an issue that i had putting off for too long, definitely a
good thing.
So now the question is what to do? Ive got some money coming in my
tax return and will have a small budget, 1000-1500ish to spend on
getting my car and trailer ready to go for the XC season. Im sorta
hesitant to dump a lot of money into this old trailer, considering
that the rest of the frame is fairly well rusted. I have pretty real
concerns that if I start to fix one thing it will lead to another and
pretty soon I will have essentially done a complete rebuild.
My car is a 1999 Oldsmobile Alero with the V6. Not the worlds best
tow vehicle but it has lugged this monster trailer around the state of
Iowa for the last few years with few complaints.
I would love to see if the Cherokee would fit in a Cobra trailer. I
think it would. That would be riding in style! I can imagine a lot
of ways to rebuild or build from scratch a much better trailer.
Current trailer is too narrow so it also has to be too long, as the
fuselage and wings have to be staggered to fit. tongue weight is not
enough so the thing bounces around a lot during transport. Id love to
have some time with some fabrication tools to develop really good
mounting in there. The list goes on and on.
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!
On Apr 6, 5:55 pm, wrote:
> The trailer for the Cherokee has always been so-so. Its an old
> Gehrlein (sp?) that was probably purchased new when the glider was
> built in 1965. Its the EXACT same type of trailer that Glub
> Djerjinksi used for his Open Cirrus in the Sunship Games. its heavy,
> really long, and pretty old. I had the door hinge rebuilt a couple
> years ago which caused a smoldering fire in the plywood floorboards.
> they werent burnt completely but the inside of them is gone. then the
> hitch got jackknifed by someone somehow. The hitch has always been
> kind of bogus anyway. a few broken welds and some cracks have never
> given me a lot of faith in it.
>
> I loaned it to my college flying club this last weekend to transport
> some tables and chairs for their fly in. the hitch had a catastrophic
> failure, but held together long enough for them to limp to the
> airport. No worries, they didnt destroy my trailer, the glider wasn't
> in the trailer when the failure occured, and now I am forced to
> address an issue that i had putting off for too long, definitely a
> good thing.
>
> So now the question is what to do? Ive got some money coming in my
> tax return and will have a small budget, 1000-1500ish to spend on
> getting my car and trailer ready to go for the XC season. Im sorta
> hesitant to dump a lot of money into this old trailer, considering
> that the rest of the frame is fairly well rusted. I have pretty real
> concerns that if I start to fix one thing it will lead to another and
> pretty soon I will have essentially done a complete rebuild.
>
> My car is a 1999 Oldsmobile Alero with the V6. Not the worlds best
> tow vehicle but it has lugged this monster trailer around the state of
> Iowa for the last few years with few complaints.
>
> I would love to see if the Cherokee would fit in a Cobra trailer. I
> think it would. That would be riding in style! I can imagine a lot
> of ways to rebuild or build from scratch a much better trailer.
> Current trailer is too narrow so it also has to be too long, as the
> fuselage and wings have to be staggered to fit. tongue weight is not
> enough so the thing bounces around a lot during transport. Id love to
> have some time with some fabrication tools to develop really good
> mounting in there. The list goes on and on.
>
> 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!
Its not that hard to build a trailer - if you are handy and have a
good
workshop you can use. Depending on how nice and how much $
you want to spend... I designed and built from scratch a stressed
skin aluminum tube trailer many decades back for my whale (think
humongous Schreder) - probably more money and time than you
want to spend. A wood trailer is much easier.
In any case - its a lot of time. And again you *really* need a decent
workshop or you'll loose your mind. Don't skimp on the axel - don't
go with small wheels and leaf springs. Get a torsion bar unit, and
think about spring for (gasp) surge brakes.
You'll spend more time making decent fittings than the trailer
structure - plan for it timewise.
Give me a ring at home some evening this week (before Friday;
I'm leaving the country for a couple weeks) if you want some
pointers...
See ya, Dave "YO electric"
SoaringXCellence
April 7th 08, 02:41 AM
On Apr 6, 4:51*pm, wrote:
> On Apr 6, 5:55 pm, wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > The trailer for the Cherokee has always been so-so. *Its an old
> > Gehrlein (sp?) that was probably purchased new when the glider was
> > built in 1965. *Its the EXACT same type of trailer that Glub
> > Djerjinksi used for his Open Cirrus in the Sunship Games. *its heavy,
> > really long, and pretty old. *I had the door hinge rebuilt a couple
> > years ago which caused a smoldering fire in the plywood floorboards.
