Loading 44G drums into a c208

[farmer dan]

G day all,
Just looking for advice about loading drums into a C208. If you are at a out station and need to load them (full) is there any easy way to do it? Any tips/ advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
FD

[Capt Fathom]

Ute backed up to the door..... Followed by lots of grunting and screaming!

[Jabawocky]

Careful forklift operator.

[onetrack]

44 gallon drums? Ahem, you mean 200 litre drums (or 55 U.S. gallon barrels to our friends in the states.) :)
I'm guessing physical lifting equipment such as a Kevrek crane is not readily available? And I guess they're on the ground, too? :rolleyes:

If you can get them and keep them on the back of a tray top vehicle and load from that into the 208, you have the advantage of keeping the drums at the same height, thus removing any need for lifting.

Otherwise, rolling them up a ramp is the only way of getting them from ground level to 208 floor height. Make sure you have good footing.
A couple of lightweight alloy loading ramps will suffice, but they need to be secured in position, either at top or at the bottom.
Don't forget to carry an old small diameter car tyre to unload the drums on.
Roll them out the door and onto the tyre and it will prevent drum damage such as splitting and serious dents.

It's a good idea to have a helper. I've seen a bloke who could lift 44's straight off the ground, full, and into the back of a ute - but he was about 5' 10", had a chest like a barrel, weighed about 22 stone (140kgs) - and he had hands like hams.
A full 44 of petrol weighs around 155kgs with the current "lightweight" drums.

[VH-XXX]

If you do not have a skydiving door fitted I really do feel sorry for you !!

I've seen a full sized front end loader bucket fit in the back of a Craravan !

[Chocks Away]

Yeh good advice re the tyre.
Don't forget your Aircraft Operator (AOC) needs approval to carry such drums full, as what you intend to carry are Dangerous Goods?
In the early 90's the mob I flew for up in the Top End had approval to carry such drums, under exceptional circumstances, for electrical/generator supply at out stations.
Happy Landings :-)

[j3pipercub]

It's been a while, so forgive me, but what is the floor loading (kg/sqm) of a van?

[farmer dan]

Cheers for all the replies. I can imagine a lot of people reminiscing about going through exactly the same process of man handling drums ( in 40 + C with flies going nuts). Basically looking for a transportable mechanism that can get a drum into a AC...
On a side note, floors can get covers on them to increase their load bearing abilities.

[onetrack]

Dan, I don't know of anything air-portable that could be used to lift drums into a 208 - apart from the lightweight alloy ramps I previously mentioned.

During WW2 (the era of drum handling on an unparalleled scale), the Australian Army used a drum loader powered by a 3HP Rosebery engine.
It couldn't realy be classed as air-portable in a 208, though! :)

094399 | Australian War Memorial (http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/094399/)

094400 | Australian War Memorial (http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/094400/)

This wartime model was winch-operated - a later version was hydraulically-operated, but used a similar frame and engine setup.

The only drum handler I currently know of, is the Richmond drum handler - which is designed to handle drums by lifting them off pallets and transporting them vertically around warehouse floors. It's not really suitable for what you have in mind.

Richmond releases new drum loader (http://www.ferret.com.au/c/richmond-wheels-and-castors/richmond-releases-new-drum-loader-n673837)

If you had a vehicle on site with a tailgate loader, you'd be set - but I'm guessing you'll be picking up drums from isolated places where little is available to assist.

There's a number of small hand operated cranes available for ute trays, but I don't see how you'd be able to operate it from the ground without serious modifications - and no doubt you'd need a lot of paperwork to mount it on the floor of a 208.

408kg UTE Crane for pick-ups: Prolift Solutions | Forklift Attachments | Electric Winches (http://prolift.com.au/products/408kg_UTE_Crane_for_pick_ups-536-12.html)

[farmer dan]

Thanks one track for insight... Interesting stuff.

[wicks747]

If your any good with a welder you could probably adapt a couple of high lift/kangaroo jacks. Put a bigger base and cradle to hold each end of the drum or something.

