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 · 10-02-2010, 02:44 PM

After leaving 6-days late on my trip I salvaged an afternoon and a morning at Bonneville before the 'World of Speed' concluded.
I ran the T-100 through tech inspection and when I inquired about running the trailer on the salt,we had to track down Utah Salt Flats Racing Assoc. President,Jim Burkdoll by radio to get a definitive call.
Mr.Burkdoll was kind enough to spend some time with me as I described the project and my aspirations at Bonneville.
A couple of years ago a USFRA member pulled a U-HAUL sport trailer behind a 'lakester' ( opened-wheel streamliner )and 'spun it' at speed.
He didn't crash but they say it was 'pretty hairy',as you might imagine.
Anyway,to make a short story long,I've been given conditional approval to run with the trailer for the 2011 USFRA World of Speed event,so long as I do not exceed 130-MPH.
I will fashion a link which will 'fix' the location of the trailer behind the truck,preventing it any side-to-side motion.
I will also fabricate a vertical fin to move the center-of-pressure way back,and also,I have a DEIST cruciform drag-parachute that I will install.
Runs will be bracketed 10-MPH at a time,building velocity with each run until I either get squirrely and go for the chute,or eventually end up at 130 MPH and shut down.
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I will be able to make multiple passes,both with and without the trailer,and should have a better database from which to evaluate different configurations.
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For this recent trip,running with parts missing and no boat-tail,the new mods indicate that the T-100 is operating at approx. Cd 0.20.
The trailer and gap-fillers,theoretically,will push that value down to on the order of Cd 0.13.
It could make for interesting numbers.
I've got a year to be ready.We'll see how it goes.

10-02-2010, 02:44 PM	#94 (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	Trailer is "GO" for Bonneville 2011 After leaving 6-days late on my trip I salvaged an afternoon and a morning at Bonneville before the 'World of Speed' concluded. I ran the T-100 through tech inspection and when I inquired about running the trailer on the salt,we had to track down Utah Salt Flats Racing Assoc. President,Jim Burkdoll by radio to get a definitive call. Mr.Burkdoll was kind enough to spend some time with me as I described the project and my aspirations at Bonneville. A couple of years ago a USFRA member pulled a U-HAUL sport trailer behind a 'lakester' ( opened-wheel streamliner )and 'spun it' at speed. He didn't crash but they say it was 'pretty hairy',as you might imagine. Anyway,to make a short story long,I've been given conditional approval to run with the trailer for the 2011 USFRA World of Speed event,so long as I do not exceed 130-MPH. I will fashion a link which will 'fix' the location of the trailer behind the truck,preventing it any side-to-side motion. I will also fabricate a vertical fin to move the center-of-pressure way back,and also,I have a DEIST cruciform drag-parachute that I will install. Runs will be bracketed 10-MPH at a time,building velocity with each run until I either get squirrely and go for the chute,or eventually end up at 130 MPH and shut down. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I will be able to make multiple passes,both with and without the trailer,and should have a better database from which to evaluate different configurations. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- For this recent trip,running with parts missing and no boat-tail,the new mods indicate that the T-100 is operating at approx. Cd 0.20. The trailer and gap-fillers,theoretically,will push that value down to on the order of Cd 0.13. It could make for interesting numbers. I've got a year to be ready.We'll see how it goes.