Securing glider trailers in shipping containers

On Wednesday, August 13, 2014 11:00:30 AM UTC-4, wrote:

Virtually all our new and used glider purchases from Europe arrive here on Roll-on-Roll-off ships meaning the trailer is pulled onto a vessel that normally transports new cars to this country. Don't know how the trailer is secured on the ship but I have not heard of damage when the new owner goes to Baltimore for example to pick up the trailer. Obviously, the forces on trailer and glider en route are minimal and well managed by that configuration. Can't imaging that "trailer in container" would impose magnitudes of higher damage risks. Nailed chocks and proper tie-downs to secure the trailer relative to the container (no flex, SOF)should do the trick.

The problem with containers isn't so much the ride once the trailer is safely tucked aboard the ship (leaving aside heavy seas and being dropped overboard). It's what happens when the crane operators and truck drivers get hold of it. I did a small project for one of the top logistics companies two years ago, and as part of that I got a chance to watch how containers move between point A (i.e. where they are loaded onto a truck at your pickup point) and point B(i.e. when they are unloaded at the other end). Along the way, they may be loaded and unloaded several times, including being stored in intermediate locations in the port. Each one of those stops and starts can induce significant vertical and longitudinal decelerations. Here's a video of an operator being very careful, and you can still see some significant bumps. I have a video somewhere of containers routinely dropping from almost a full meter...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F55Zcvo0F8k