> > they werent burnt completely but the inside of them is gone. *then the
> > hitch got jackknifed by someone somehow. *The hitch has always been
> > kind of bogus anyway. *a few broken welds and some cracks have never
> > given me a lot of faith in it.
>
> > I loaned it to my college flying club this last weekend to transport
> > some tables and chairs for their fly in. *the hitch had a catastrophic
> > failure, but held together long enough for them to limp to the
> > airport. *No worries, they didnt destroy my trailer, the glider wasn't
> > in the trailer when the failure occured, and now I am forced to
> > address an issue that i had putting off for too long, definitely a
> > good thing.
>
> > So now the question is what to do? *Ive got some money coming in my
> > tax return and will have a small budget, 1000-1500ish to spend on
> > getting my car and trailer ready to go for the XC season. *Im sorta
> > hesitant to dump a lot of money into this old trailer, considering
> > that the rest of the frame is fairly well rusted. *I have pretty real
> > concerns that if I start to fix one thing it will lead to another and
> > pretty soon I will have essentially done a complete rebuild.
>
> > My car is a 1999 Oldsmobile Alero with the V6. *Not the worlds best
> > tow vehicle but it has lugged this monster trailer around the state of
> > Iowa for the last few years with few complaints.
>
> > I would love to see if the Cherokee would fit in a Cobra trailer. *I
> > think it would. *That would be riding in style! *I can imagine a lot
> > of ways to rebuild or build from scratch a much better trailer.
> > Current trailer is too narrow so it also has to be too long, as the
> > fuselage and wings have to be staggered to fit. *tongue weight is not
> > enough so the thing bounces around a lot during transport. *Id love to
> > have some time with some fabrication tools to develop really good
> > mounting in there. *The list goes on and on.
>
> > 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!
>
> Its not that hard to build a trailer - if you are handy and have a
> good
> workshop you can use. Depending on how nice and how much $
> you want to spend... I designed and built from scratch a stressed
> skin aluminum tube trailer many decades back for my whale (think
> humongous Schreder) - probably more money and time than you
> want to spend. A wood trailer is much easier.
>
> In any case - its a lot of time. And again you *really* need a decent
> workshop or you'll loose your mind. Don't skimp on the axel - don't
> go with small wheels and leaf springs. Get a torsion bar unit, and
> think about spring for (gasp) surge brakes.
>
> You'll spend more time making decent fittings than the trailer
> structure - plan for it timewise.
>
> Give me a ring at home some evening this week (before Friday;
> I'm leaving the country for a couple weeks) if you want some
> pointers...
>
> See ya, Dave "YO electric"- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
I recently (last summer) built a trailer for a Grob 103A. I used
larger tubes than you would need and the steel costs were about $900,
axles, fenders, floor and other trailer fittings were another $800. I
spent about 100 hours on the trailer without the glider fittings and
have spent another 100 hours designing and making the fittings, still
not quite done. Now I know why a trailer costs so much!
This was an open trailer patterned after the plans offered by:
http://www.oxaero.com/Luebke-Trailer.asp
The plans I bought were not adaquate for a two place ship but the
details and parts houses listed in the plans were worth the cost. I
used a lot of the concepts to design my trailer. The plans actually
are for a closed trailer and I hope to eventually get the siding and
top on.
If I were you I'd look on W&W or some other place and see if there is
an existing trailer that you could get to start the process.
I would also contact Dean Gradwell of Jacksonville Oregon, He has a
great trailer for his Cherokee and I think he built it from scratch.
Check with him though
DG Airparts:
501 Juanita Way, Jacksonville, OR 97530-9825,
Phone: (541) 899-8215
Mike
Brian[_1_]
April 7th 08, 04:34 AM
By Gehrlein trailer do you mean something like what is shown at the
top of this web page:
http://www.jimphoenix.com/jimphoenix2/pages/trailers/subtrailers.html
This web site also has some good ideas for different trailes.
for an open trailer a Gerhrlein style trailer is hard to beat. The
open truss structure with the light weight tubing makes for a
reasonably light weight and strong trailer. If you are planning on
staying with an open trailer I would recommend this style of trailer.
Of course you can adjust widths and lengths to match your glider.
Mine had a plywood floor which I loved because I could easly walk on
it while loading and unloading the glider. I do like either a hinged
back section or a easy to use ramp so that I don't have to disconnect
the trailer from the vehical while assembling. I also like the
trailer designed so that the horzontal stablizer can remain on the
glider, this greatly speed assembly time. I could assembly my 1-26 in
about 20 minutes off of my Gerhrlein style trailer.
