Made it back last Sunday afternoon.4,212-miles.Only casualty was a spring cap,lost at Bonneville,on the service road to pit area.Both wheels remained for the duration ( a record in itself!).
I got an official weight for the rig,attempted three times to photograph it from the Opera House to no avail,and ended up doing a photo shoot of the complete dis-assembly and detachment.She goes back into the shop before the scheduled rains this weekend.
I've been capturing topographical data off the internet to help make sense of the test results.
The 'rig' was 680-lbs ( 309 kg ) heavier than last year,and over 1,300-lbs (590-kg) heavier than stock.
I'm going over log-books dating to 1994 for comparative data.
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I want to thank everyone for their words of encouragement,it means a lot.When the temperature finally broke I went to 14-hour days trying to pull the silly thing together and was overtaken by the calendar.
If I didn't go,I wasn't going to get to go,so I went ,un-finished ( sounds familiar ) to salvage what I could.
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I'll work tonight and come in tomorrow with more complete noodling.
Overall,I'm very pleased with the project.
As the gap-fillers are yet un-finished,there is potential for better numbers ahead.
With the 2009 damage also un-resolved,this too holds some promise of even better results.
The planned,but unrealized front wheel skirts should also improve the equation.
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I did set an all-time new best mpg record for the T-100,pulling the trailer ,almost 9 mpg better than my previous best for the truck.It's a 'conditional' victory,more on that tomorrow.
In some instances she showed worse,in some instances better.
The overall trip average was better than last year without the trailer,however I limited my cruise speed to only 65-mph,whereas,last year I cruised at the posted speed limit ( up to 75 mph ( 120 k/h).
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I pulled to as high as 85-mph (136 k/h) during passing maneuvers,she's rock-solid,tracks perfectly.
I visited with Purvis Bearing Company today,here in Denton,and they feel I can run to speeds which limit hub temperatures to 200-F.
I need to test at higher velocities.I'm very suspicious of BSFC affects,and I want to 'load' the engine and see what ,if any difference it might make.
85-mph was effortless,the truck could easily use a 6th and maybe a 7th gear.
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I'll grind numbers tonight and catch up tomorrow with more thorough results.If I had to say anything,I'd say that in it's present,un-finished condition,the trailer is aerodynamically invisible.We'll talk about grade effects tomorrow.Al's closing shop in a few minutes,see you then.
