Sally Tucker aka DeafladyhawkMaverick trike with Maverick wing 15m. 2004 NW Apache, 2006 Antares MA-32, Skycycle foldable with 25hp Zenoah.
Lake Havasu airport, Chemehuevi Valley airport, El Mirage dry lake, and Flying J Ranch
Open or enclosed trailer
Hi, I've researched on the aluminum trailer, open and enclosed. I opted for the open trailer since it'll be lighter. I found an open trailer with 24-26 feet, very light load. I want to load my trike with strutted wing, and 13' vehicle on it. Total is about 5,000-6,000 lbs load.
The enclosed trailer with trike and car could run up to 10,000 lbs load. It will eat up lots of gas in the motorhome towing.
So it seems that I'm going forward to the open trailer.
One thing, I have a cover for the whole trike plus the covers for each propeller blades, waterproof which I made. Will the strutted wing with Northwing cover provide more protection if I encounter wet weather on the trip?
Any suggestions or ideas?
Thank you
Comments
I don't know how weather resistant the NorthWing covers are, I think they are more for protection from UV and dirt, I don't like the idea of leaving my wing setup outside in a storm. NorthWing offers an all-weather transport bag with velcro flap over the zipper for most of their wings if you plan to breakdown the wing. They have two versions of the fold-back bag, one is a 3-piece that isn't very weatherproof, and a one piece wide-tip bag (since the tips don't come all the way together on fold-back) that zips up, but probably leaks a bit when wet. If everything is on the trailer, you could just throw a big tarp over it during a storm.
One thing to think about is how the covers will hold up going down the highway at speed. I've had a lot of tarps get ripped up by the wind on an open trailer.
How are you planning to transport your wing on the trailer? Completely broken down, or folded back? Mounted on the trike mast, or standing on the control frame on the trailer? I had planned to fold my wing back, leave it attached to the trike, and lower the mast for the one mile trailer ride to the grass strip until the new barn/hangar is finished, but after two trips, I discovered that doesn't work very well. Fold-back is great for storage, but not for transport. There is too much flex in the folded wing to get it tied down good without bending the tubing excessively and if you leave the wing on the trike mast, everything bounces and shakes horribly due to the pneumatic tires. I'd be afraid to haul it any further without damaging something. I thought about constructing a rack on the trailer to suspend the wing, but I think I will just break the wing down and take it off the trike for the short trip until the barn is finished.
Here's a 3" PVC saddle I made that holds my wings when folded back. It straddles the 582 gear box.
Not sure if this will help you any.
Personally I don't like having to take the wing off. And and enclosed trailer in my case is my temporary hangar.
[URL=http://s11.photobucket.com/user/Athis/media/DSC00243_zpsxohq8lb9.jpg.html][IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a154/Athis/DSC00243_zpsxohq8lb9.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
I have my Northwing on an open trailer with wing mounted, which works very well. The all-weather bag protects the wing well and I can drive at freeway speeds. However, I have not yet found a solution to cover my trike from rain on an open trailer when driving on the freeway. The wing on top does not protect the trike when driving and my custom-made 'trike cover' can't withstand freeway speeds.
Part of the answers to this question relate to what trike you own. Is it a 582 or a 912? Is it a Navajo or Apache? My GTE is similar to a Navajo. In that case you can cover just the instrument pod. I used a yoga mat cut and glued with Velcro to cover the console only. The 582 had a covered intake and exhaust. I dismounted my wing (PITA though) and used a hang glider condom (just a plastic wrap & bags). I wouldn't do that with my Tanarg or an Apache though. There are more issues with a 912 getting wet too. What trike do you have? If you haven't purchased the trailer yet, have you thought about a light toy hauler? Pricy for sure but then you don't have to worry about wet conditions. No matter what, water on trikes isn't a great thing to have happen. A one off is no big deal but habitual is asking for corrosion.
I learnt a costly lesson of not having a suitable backing on the trike covers on a open trailer for long distances. The backing damaged the paintwork quite badly through flogging in the wind.
At the moment and for the short journeys that I do I prefer no covers but that's in dry conditions and on good sealed roads.
I have to agree Dinga. For longer drives, covers cause more abrasions than help with rain. My motorcycle paintjob paid the price you speak of for the same reasons.
I've done a few big trips open trailer. On my last one I was facing some big rain and so I used a large roll of shrink wrap over the top of the cover. Kept everything tight and dry! cost $19, and was more than enough for ~ 4 applications.
Hello all,
Thank you for the comments. I've made a decision. I will get an enclosed trailer for my trike.
Great decision. It provides a permanent dry space for tools, your wing, helmets and the like. Get yourself a 14" ID PVC pipe to hang off the side wall for your wing storage. Gets it out of the way. ;-)
Good choice sally. I have an open trailer and its a pain worrying all the time about dirt damage. I just cant afford a inclosed trailer right now so iam going to take ken up on shrink wrap!