Securing glider trailers in shipping containers

[2G]

I have sold my glider to someone in South America. While I am not responsible for shipping, I do want the new owner to receive the glider in the same condition that it leaves the US. To that end, I am interested in hearing how others have secured trailers in shipping containers; what works and what doesn't. One unusual wrinkle: the trailer will have its running gear removed to avoid the appearance that it is a vehicle!

Thanks!
Tom

[Frank Whiteley]

We shipped a glider to South America without a trailer. It required professional packing and bracing to be insured. I suspect securing your 'shipping container' will require professional help. Packing and bracing the L-23 we shipped cost the buyer $500 and it arrived as it left. Securing your project would probably be considerably less.

Frank Whiteley

[mzi...@hotmail.com]

Shipped a trailer to New Zealand years ago. Chocked the wheels, set the brake and used a LOT of large cargo straps every which way possible.

[son_of_flubber]

On Monday, August 11, 2014 7:53:31 PM UTC-4, 2G wrote:
> One unusual wrinkle: the trailer will have its running gear removed to avoid the appearance that it is a vehicle!

Sounds like a harsh jostling for the glider unless you add some energy absorbing device under the trailer. Just a crazy idea, but maybe put a few used inner spring mattresses under the bed of the trailer and tie it down with shock cord. http://www.amazon.com/T-W-Evans-Cordage-SC-104-050-50-Feet/dp/B00DKA4SWI/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1407803895&sr=8-11&keywords=bungee+cord

[Frank Whiteley]

I've seen pictures of one Argentinian consignment. Two insurance salvage sailplanes tucked amid some used mattresses and a derigged taildragger strapped down.

The question is whether you want insurance in excess of the normal $0.50/lb carriage coverage. IIRC, we insured the L-23 for something in excess of $35,000.

Frank Whiteley

[Mark628CA]

Bob Carlton and I ship the Jet Salto to Australia every two years for the Avalon Airshow near Melbourne. We always use the services of a professional shipping and packing company who help us block and brace the trailer with many webbing straps, fixed chocks at each wheel, an axle support that will hold the trailer up in case a tire loses pressure and a rigid support around the front jack.

In eight round trips from LA to Oz and back, we haven't had any problems, but we are super careful to overdo all attachments. We use two independent straps at all points, tongue, front corners, rear corners, axle (fore and aft attachments), side to side and any other points we feel like tying down. Note that we have also installed extra tiedown points to the chassis.

Remember that longshoremen and others of the transportation breed take a big metal box that looks just like the hundred thousand others out there and treat it like, well, I don't even want to know how they treat it, but if the Teamsters are any example, my advice is to insure the hell out of it just in case.

Also, container ships have regular mishaps in rough seas and containers are lost far more often than you would think. if possible, try to specify (and be willing to pay extra) for "center loading," on the theory that outer containers will be washed overboard before yours. I know of one glider and container that "sleep with the fishes" and were not insured. Not funny at all.

As far as removing the running gear, you are delving into an area that might be a real problem trying to load a long skinny box into another long skinny box. The shipping companies at both ends of the trip may elect to just push the thing in and drag it out with a forklift, and I have never seen a glider trailer that will withstand that treatment without substantial damage. And without accessible tiedown points, the shippers may have no choice but to just run straps over the top and crank them down- likely crushing the top. I would rather deal with paperwork and customs stuff than possibly have a trashed trailer unloaded at the other end.

[yellowp...@gmail.com]

I thought I secured my trailer properly for Poland to Australia with a locked brake (4 wheel trailer so it doesn't turn easily anyway) and large straps around the axle and towbar to tiedowns (done by professionals). When I picked it up from the docks in Brisbane all the straps had snapped/unravelled. Fortunately, no real damage, just a bit of scuffing on the corners of the trailer.

I don't know what kind of forces there are on a voyage like that (the ship did go near a hurricane), but they're much larger than I expected.

[GC]

In the 70s, before the days of 40' containers, PIK-20 gliders arrived in
Australia in nearly cylindrical fibreglass "shipping containers". Our
import regulations for vehicles then were similar to South America's
current rules apparently. After delivery, the addition of towbars,
wheels and lights turned them into quite good trailers without the
customs duties involved in importing a vehicle. :)

I've been involved in the importation of 6 gliders to/from Europe and
the US, both new and used and I've seen how they've been packed.
Schleichers use supports at each corner welded from 2" x 2" angle iron
bolted to the floor. The advice from Mark628CA<ma...@mmfabrication.com>
is absolutely the best. Note everything he said. Especially (1) the
bit about not removing the wheels if at all possible and (2) insuring it
to the eyeballs.

GC

[Mark628CA]

I totally DISAGREE with S_O_F about putting your glider on springy supports and lashing it down with shock cords. Allowing ANY movement will result in a glider "shaken, not stirred" on a long bouncy trip. With the rocking and rolling on the high seas. I am sure that the glider would puke if it could!

When I strap into my glider, I pull the belts TIGHT for a reason!

