Decked. But now too stiff in bending.

A beautiful fall weekend was an excellent time to install some decking.  The three plywood boards were all bolted down with stainless steel hardware.

I did manage a couple drives around the neighborhood with the deck bolted down.  The anti-rattle hitch makes a huge difference.  But, the trailer is now fairly stiff in bending, to the point going over bumps is harsh, and the trailer once literally jumped when going over a pothole.  This is not good for the relatively fragile structure of the Goat wings.

After some deliberation and talking with some friends, a Flexiride 935lb torsion half-axle set is now on order to replace the leaf springs from the good ol' Harbor Freight donor trailer.  I struggled with putting yet another $500 into the trailer.  But, thinking about the decade of time into this project Goat, it makes more sense to protect that investment.

The trailer weights are:

• 180lb aluminum (160lb estimated, 180lb attempted measurement)
• 175lb plywood (estimated at 70lb each 4x8ft, including a seal-coat)
• 150lb Goat (the nose section rides in the back, but additional trailer structure for strapping down)
• 15lb miscellaneous (hitch, chains, hardware, lights, wiring)
• 520lb total

Flexiride has a 550lb option and an 925lb option... that was a tough decision, selected because trailers never get lighter, and I need some margin for bad bumps.  We'll find out if this was the right call.

Speaking of the wings, I tried the second real loading of the wings into the trailer bed with a deck installed.  The first wing half fit nicely, which is great to see.  However, it rested directly on the plywood, and it will be a harsh ride without any padding.  Laying the second wing directly on top of the first is a bad idea, so I clamped temporary cross-support members into place.  With some foam pool noodles and a couple more cross-members, I think this might work out okay.  I now really wish I'd made the ailerons and flaps fold all the way against the wing upper surface.

The wings fit comfortably with the 20ft overall inside length.  This pic was with setting the wing on 2x4's and starting to look at how to run straps.  But ignore that.

That's all for this weekend's edition.  Hopefully I can keep up some momentum next weekend!