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Tell us about yourself:“My background is in engineering originally in design of electro mechanical products with companies such as General Electric. In my last few years before I plan to retire I am working for a company out of Montreal (Milrail) I am involved on most of the light rail transit projects in Canada selling signal and communications cable. On the Military side, I have been involved with Future Soldier programs with our Canadian Forces as well as sensor technologies with our special forces. All the welding and assembly for this trailer was done by two very talented friends from Paris, Ontario. Both avid visitors to the Princess Auto day care center for men.”
Flying remote-controlled aircraft is an enjoyable hobby for many aspiring pilots (yours truly here can hardly keep a paper airplane going without crashing, but I digress). The more experienced RC pilots often build larger-scale models with authentic details and paint finishes. But the larger the plane, the bigger the problem in transporting it; when Tero’s minivan became too crowded to bring several planes at the same time, he built himself a custom trailer - from an actual aircraft fuel tank - and a custom dolly to take the planes from the parking lot to the field.
Impressive trailer project, Tero! Thanks for sharing it with us!
What is it? The body of the trailer is the front half of a B-47 bomber long-range fuel tank. The steel and all trailer related parts, even the gas/spring actuators for the rear door came from Princess Auto stores in an around the Toronto and Cambridge area.
The tank came from an aircraft boneyard here in Ontario. I had two tanks originally, both of which were used on the B47 strategic air command bomber to allow the bomber to reach Russia during the Cold War. The two tanks were used to move a cottage to an island. I sold one tank to a person who wanted to make an operational scale Polaris submarine. I have not heard from him since.
What is it used for? Carrying RC model airplanes. I have been involved in Aviation as a hobby since my teens. I had the opportunity to acquire surplus aircraft parts and thought this would make a unique trailer. Some of my aircraft have wingspans of 114 inches and this would be a great way to carry one or two of the larger aircraft freeing up room in the van. The trailer can hold four smaller RC aircraft (75 inch wingspan) comfortably, or one larger and three smaller aircraft.
I do have a custom dolly made from parts from Princess Auto. The dolly is made of an inverted 48-inch aluminum work platform. I have removable wheels that allows me to take all the aircraft to the flight line. One there I can invert the dolly, remove the wheels and it becomes an aircraft work stand. The dolly fits in the trailer with all planes. I used Scotty fish finder snap mounts so I can disconnect and move all brackets to accommodate different aircraft. So, it is customizable.
What is the main power source for your project? (e.g. electric motor, gas engine etc.) Pulled by my Dodge van!
What components are used to perform the work for your project? (e.g. hydraulic cylinder(s), hydraulic motor(s), sprockets, pulleys etc.) Gas / spring actuators on rear door.
What design/build challenges were overcome? Protecting a round aluminum item from road vibrations. The rear door or hatch has automotive hydraulic pistons that keep the door open. A fellow from Paris Ontario devised the
arrangement and it works quite well. The automotive hydraulic pistons and many other components of the dolly and trailer came from Princess Auto (trailer axle, lights, wheels, and metal frame tubing).
If you had to build it again, what would you do differently? Probably paint the frame, as galvanizing was too expensive. Will redesign the rear hatch to make the yellow capture bar (similar to spacecraft docking feature) a little more pronounced.
Which Princess Auto location do you visit most? Whitby, and around Toronto ON