Eric Sedletzky
Contributor
You actually don’t need to bolt the wing to the plate if you don't want to.
The tiny 1/4” stainless carriage bolts that I include are really only to make it convenient to set up so the wing doesn’t flop and slip around while you’re trying to get a tank cam banded on. Once the tank cam bands are cinched and locked down the whole rig should be rock solid. Leaving the wing unattached from the plate does give you some adjustment room to pull the wing up or down and move the tank up or down and not be married to essentially two positions on the plate like if you were to always bolt the wing on.
Also, for those of you who have ordered your plates with wedges, you can clearly see what the intention was behind the design. It helps kick the bottom of the tank out, but it also gives the middle of the plate some relief from being forced to want to bend straight under the pressure of cam bands when the wing does not have top and bottom roll cushions. The wedge would normally bolt on over the wing so the tank rides right on the cushioned edges of the wedge, but you can also bolt the wedge directly to the plate then put the wing over the wedge if you wish, and that way you still have infinite up and down adjustment of the wing and tank because the wing is free and not attached to the plate. If you do that then pull off the fuel line cushions on the wedge since the wing panel will provide some cushioning for the tank at that point. This is also a great way to make many other wings work as well that maybe have slots but not in the right places if the wing is bolted to the plate.
On wings like Hog I strongly recommend using the wedge because of the full length top to bottom roll control strips they use. The tank WILL high center on the plate without using a wedge.
The curve of the freedom plate has always presented challenges in mounting something straight ( like the tank) onto a curved surface (like the plate). The split roll control cushions on any Oxycheq or VDH style wing, or using the wedge, or both, make this possible. And yes, the rail too.
Thanks for reading.
The tiny 1/4” stainless carriage bolts that I include are really only to make it convenient to set up so the wing doesn’t flop and slip around while you’re trying to get a tank cam banded on. Once the tank cam bands are cinched and locked down the whole rig should be rock solid. Leaving the wing unattached from the plate does give you some adjustment room to pull the wing up or down and move the tank up or down and not be married to essentially two positions on the plate like if you were to always bolt the wing on.
Also, for those of you who have ordered your plates with wedges, you can clearly see what the intention was behind the design. It helps kick the bottom of the tank out, but it also gives the middle of the plate some relief from being forced to want to bend straight under the pressure of cam bands when the wing does not have top and bottom roll cushions. The wedge would normally bolt on over the wing so the tank rides right on the cushioned edges of the wedge, but you can also bolt the wedge directly to the plate then put the wing over the wedge if you wish, and that way you still have infinite up and down adjustment of the wing and tank because the wing is free and not attached to the plate. If you do that then pull off the fuel line cushions on the wedge since the wing panel will provide some cushioning for the tank at that point. This is also a great way to make many other wings work as well that maybe have slots but not in the right places if the wing is bolted to the plate.
On wings like Hog I strongly recommend using the wedge because of the full length top to bottom roll control strips they use. The tank WILL high center on the plate without using a wedge.
The curve of the freedom plate has always presented challenges in mounting something straight ( like the tank) onto a curved surface (like the plate). The split roll control cushions on any Oxycheq or VDH style wing, or using the wedge, or both, make this possible. And yes, the rail too.
Thanks for reading.