Time for a New Trailer

[BobM]

I have everything pretty well finished up now. I had a chance to drive the trailer completely filled and seems like everything I planned out worked well.

Here are some pictures of the details of the build:



This is the upper left compartment that I designed to have a plank to hold fuselages. I put a handle on the board to make it easy to pull and slide out. I also used some aluminum 90 angle bracket on the right and an aluminum strip on theft to act as slide supports....these prevent the board from tipping when it is extended out.

The board is locked in place with a pin that has a large cotter pin go through it. I used a washer on the bottom and top to help prevent the pin from wearing the boards and eventually failing.

Makes it easy to lock in the board for travel and also easy to unlock so the board can be slid out.





Kind of dark in there, but easy to see the nose of my Arcus, and hiding in the back right is my MDM Fox, nose is forward and tail to the rear.

I was able to have both fuselages on this planks. It took some work to get them to slide in and out without the vertical fins hitting the top edge.

I had made the mounts and had everything pretty careful measured.........well........you know what happened !

I was off by about 1/4" and had to remove the mounts and reduce their height for both the MDM Fox and the Arcus. With that done they both fit nicely on the plank and are very secure.

[BobM]

Here are a few details of the fuselage mounts I made from PVC pipe:



I started with various diameters of white PVC pipe........4" to 12" in even numbers.

I cut the pipe so that I would be able to get about 3 to 4 pieces for making the fuselage cradles. I did this with several of the diameters so I could find a close match for each of the sailplanes. The largest diameter (12") worked out very well for the big Duo Discus X and the ASH 31mi The 10" and 8" diameters were used for the Ventus 2c, the Arcus, and the MDM Fox.

The pic above shows the steps for making the cradle: Raw pipe cut to the right length and then cut into pieces for the fuselages.



This is the hold down mount for the tail of the sailplanes. The PVC pipe is 4" diameter for the tails. This is mounted on a poplar block that I cut to size. The PVC is cut into an oval, either 6" or 12" depending on where it is being placed.



Velcro straps are used for holding everything down once it's all in place.



These are the blanks for the fuselage cradle. I start with a piece of the PVC pipe, then shape it into and oval. Then it is mounted on the board that holds the fuselages.

Once its set on the board I spray a couple coats of the contact cement. This is sprayed on the PVC as well as the foam. Once it is somewhat dried I attach the foam by pressing it into the curve of the mount, then after the contact cement has pretty well set I can go backhand test fit the fuselage on the mounts.....making any adjustments as needed.

[BobM]

These are of the trailer pretty well loaded:






4 fuselages on the sliding base.





Inside the lower compartment: Bidule tail and hatch all secured

[BobM]

I had a chance to look at everything pretty carefully today after having driven down to the Cumberland summer soaring event.

Looks like the design of the trailer works pretty well. I did't have anything come loose of break during the drive.

One thing that I will be looking into is to have a work table on the right side as you are facing the rear of the trailer. This should make it easier to have a space to work without having to bring an extra table or saw horses to hold up a plywood work surface.

I do noeed to sort through all my containers and supplies that I bring and narrow down what is really needed for events. This would reduce the amount packed into the side cabinet and make it easier to find this as well.

Overall I am very pleased with this trailer and how it handles. This is the second CarMate trailer I have had now. I can definitely recommend them to anyone that is considering a trailer.