Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post - Full-boat-tail trailer with gap-fillers for Toyota T-100 pickup

aerohead · 10-31-2009, 01:28 PM

Just a quick heads up.
I'm at 342 man-hours into the project.Six of the fairings and the two strakes are ready for glass.
They're durable enough for testing now, but any road debris tossed up from the tires would pit them so I'll wait 'til they're glassed.
I've begun the plug for the leaf spring/shackle fairings.These must be hollow as they will encapsulate the deflecting suspension which means that a mold will have to be made from the plug and then the actual parts made from wet layups in the mold,as axle fairing was done.
Good news for me is that the mold will produce parts for both sides of the trailer.
Yesterday,I welded in the hinge support for the access door and welded up the access door frame.This area will receive foam board and fiberglass skin.
This forward access borrows from the 1934 William Hawley Bowlus' Road Chief trailer "wingless airplane" which would in 1935 begin the morphing into the Airstream "Clipper."
The front opening leaves no seams on the flanks.Awkward yes,but something I'm willing to live with.
I have a photo of the fairings and when Al gets free,will post.
With a good weeks work,the trailer could be tested independently of the gap-fillers.

10-31-2009, 01:28 PM	#46 (permalink)
aerohead Master EcoModder Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Sanger,Texas,U.S.A. Posts: 15,895 Thanks: 23,972 Thanked 7,223 Times in 4,650 Posts	Project Update # 9 Just a quick heads up. I'm at 342 man-hours into the project.Six of the fairings and the two strakes are ready for glass. They're durable enough for testing now, but any road debris tossed up from the tires would pit them so I'll wait 'til they're glassed. I've begun the plug for the leaf spring/shackle fairings.These must be hollow as they will encapsulate the deflecting suspension which means that a mold will have to be made from the plug and then the actual parts made from wet layups in the mold,as axle fairing was done. Good news for me is that the mold will produce parts for both sides of the trailer. Yesterday,I welded in the hinge support for the access door and welded up the access door frame.This area will receive foam board and fiberglass skin. This forward access borrows from the 1934 William Hawley Bowlus' Road Chief trailer "wingless airplane" which would in 1935 begin the morphing into the Airstream "Clipper." The front opening leaves no seams on the flanks.Awkward yes,but something I'm willing to live with. I have a photo of the fairings and when Al gets free,will post. With a good weeks work,the trailer could be tested independently of the gap-fillers.