Launch Pad Trailer (Now complete)

The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Teddy,

No, that's not my shop, but I did live there for a week while I house-sat. And I've got a key and access any time I need. So, bonus.
 
Today's progress started with more welding...



Outrigger jacks finished, tower set on trailer.




Mwahahahahaha



More work tomorrow.
 
If I were making a launch trailer, I would use the base rail as a Unistrut rail.

If anyone is keeping score, I did end up following Chuck's suggestion. The deciding factor was how much we've already spent on steel and how much 1515/1530 rail costs.
 
Those pull out outriggers with sissor Jacks on them is a severely cool idea...
That'll make the whole shebang much more solid and rigid. ...
Great work Tony...

Teddy
 
Those pull out outriggers with sissor Jacks on them is a severely cool idea...
That'll make the whole shebang much more solid and rigid. ...
Great work Tony...

Teddy

Just be very aware of the corrosion that is going to happen there on those sliding bars. Exhaust blasts will rust them very quickly and severely. We have a club trailer with that set up and they are a pain in the butt to operate because of the rusting.
 
Griffin, they'll be painted, but some rust is expected. The tolerances between the outer tubes and inner tubes has been sized to allow this. Also the total engagement area when stored closed is only about 3 feet or so. Most of the outrigger is left exposed, and as such cant "rust weld" itself to anything.
 
Today's progress:

Weld on winch mounts, mount winch, make and weld on fairlead, make cabling, and make sections connections (not shown).

[video=youtube;4pdAvxaSOlo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pdAvxaSOlo[/video]
 
Hey I know that guy. That shop is pretty awesome. I heard someone lived in it like five months.

The trailer is pretty ridiculous. We are having a ton of fun building it.

(I am the other guy in the pictures)
 
Today's progress:



[video=youtube;Lrugtz8xmTY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lrugtz8xmTY[/video]
[video=youtube;YnvFh-8gSxA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnvFh-8gSxA[/video]
 
Last edited:
The last two days: Bought and mounted new winch, mounted and aligned unistrut, new cabling for garage door springs, enclosed and mounted winch relay and control plug, enclosed and mounted warning siren, and made a rail stop.

Next weekend's agenda: mounting brackets for scissor jacks, purchase/mount spare tire, and paint.


 
You mentioned new cables for the garage door springs. I don't know if the pic was taken before or after. If it was after, I would VERY HIGHLY recommend you put a safety cable through the spring. All new springs that I know of come with a cable to be run through the middle of the spring for safety if the spring breaks. Without it, it might be able to hit the person raising or lowering the mast when it breaks and that could be fatal.

We also use a garage door spring on our trailer launcher. We installed the safety cable before we even tested the spring. Those things can be nasty. I've had a hole through my garage wall to prove it.
 
We use a counter weight...no hydraulics...this is a 200 pound 20' long rocket being raised.
The previous versions of this pad had cables, a winch, a jack and springs all of which worked poorly for us and eventually we removed from the tower.
Counter weight is 300 pounds...similar weight at the very front of the trailer with the entire trailer weight about 1900 pounds.
20' unistrut permanently in place with a 15-15 rail that slides onto the unistrut and pinned to it...

WP_20160420_16_51_58_Pro.jpg





The hydraulic pads at MDRA...LDRS 2017....are simple, strong and safe.
Easier to use than the manual counter weight model above.

FUNNEL CONE MDRA 2015.jpg
 
Last edited:
You mentioned new cables for the garage door springs. I don't know if the pic was taken before or after. If it was after, I would VERY HIGHLY recommend you put a safety cable through the spring. All new springs that I know of come with a cable to be run through the middle of the spring for safety if the spring breaks. Without it, it might be able to hit the person raising or lowering the mast when it breaks and that could be fatal.

Not a bad idea to install one. I've got more than enough cable. The winch controls are further from the trailer than the springs and cables are long, but still a good idea to put one in.
 
Not a bad idea to install one. I've got more than enough cable. The winch controls are further from the trailer than the springs and cables are long, but still a good idea to put one in.

yes, because there is no guarantee that the person using the controls will move away from the pad as far as the controls allow. if there was going to be a problem that is when they always seem to happen. Good Ole' Murphy.
 
yes, because there is no guarantee that the person using the controls will move away from the pad as far as the controls allow. if there was going to be a problem that is when they always seem to happen. Good Ole' Murphy.

There's only two of us, but yeah, I hear what you're saying. And thanks for the idea on the springs in the first place.
 
Today's progress included grinding a bunch of welds, drilling holes for catch pins for the outriggers, a coat of OD green paint, mounting a spare tire, and mounting points for the scissor jacks.

Poor lighting, but that's what I've got. More tomorrow.
 
Nothing unexpected or new Tony...
You do some beautiful, meticulous work man...

Teddy
 
Today's progress included grinding a bunch of welds, drilling holes for catch pins for the outriggers, a coat of OD green paint, mounting a spare tire, and mounting points for the scissor jacks.

OD Green!!!! OMG. Our club trail launcher was that color. We couldn't wait to do a refurb on it and paint it a bright yellow, with black fenders and a silver mast!

The important thing is it works well! and the OD doesn't show the dirt as much.... :wink:

Great build!
 
Here's some completed shots. Paint is all down, safety cables are in, stencils added, jacks bolted down, spare mounted. The only thing that isn't show in these pics is the extra section of tower actually on the trailer. We wanted the paint to cure before throwing it on there.

And the OD Green we use is actually Rustoleum Self-Etching Primer. Protects well, sticks to practically everything, and the best part is that it ages and feels like mil-surp paint.





 
Last edited:
Would love to see that heading down I-10 some day...will turn a lot of heads I'm sure!
 
You missed painting the wheel rims OD! :facepalm:

Like I said, we weren't a fan of the OD, but with the stenciling you did, it does look pretty good!

Good luck and I want to see a movie of the first launch off the trailer!
 
You missed painting the wheel rims OD! :facepalm:

Like I said, we weren't a fan of the OD, but with the stenciling you did, it does look pretty good!

Good luck and I want to see a movie of the first launch off the trailer!

Nah, didn't miss the wheels. Just not taking them off until after the launch and then we'll re-grease the bearings while we're at it.
 
Great work Tony, been watching from the start, great engineering, for thought and craftsmanship!
 
Thanks, Nick. It should look really interesting rolling down the freeway behind my car...
 
Oh ok let me back off on that for thought comment :)
Maybe the trailer can double as your rocket transporting fixture, that will really get the looks ..or police
 
Is the 12ft rocket you used in the pics a kit or is that scratch built because those fins and rocket as a whole are awesome looking
 
Oh ok let me back off on that for thought comment :)
Maybe the trailer can double as your rocket transporting fixture, that will really get the looks ..or police

I have considered adding a cradle that would more fully support a rocket for transport...

Is the 12ft rocket you used in the pics a kit or is that scratch built because those fins and rocket as a whole are awesome looking

Scratch. Here's the build thread: https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?126105 And here it is painted: https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?134609

Edit: An interesting story about those fins, my buddy just drew out something he thought would look cool and then I made them work. Sent the design off to Upscale CNC and he cut them out for us.
 
Last edited:
Beautiful. A job well done. Clearly a lot of engineering in the planning, and quality workmanship throughout.

:clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:
 
Back
Top