Another Trailer Concept

Stuart Grant said:

If you have looked through this forum thread and are interested in purchasing a compact aluminum trailer that can hold an RV-12, now (August 2023) is a good time to do it. I am definitely trying to get one made and I have gotten PM's from two other people who are interested. The manufacturer would prefer to build 3 or 4 instead of doing just one "line buster" that screws up their factory production. I am expecting high-quality but it will cost more than $30K plus fit-out. This is for a trailer suitable for long cross-country towing not primary use as portable hanger. Send me a PM.

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It seems like something Van's would be interested for their demonstrations after seeing that FLiteTest collaboration video at Flight Fest. I was embarrassed for them when I saw that this supposedly 'trailerable' design was dragged out into a field on two separate flatbeds and a pair of 1 ton trucks.

N8DAV8R said:

It seems like something Van's would be interested for their demonstrations after seeing that FLiteTest collaboration video at Flight Fest. I was embarrassed for them when I saw that this supposedly 'trailerable' design was dragged out into a field on two separate flatbeds and a pair of 1 ton trucks.

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That was because it was “flown” 3/4 of the way across the US to get there, in a fraction of the time it would have taken towing in a trailer.
A trailer is only beneficial if your primary mode of travel is on the ground and you wish to have your airplane with you.

Trailer Ordered!

After about a year of trying to order a custom aluminum trailer for my RV-12 (still a kit) things finally got slow enough in the trailer industry for someone to agree to do it. Ordered it October 24 and it is supposed to come off the assembly line the last week of January.

I had given up on getting an aluminum trailer and visited the Trailer Factory in Miami. They specialize in steel-framed, aluminum-skinned cargo trailers and food trailers. They sell a lot of trailers to landscape maintenance guys hauling mowers. They quoted me a price based on my plan for a 20-foot trailer of just a bit over $11K including tax, tag and title and said they could build it in 3 weeks but I am not sure that they fully understood my need for the extra wide ramp door and removable inner fenders.

A few days later I finally (after waiting 7 months) got a re-quote from Featherlite (via Brooke Little at National Trailer Source in Ocala, Fl) for the trailer with exactly what I wanted. I am pretty confident that Featherlite fully understands what I need and felt that the lighter, more durable aluminum trailer was worth 3 times the price of the steel trailer for my cross-country road trips towing the airplane. I will still need to fit out the interior.

If you are not planning to haul your RV-12 tens of thousands of miles and mainly want a place to store it and a way to move it, a steel trailer seems like a good option. Hope this info helps. Also SW Capt. Mark Sorenson in Senoia, Georgia is also a great source for helping people get trailers for their airplanes.

I know this is putting the cart before the horse as I still have a long way to go building my kit.

Yesterday, I picked up my RV-12 airplane trailer 3-1/2 months after placing my order and spending years trying to find the right manufacturer. While I am not 100% positive the airplane will fit, the dimensions have all been double-checked, and I was finally able to check the clearance for the landing gear this morning. Space between the tires, with the fenders removed is a tad over 7-foot 2-inches and is 6-foot 8-1/2 inches clear with the fenders in-place. The rear door opening is 8-foot 1-1/4 inches, tight but manageable with 8-foot 3-inches clear for the stabilator (without tip fairings) past the door jamb.

I weighed the trailer at a CAT Scale right after picking it up. Gross weight empty overall is 2,780 pounds including 340 pounds on the tongue.

I plan to work on building out the trailer interior while I am waiting for my Powerplant kit.
I will do some kind of air suspension for the landing gear to reduce road shock.

Attached is a photo of the easily removable/latching welded aluminum fenders and my old Silverado 2500HD and pop-up truck camper with the 20-foot trailer hooked up for the first time at the dealer. Drove it 300 miles home and hope to do tens of thousands of miles more in the years ahead hauling the airplane to scenic spots all around North America.

The trailer was ordered through National Trailer Source in Ocala and manufactured semi-custom by Featherlite in Iowa.

