Quote:
Originally Posted by da_dt
Thanks for a great post. 
Is that setup going to be much better than an aerodynamic bed cap pushing the air over a bumper pull trailer?
I will kamback, belly pan, and fair the fenders on any configuration I get. |
Gooseneck trailers have several advantages. In addition to allowing you easier backing and putting the weight directly onto your truck's rear axle, it will also allow you to fill in the gap between truck tan trailer much more. The less the gap, the better for aerodynamics. Standard truck-trailer gaps for bumper pull trailers is on the order of 4 feet, I am guessing you could do 2 feet or less with a gooseneck. Be sure that no matter what configuration you choose, you round the front edges to help reduce drag.
I am assuming that the bed cap you are talking about has a high rear end to help move air up and over the trailer. My guess is that it would be better to use a "standard height" truck cap and fill in some of the gap between lead vehicle and trailer with a rounded sloping trailer front. Get as close as is practical to doing a full V front. 2 feet between the back of the tow vehicle and the front of the trailer is enough room for movement when hooking up and unhooking a trailer (as long as the trailer jack fits in there and operates), but you will have to make sure you are able to back the thing when needed.
I understand the economy side of things, so whatever you find that works, I would be more than happy to give pointers on how to make it more aerodynamic. I think the airstream trailer would work, but you would have to be able to open the rear and fold down a ramp (may not be practical). A trailer like this would be nice because of it's nicely rounded front end, but Hucho (one of THE aerodynamics authorities, and by far the most quoted in this forum) says that rounding the edges and adding a splitter (vertical fin on the front of the trailer) is almost as good as sealing the gap between, so a really big radius shouldn't be necessary.