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Question Regarding RV-10 Baggage Compartment

cderk

cderk

Well Known Member
Hi All -

Don't currently own an RV-10, but am seriously consider building. A friend of mine has one and I spent about 2 hours over the weekend looking at his build, which is stunning.

I currently own a 1980 Piper Archer II and one of the things I absolutely love about it is that I can remove the rear seats and haul two mountain bikes with ease. I actually just returned from the Outer Banks and had 2 mountain bikes (non-folding ones), our luggage and 2 dog crates with 6 puppies.

I know the rear seats of the RV10 are removable, but when looking around, I noticed that there is a horizontal cross member that spans the width of the cabin right behind the rear seats.

Does anyone know what this is for and weather is a necessary piece? It seems like this piece would kind of prevent you from placing longer items in the back when the seats are removed.

Thanks
Charlie
 
Welcome to VAF!

Charley, welcome to VAF.

Pretty sure that question has come up in the past, and yes it is structural.
 
Yes it's structural. However, I have no problem putting 2 bikes in the back. I remove the front wheels (only). Load thru the front doors.
 
I owned a 1980 Archer for 23 years and did the same as you. The Archer has a nice long flat unobstructed area when the rear seats are removed. It makes for easy loading of Bikes, golf clubs etc. The RV10 has a longer distance from the rear of the back seat to the bulkhead. The only issue is the cross brace. You can easily get two bikes, two sets of golf clubs and enough hiking and gear for a 2 week trip. I've done it. You put the bike front wheels in a padded wheel bag and turn the handle bars sideways. It does require a little planing on the loading. The advantage is you are moving along at 40kts faster!
You will never look back.... :D
 
[email protected] said:
Can one make that cross brace that it bolts on?
Click to expand...

I posed that question to Van's early in my build. Their response suggested that it was one of the dumbest questions they had ever heard.

After 5 years of flying, I have decided it is unnecessary. With a little creativity we have been able to load bikes, skis and dogs.
 
Thanks folks. Bill - this is one of the main reasons I chose the archer. I can really put a lot of **** back there. In fact, I took a trip to vermont recently with 2 other guys. We removed 1 seat and managed to get 3 full size mountain bikes in the back of the plane, along with all the **** we needed for a 3 day weekend.

I have seen the motopod. That's definitely something I'll have to consider. Its ugly as ****, but looks like it gets the job done.

I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on my first kit - just trying to make sure i've got all my ducks in a row before doing this.

If anyone is interested, I'll have an Archer to sell in a few years :)

Thanks again,
charlie
 
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