[rdefayette]

Originally Posted by ChazInMT

Indeed this is an excellent build, and is probably the strongest looking cap I've seen.

If you do a Gen2, you'll probably want to consider going at about an 8° angle, this would raise the back 6 to 8 inches off the top of the tailgate. It has shown this will have a good combination of Cd reduction and also reduce the lift coefficient considerably which will make your truck feel much more planted at highway speeds. Additionally you'd gain some under cap volume.

It is a common misconception that you want the back as small as possible, and while quite good, it is not ideal. You're probably getting 70% of the benefit of a very well designed cap.

Sorry to nitpick, you have done a great job. I just want this here as a guide for anyone else who looks in on this and it will help them design a better cap.

Thanks for sharing!

What did you use for a cover? Is that coroplast?

Here's a pic of my angle analysis. The wing shape is the Ideal Template overlayed on the truck. If you don't curve the top, it's best to go with less angle to compensate. The line is at 8°.


And here's a link to a Bigger Version of the illustration.

Thank you for your input!
I might have to give it a try (when time permits).
The cover material is .040" black anodized aluminum.
I over built it.
I'd rather give up a couple .10th's in mpg than have to spend the time/money to rebuild something that wasn't structurally sound from the get go.
Must be a holdover from my racing days.
Nothing worse than saving a couple pounds on a car, then having it fall apart 'cause you built it too light! Like we always said though, In order to win you have to finish!
it's not nitpicking it's constructive criticism. There is a difference.
Nitpicking is is when you critcise with nothing good to add. See that a lot.
Bob