Flat bed hovercraft trailer deck.

1 x4 or 1x6 T & G tight butt not a V butt, cheap stuff 40 to 50 cents a LF. stain and a good wood preservative. your good for 6 to 8 years or more

 

aluminum diamond plate seems like your best bet to me

cheers
B

 

Hovercraft Trailer

Run a Ivanoff IH-6 during winter but the trailer configuration will probably work for most crafts and would like to have some good pictures to show but I´m affraid I then have to remove the summer cover and unload. You can however perhaps get the basics.

First you build a flat bed at the size of your hover. Use prefebly form- plywood (don´t know what you call it but is the same stuff you build concrete molds of. Not the sheep stuff. The same as the pros use when they build bridges and stuff)

Second you build a frame about 10 to 15 inches high frame around all sides but the one in the back. If you have a smaller craft you can perhaps make it with straight ones but I suggest that you tilt them about 45 deg outwards since that will minimize the risk of tearing your skirt while loading. However the hight of the side frame shal be at least 2/3 of your maximum skirt height.

In the back you build a larger loadingramp. Same priciples as your sides but longer. How long you haev to figure out on your own and depends on how high you can ride your hover. The IH-6 rides at max of about 30cm (1 ft) fully inflated and the floor on the trailer are at about the same hight over ground so the loading ramp on the trailer is about 2 ft long. I think it could be longer since it sometimes can get stuck while loading/unloading.

Last you need two side covers in the back so the air don´t leak out at the same moment as you try to get up on the trailer. Place two triangular shaped pieces on either side of your loading ramp and attach them with hinges to the end of the sidecovers.

Place some rubber over all transitions to minimize air leakage and remember to also se to that you have a rubber transition between the side covers of the loading ramp and the ramp only attached to one side.

If you are serious enough let me know and I can perhaps se if I can make some pictures of how it looks but here you have at least something for both a large craft (like to one described) and a smaller one.






PS. I´m writng this in a car with three boored kids that are all over the place so apologies for any poor writing.

 

Are you Magnus? If so I think we met once at WHC2002. Anyway, nice machine.

The mechanics of the trailer are something I'm familiar with, it's the deck material I'm worried about. I've put it off awhile to think about it, I'm cleaning up the trailer and painting it right now.

Thanks.

 

Anytech .......hit the kids harder...

 

Don´t over analyse. Can´t tell you the name but there must be a wooden material that´s affordable to use.

Here is it usually (what I call) form plywood but just go out and look what´s put on a simple flatbed trailer where you are.

 

I've been doing that. I've re-decked this trailer 3 times now using simple wooden materials and I'm looking for something different. No matter how you seal it, sooner or later a nick or gouge gets in there and the glue comes apart, and then the whole deck disintegrates.

Most normal flat-bed trailers around here for non-hovercraft applications use treated lumber as the deck, and then have gaps for expansion. Nobody uses plywood except the hovercraft people. Since I'm not trying to drive a skid loader on it I figured something lighter, but I would like to get something that's not going to rot on me, something that will last more than a couple years.

 

Maybe we are not talking about the same stuff then. Really sorry I can´t help but the stuff I use is more like simmilar to mdf rather than plywood so there is no glueed sheets that can split.

When they make reusable molds for concrete, this is what they use and it´s very water resitant, unexpesive and durable.

I´ll se if I can come up with a name that helps your furter.

 

I've been looking around a bit for wood concrete forms. There are dozens of different types, so I'm not exactly sure what you're talking about if it's not actual plywood. I'll hit a few home improvement stores this weekend and see if they have something further. There's also a concrete work place, where contractors go to get concrete sewer line and such.

Thanks.

 

that IH-6 is hands down my fav of the hovers I've seen so far

B

 

It's a genuine work machine. Unfortunately barred from commercial service in the USA by a silly little law that hurts us more than helps.

 

It´s a great machine Boston. Comfortable, reliable and safe and not to difficult to maintain. Check out. There are some movies on youtube. Look for Ivanoff IH-6 or Ivanoff BBV-6 (older modell but very similar)

 

The material Anytec referred to is a laminated board, the outer sides are commonly acrylic PUR resin or Polymaleimide structures applied by high pressure, therefore these boards are known as "HPL" (high pressure laminate) board.

Betoplan is another material used to pour concrete and to make truckbed liners.

Hope that helps.
Richard

Ähh, yes, the Ivanoff is a cool Hovercraft, no doubt.

 

I think Richard is on to the material you should be looking for. As said I don´t know what its called but it works.

kroberts what machine do you have?

 

I have a Universal Hovercraft UH-18sp. I'll look into this stuff.

Thanks.