[pilotchute]

If you have extra people you can use two long pieces of timber (3m) to make a ramp up to the cargo door. Four people is ideal so you can have one on either end of the drum and two guys pushing it up the "ramp". It isn't the safest but it works if your in a fix. I carry these drums everyday almost and we have found putting them on a ute first is easiest.

Strapping them down once they are in the van is a whole other story.

[ARPs]

We would often transport drums in the van in PNG.
It's easy enough loading them, just need two planks of wood, or an aluminum ramp, and two Highlanders to roll the drums up the ramp 😉

Getting them out was easy, just use the old tyre, just make sure it's positioned correctly so the drum rolls away from the aircraft

[StudentPilot479]

Planks alone work well if you have two or three people loading drums and are easily transported.

If you want a system for a lone person to load drums, could you use (multiple) tie-downs on either side of the cabin, a cargo strap (anchored by the cargo door), and a ratchet (anchored by the passenger door) to pull the drum up the planks? I do not know what limits there may or may not be on a Caravan seat track and/or tie-downs that may preclude this.

[compressor stall]

Strapping them down once they are in the van is a whole other story.

Drum cradle out of a couple if lenthgs of 4x2 work well. Cut out recesses the same circumference arc as the drum. Sloping ends so you can roll the drum onto them easily.

Then much easier to Herc strap down.

[MakeItHappenCaptain]

VH-XXX

If you do not have a skydiving door fitted I really do feel sorry for you !!

I've seen a full sized front end loader bucket fit in the back of a Craravan !


What's a skydiving door got to do with it?:confused:

[farmer dan]

I'd say the skydive door would allow for a pallet to be loaded directly from a fork lift. Just speculating...can anyone confirm this?

[Tinstaafl]

This might work and be lightweight. I got the idea from something similar I saw used in the Army Reserve years ago:

Use a couple of ramps (aluminium probably. The sort that are used to load trailers & utes) and a ratchet with long cargo strap. Attach the ratcheted end of strap to a convenient cargo tie down opposite the door (you could spread the load & use more than one cargo tie down point if needed by using a bridle), and the free end to a x-bar at the top of the ramp. That will form a loop. At max length the loop needs to be long enough to go from the top of the ramp around drum that is on its side at the bottom of the ramp and back to the ratchet.

The strap is laid out down from the x-bar parallel to the ramps, under the drum, over the top and then to the ratchet inside the aeroplane.

Tightening the ratchet should roll the drum up the ramp. You will need some bodies to steer & guide the drum but the ratchet should take the load.

A caveat though: I can't remember if there was a ring or pad that slipped around the drum that acted like a bearing so the strap didn't slide or crush the drum.

[VH-XXX]

Yes, I should have said cargo door not skydiving door, same thing though. You could easily forklift a pallet up to the cargo door.

Hence why I said I felt sorry for the op if they are trying to load through the pax door !

Farmer dan, I was incorrect in my post about front end loader scoop, I've actually seen a 600kg excavator bucket loaded into a caravan via forklift. Either way, impressive!

[scotton]

An example of why God invented Twin Otters :ok:

[MakeItHappenCaptain]

Yes, I should have said cargo door not skydiving door, same thing though. You could easily forklift a pallet up to the cargo door.

Errrr....
Sorry to be pedantic, but...
Every production caravan in existance has the cargo door standard (left side). The Cargomasters and Super Cargomasters are the ones that don't have a pax door (the little one on the right side).:ok:

[VH-XXX]

RightyouareCaptain. Using the rollerdoor without the externals makes loading much easier, less likely to do damage, means a no-brainer for drums.

[empty_seats]

I think you'll find that their are super cargomasters out there with the door on the right that do in fact exist mr makeithappen...

[MakeItHappenCaptain]

Ah..
Understand your meaning now, XXX. Thought you were saying there were caravans without the left door.

Mr/Ms Empty,
Amend, most cargomasters don't have the right door. Is is not a standard item. On a specialised freight aircraft, it's just extra weight.