Both of my trailers have had the leaf spring suspension and towed
great. However I have built a couple trailers with the Torsion Bar
Suspension and really like them. Your glider is light enough I don't
think you need brakes unless you are going to tow with a small car.
If you are thinking enclosed trailer I would suggest you look a the
schreder style trailer. I have access to a full set of plans if you
are interested. The schreder trailers aren't as nice as the Cobra
style trailers but if set up properly they can work very well. I am
always amazed how poorly many trailers work.
Yesterday I left my house at 1:00 drove the airport with the HP16T
(Schreder style trailer) in tow and arrived at the airport at 1:15.
with the help of two assistants I assembled the glider, and launched
at 1:40.for a 4 hour flight. I have spent a fair amount of time making
my trailer user frieindly and it pays off in the assembly ease and
time. I still have a few thing I can do to improve it further.
Brian
HP16T N16VP
www.soaridaho.com
Eric Greenwell
April 7th 08, 04:56 AM
wrote:
> The trailer for the Cherokee has always been so-so. Its an old
> Gehrlein (sp?) that was probably purchased new when the glider was
>
> So now the question is what to do? Ive got some money coming in my
> tax return and will have a small budget, 1000-1500ish to spend on
> getting my car and trailer ready to go for the XC season.
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! In any case, he can give you pointers and pictures, and maybe
plans. I can take pictures of it, also.
--
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
On Apr 6, 10:34 pm, Brian > wrote:
> By Gehrlein trailer do you mean something like what is shown at the
> top of this web page:
>
> http://www.jimphoenix.com/jimphoenix2/pages/trailers/subtrailers.html
>
> This web site also has some good ideas for different trailes.
>
> for an open trailer a Gerhrlein style trailer is hard to beat. The
> open truss structure with the light weight tubing makes for a
> reasonably light weight and strong trailer. If you are planning on
> staying with an open trailer I would recommend this style of trailer.
> Of course you can adjust widths and lengths to match your glider.
> Mine had a plywood floor which I loved because I could easly walk on
> it while loading and unloading the glider. I do like either a hinged
> back section or a easy to use ramp so that I don't have to disconnect
> the trailer from the vehical while assembling. I also like the
> trailer designed so that the horzontal stablizer can remain on the
> glider, this greatly speed assembly time. I could assembly my 1-26 in
> about 20 minutes off of my Gerhrlein style trailer.
>
> Both of my trailers have had the leaf spring suspension and towed
> great. However I have built a couple trailers with the Torsion Bar
> Suspension and really like them. Your glider is light enough I don't
> think you need brakes unless you are going to tow with a small car.
>
> If you are thinking enclosed trailer I would suggest you look a the
> schreder style trailer. I have access to a full set of plans if you
> are interested. The schreder trailers aren't as nice as the Cobra
> style trailers but if set up properly they can work very well. I am
> always amazed how poorly many trailers work.
>
> Yesterday I left my house at 1:00 drove the airport with the HP16T
> (Schreder style trailer) in tow and arrived at the airport at 1:15.
> with the help of two assistants I assembled the glider, and launched
> at 1:40.for a 4 hour flight. I have spent a fair amount of time making
> my trailer user frieindly and it pays off in the assembly ease and
> time. I still have a few thing I can do to improve it further.
>
> Brian
> HP16T N16VPwww.soaridaho.com
no, my trailer is enclosed. cool pictures and ideas on that website
though, thanks!
On Apr 6, 10:56*pm, Eric Greenwell > wrote:
> wrote:
> > The trailer for the Cherokee has always been so-so. *Its an old
> > Gehrlein (sp?) that was probably purchased new when the glider was
>
> > So now the question is what to do? *Ive got some money coming in my
> > tax return and will have a small budget, 1000-1500ish to spend on
> > getting my car and trailer ready to go for the XC season.
>
> 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! In any case, he can give you pointers and pictures, and maybe
> plans. I can take pictures of it, also.
>
> --
> 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" atwww.motorglider.org
\
>
> 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.
Matt Michael
Bob Kuykendall
April 8th 08, 04:02 PM
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/update_29_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.
Wayne Paul
April 8th 08, 04:51 PM
"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/update_29_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/Construction/Trailer_Design_1/Trailer.html
Wayne
http://www.soaridaho.com/
sisu1a
April 8th 08, 06:03 PM
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/update_29_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/Construction/Trailer_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/update_29_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/Construction/Trailer_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.
Eric Greenwell
April 8th 08, 09:55 PM
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
Doug Hoffman[_2_]
April 8th 08, 10:06 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!
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
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