And I have heard of containers delivered upside down. But I doubt any glider would survive that no matter what you do. The treatment containers receive from transporters and shippers is brutal. You might consider including a few commercial shippers' accelerometer labels and devices to determine just how rough the trip was.

One thing I forgot to add is to make sure the glider itself is well secured inside the trailer. Bob and I add extra supports, padding and restraints inside, lest the trailer just serve as a box to keep the miscellaneous shards in one place for ease of transport.

[JS]

You've obviously never loaded a container before, "son"....

My suggestion:
Weld a pyramid-shaped steel support with a tow ball on top to support the tongue without the weight being on the jockey wheel.
Buy three minimum 2" wide ratchet straps with hooks on the ends, or long thread-through >2" ratchet straps with no hooks.
If the trailer does not have tiedown points at the tail that the webbing will thread through, get/install hardware to allow that.
Back the trailer in, aligning best you can with the hard points in the container.
Chock the wheels with nailed-in 2x4s or greater, 2-high works well (4"/100mm high).
Put the tongue on the pyramid stand. Chock the stand with nailed-in 2x4s.
Run the three ratchet straps across: Tongue, axle (careful around brake lines) and tiedown points on the tail, to the hard points at the bottom of the container wall.
Thoroughly tighten the ratchet straps. Tighten them again.
Barring the not-so-unusual "oops, I dropped the container", you should find the load looks the same at the other end.
Don't pay for additional insurance. They're really good at "that didn't happen on my watch".
Jim

[son_of_flubber]

On Tuesday, August 12, 2014 1:15:07 PM UTC-4, JS wrote:
> You've obviously never loaded a container before, "son"....
>
>
>
> My suggestion:

Did you overlook 2G's plan to remove the suspension and tires?

[Mark628CA]

JS has some good suggestions. We still prefer to go with a few more straps, especially to counter fore/aft movement, but his suggestion to use 2" wide straps definitely has merit. Forget the cheap, cotton 1" ratchet type from discount stores unless you intend to use three or four at EACH tiedown point. And don't even consider the pull-until-tight straps. Ratchet tightening is the ONLY way to go.

As far as insurance, I still think it is necessary, and to counter the "didn't happen on my watch" argument, take lots of digital photos of the block and brace process, as well as the finished load. And take another of the container being closed and sealed. Try to include the loadmaster in some of the photos.

The company we use takes photos of all loads they pack and keeps them on file. It is in their best interest (and yours) to also do so. Try to establish a good working relationship with the company and its workers. We use the same people over and over, and believe it or not, they remember us each time we show up. Even if we only do this once every two years. A discreet gratuity is also gratefully accepted by the guys doing the hard work.

Finally, when the shipment arrives, have the receiver ready to take more digital photos immediately on opening the container and compare them to the loading photos you presumably forwarded to them.

Best of luck!

Mark Mocho

[son_of_flubber]

On Tuesday, August 12, 2014 9:06:36 AM UTC-4, Mark628CA wrote:
> I totally DISAGREE with S_O_F about putting your glider on springy supports and lashing it down with shock cords. Allowing ANY movement will result in a glider "shaken, not stirred" on a long bouncy trip.

2G's plan to remove the running gear means that the normal function of the tires, torsion bar, and shocks will be absent. Likewise the hitch will not be floating on a ball and therefore not have the benefit of the suspension and tires of the tow vehicle.

Assembled gliders get bounced around in turbulence all the time, and it hardly matters. It's the hard jolts of the container being set down at high deacceleration on top a stack of containers, or bumping a corner, that would be the biggest risk. (The damage caused by jolting came up recently on RAS in a discussion about shipping gliders by rail.)

The means of attaching the glider to the trailer could (and perhaps should) be rigid, extra strong and unyielding, but the attachment of the trailer to the container should have some elastic flex (with common sense secondary restraints to limit the maximum movement).

My remarks are for entertain purposes only. And as others have pointed out, I have never loaded a glider trailer into a shipping container. Sure, using coil spring mattresses and shock cord is 'a crazy idea', but the prevailing faith in a 'strong as hell and as rigid as possible' mounting scheme puzzles me. No structure likes to be jolted.

[Mark628CA]

Flub-

It would be best if you left this discussion to those who have experience in this situation. Your off the cuff suppositions are just introducing random "maybes" into what is a fairly straightforward problem and solution. Unless you have some experience (and not just opinions) with the loads incurred during shipment, your ideas are merely confusing the real issue of safely transporting a glider and trailer overseas by commercial carriers.

I agree that the problems with rail shipment eliminate that option from consideration (not to mention the fact that rail transport is not possible over the ocean), but the problem there is the violent fore/aft slamming as rail cars pound into and away from each other. Also, if you ever had to ride in a rail car with a flat-spotted wheel, you would rather be riding a jackhammer.

Proper packing and adequate straps to restrain movement would be sufficient to take all excessive loads involved in container shipping. "Jolting" is a minimal occurrence as the container is transferred from point to point. That's not to say that it is insignificant, as I have already expressed my disdain for the shipping industry's casual behavior with stuff that is just one more piece of s#*t to them, but a valuable commodity to the owners.