I am a happy camper.

I don't think you'll need to worry about the landing gear loads. I used a stock Pace cargo trailer to haul an Avid Flyer from California to Illinois, and then later for Illinois to Florida. It was a taildragger, but the gear isn't particularly robust. No prep except securing it well so it couldn't shift forward or backward, since I only had about 3" clearance on each end. I put a piece of 2" foam insulation in the front, both the cushion any impact with the spinner, and to show if the spinner did make contact. No dents in the foam after either trip, no damage to the plane. The road bumps were likely a lot less load for the gear than my landings

Stuart Grant said:

I know this is putting the cart before the horse as I still have a long way to go building my kit.

Yesterday, I picked up my RV-12 airplane trailer 3-1/2 months after placing my order and spending years trying to find the right manufacturer. While I am not 100% positive the airplane will fit, the dimensions have all been double-checked, and I was finally able to check the clearance for the landing gear this morning. Space between the tires, with the fenders removed is a tad over 7-foot 2-inches and is 6-foot 8-1/2 inches clear with the fenders in-place. The rear door opening is 8-foot 1-1/4 inches, tight but manageable with 8-foot 3-inches clear for the stabilator (without tip fairings) past the door jamb.

I weighed the trailer at a CAT Scale right after picking it up. Gross weight empty overall is 2,780 pounds including 340 pounds on the tongue.

I plan to work on building out the trailer interior while I am waiting for my Powerplant kit.
I will do some kind of air suspension for the landing gear to reduce road shock.

Attached is a photo of the easily removable/latching welded aluminum fenders and my old Silverado 2500HD and pop-up truck camper with the 20-foot trailer hooked up for the first time at the dealer. Drove it 300 miles home and hope to do tens of thousands of miles more in the years ahead hauling the airplane to scenic spots all around North America.

The trailer was ordered through National Trailer Source in Ocala and manufactured semi-custom by Featherlite in Iowa.

I am a happy camper.

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I have been following your quest for a suitable trailer for quite awhile. Your persistence paid off. I have been hoping this was “doable” since I would like to tour the USA with my RV12 in tow. Anxious to see how it works out for you. What was the final price for this trailer? Thanks for your research.

dabney said:

I have been following your quest for a suitable trailer for quite awhile. Your persistence paid off. I have been hoping this was “doable” since I would like to tour the USA with my RV12 in tow. Anxious to see how it works out for you. What was the final price for this trailer? Thanks for your research.

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I got the idea for this whole thing from David Kroner when I saw the March 2014 Sport Aviation magazine article about his RV-12 and trailer. He took great care in the interior work and I will be relying on his many good ideas except I will put my wings in spar first and hang them on heavy-duty curtain tracks so they can slide in and out single-handedly, I hope. I will post details as I work everything out.

Now that Featherlite has successfully built one they may be able to do better on the price. I think if a few people want to try a group buy that would also help reduce the cost. National Trailer Source discounted the Featherlite MSRP - something I wasn't expecting. NTS did charge almost $3,000 for delivery to Ocala from Iowa (1,300 miles) which I felt was a bit too much. With delivery, 6.5-7% Florida sales tax, title and tag, all in, it was almost exactly $36,000.

I feel confident that the airplane will safely fit in what Featherlite built. They slightly "improved" the minimum dimensions I gave them that already had a bit of cushion. If you followed this thread you may recall I got a price of $11K for an aluminum-skinned, steel-framed, wood-floored trailer that probably would have been made wider than the 8.5-foot legal limit. The trailer I got is all aluminum construction except for the Dexter Torsion Axles. All the lighting, components and hardware are top-notch. Featherlite builds custom trailers for NASCAR.

One Caution: I plan to use a 2-bladed prop which I know will fit in the trailer V-nose when turned vertically. I am not positive a 3-blade will fit. I won't really be certain about that until I hang the engine and mount the prop many months from now. For a 3-blade prop the trailer may have to be 2-feet longer.