All,
I just finished my plane hauler. I needed a trailor that would haul up to a 35% plane and could be pulled by my toyota corolla. I could not find anything comercially, when I did they were out of my price range. Here is the photos:

more

more pics

more yet

more yet

pics

nearing completion

lots a pics

its done

he he he i love it

last ones

That looks great!
Better than mine!

yours was the inspiration for the lip around the edge. I also added weather striping. It rained sunday and I made it rain more with a waterhose. I opened it up and not a drop inside....YEA

BTW The round thing on tho is the solar powered exhaust fan. I sprayed it down with a waterhose and it didn't leak either.

Thanks

It looks a lot better when it is clean. I live in the woods down a 2 mile gravel road. So inevitability it gets dirty.

How much does it weigh ??? I'm looking for something I can tow with my V6 Mustang Automatic....

[:-]

my best guess on weight is 300 to 350lbs with 50lbs tongue weight. I can grab it by the spare tire on the back and with a little grunt lift the whole thing off the ground. I can barely tell it is there behind my 4 Cylinder 1.8Ltr Toyota Corolla. The V6 Stang would have no problem. I am hoping to get an actual weight soon. It pulls really nice no roadwalk....With the smaller tires it is a little sensative to washboard(those stupid ridges that shows up in a gravel road when you have an useless county comissioner).

Great job! I am with you, I have a small car and a big airplane. Right now I have an old van, but long trips with the van are a bit of a chance.

Give us the bottom line. How much did it cost you ready to run?

Let me take an estimate, I bet you got the trailer for almost nothing, replacment parts, wood and paint, I would bet the finished cost was $300. Am I close?

tonyc

That looks fantastic!

What are the box and lid made of? It looks like fiberglass.... or is it sheet metal, Wood?
I noticed the 12V battery on the front and the wires that go into the box - but I didn't see any lights -what do you use it for?
The hydraulic lifts for the lid are a great idea - where did you get them? What type etc?

I'm looking at buying a small trailer too and I'm going to be upgrading it along the same lines so what ever details you can add would be appreciated.

Tonyc,

Investment around $650 I know this seems high I will give you a breakdown of the cost!


Origional frame free
3 new tires/rims $75
New 2" hitch $20
New Special order shocks/hardware $50
Solar powered exhaust fan $60
Deep Cycle Marine Battery $50
Wood $120
Paint $55
Radio shack trip for fuses $30
boxes and bananna power distro
Spare tire mount $20
8 foot piano hinge $25
Screws/Bolts/Liquid nails $30
Lid Lifting shocks/hardware $30
PVC/Foam $30
Misc hardware $30
Built in 12 battery tender $25

You could probably do it for around $300 without the battery lighting power distrobution solar powered fan and spare tire..I bought all the necessary items over a 3 month peroid then assembled it.

Let me know if you have any more questions

bbbair,

It is all wood except for the metal frame you see in the earlier pictures it was covered with two coats of kilts inside and out the the outside was painted with two coats of high gloss exterior latex Bher. The battery has a built in battery charger/tender. I just plug it in and the battery stays at peak. The battery provides power to two lights located in the lid...pic above.... as well as a box at each end that has a cigarette lighter outlet and bannana plug outlet for charging flight box and plane batteries, while driving down the road. I got the hydrolic lifts at Autozone I estimated that they needed to be around 10" closed and 18" open. Then I found the closest ones I could with the largest diameter hydrolic rod. The small (water resistant) electrical box you see on the tongue has the trailor signal lights in one side and a 110 plug on the other for the 12vdc battery. The charger is inside the battery box.

let me know if you have any additional questions.

very nice indeed, congrats!

[:-]

I was faced with the same problem when I bought my 28% edge, both of our vehicles are compact in size.
I bought a harbor frieght frame for $200, and built it like I wanted it, middle shelf slides out for 25% and smaller, and one 28 or 35% plane fits on the bottum. I built this for less than $500. My toyota or honda hardly know it's attached, even though it's tall. It's light (no sure of actual weight, I can move it around in my yard easily with one hand).

Here's a shot from the back, showing the inside. Place for wings on top, middle tray slides out with room for 2 60 size planes, or one 25%. Bottum is 28% WHedge in cradle made of pvc that also slides out.
Construction was 2x2 wood, with 1/2 ply skin, 3/4 treated floor, gorilla glue on everything and screws.
Took about 3 weeks of working on it part time, and under $500.

Bandjc,
Looks great! How did you fill/round your corners. I used a combo of liquid nails, wood filler and a router? Is it water proof? Does the opening in the rear back have doors or does it stay open? what type of paint did you use for the stripes?



I used 5/8" ply on the sides and top and 3/4" on the bottom. Framework was all 2x4's cut down to triangle and 1x2 stock, the 1x3's for the lip. It was assembled with deck screws and liquid nails.

dntmn;
What are the final dimentions of the box? It looks to be about 4 x 6' and 2' deep...

The one thing that concerns me is that I do not see a door at the back - so you must reach in and lift everything out - did you do this on purpose?