The actual roll/pitch found on a ship is relatively benign, but you don't plan for the optimal "easy" journey. You plan on the worst case. OK, the ship sinks- you cannot plan for that. You cannot plan for the container being washed overboard, except by looking carefully at the documents from the shipping company explaining their liability (watch out for phrases like "act of God," "Force Majeure" and so on).

Properly researched insurance that protects the owner of record (buyer or seller, depending on when ownership is actually transferred vs. packing/shipping/receiving dates) may be more expensive than it should be, but insurance companies don't have a lot of actuarial data to work from. A policy that covers shipping damage will probably save you money if something happens. If nothing happens, you will look at as a waste of money. The buyer/seller should agree on the terms and premium expense prior to delivery to the shipping company.

Essentially, this problem boils down to two issues, which are similar in scope:

Secure the glider in the trailer to restrain unwanted movement. Trailers designed for movement on highways are somewhat adequate, but not perfect. Even with a pretty good trailer suspension, the "G" meter in the Jet Salto is pegged in both positive and negative after even a short road trip. Add some padding and additional restraints to the components that might shift.

Secure the glider trailer in the container as well as you can. Even if the trailer has no running gear or suspension, it would be dumb to introduce an improperly considered "bouncy house" that might exacerbate wear on straps, with a potential to fail one or more restraints due to wear caused by the ship's roll and pitching movements 24 hours a day for possibly weeks at a time.

That's what I know about this. I will let the other know-it-alls like Flub take over from here.

[bruced...@gmail.com]

There goes our U.S. fleet of gliders! I shipped my 24 to Israel from Michigan in an ocean container over road, rail and boat successfully. You may not know, but the container will have a oak floor just like a house. This makes securing things easy with screws, and is not frowned upon. As mentioned by others, and suggested by a soaring buddy formerly in the shipping business, everybody shipping cars uses 4x4s screwed to the floor to block the wheels. I secured 4x4s in front, back and outside each tire using long expensive hardened hex screws from Home Depot used for Deck Beams (about #12?). Pre-drill the 4x4s. When I screwed the 4x4s down, I placed ratchet straps underneath them to run over the top of the tires per my friend's suggestion. This worked great, but I didn't consider Mark's warning about a flat tire, luckily mine were new and survived the trip.
Not many shipping containers have tie down hoops along the sides, but some do. I told the shipping company that it must have these or I'd refuse it's delivery. It came with steel loops every two feet and was brand new, so straps were easy to attach. Made me feel bad about the screw holes in the floor.
The other thing I did in case the straps broke, was to use short lag bolts to screw the safety chains to the floor in a "Y" shape leading away from the tongue. I placed the tongue hard against the back wall of the box so the chains held the front of the trailer firmly down and forward against the wall.
Your requirement to remove the road gear makes some of the above challenging, and was also a requirement in Israel (can't import a trailer). My buyer removed the road gear at the port in Haifa before Israel customs did their inspection. This way he had the complete trailer eventually.
Hope it works out for you.

[herbk...@gmail.com]

Virtually all our new and used glider purchases from Europe arrive here on Roll-on-Roll-off ships meaning the trailer is pulled onto a vessel that normally transports new cars to this country. Don't know how the trailer is secured on the ship but I have not heard of damage when the new owner goes to Baltimore for example to pick up the trailer. Obviously, the forces on trailer and glider en route are minimal and well managed by that configuration. Can't imaging that "trailer in container" would impose magnitudes of higher damage risks. Nailed chocks and proper tie-downs to secure the trailer relative to the container (no flex, SOF)should do the trick.

[Papa3]

On Wednesday, August 13, 2014 11:00:30 AM UTC-4, herbk...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> Virtually all our new and used glider purchases from Europe arrive here on Roll-on-Roll-off ships meaning the trailer is pulled onto a vessel that normally transports new cars to this country. Don't know how the trailer is secured on the ship but I have not heard of damage when the new owner goes to Baltimore for example to pick up the trailer. Obviously, the forces on trailer and glider en route are minimal and well managed by that configuration. Can't imaging that "trailer in container" would impose magnitudes of higher damage risks. Nailed chocks and proper tie-downs to secure the trailer relative to the container (no flex, SOF)should do the trick.

The problem with containers isn't so much the ride once the trailer is safely tucked aboard the ship (leaving aside heavy seas and being dropped overboard). It's what happens when the crane operators and truck drivers get hold of it. I did a small project for one of the top logistics companies two years ago, and as part of that I got a chance to watch how containers move between point A (i.e. where they are loaded onto a truck at your pickup point) and point B(i.e. when they are unloaded at the other end). Along the way, they may be loaded and unloaded several times, including being stored in intermediate locations in the port. Each one of those stops and starts can induce significant vertical and longitudinal decelerations. Here's a video of an operator being very careful, and you can still see some significant bumps. I have a video somewhere of containers routinely dropping from almost a full meter...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F55Zcvo0F8k