Quote:
Originally Posted by Snowman9000
What to make of the fact that when towing a fifth wheel travel trailer, with the tailgate installed, anything in the truck bed that is light enough to be picked up by a person can be picked up by the air flow in the bed? Most fifth wheel owners find this out the hard way on their first trip. 
This must be a bad thing aero-wise?
Some people pull fivers with no tailgate, and some with a vented tailgate. I haven't tried either. If I do, and the hurricane disappears, does this mean anything from an aero point of view?
What if the hitch could just emerge from a bed cover, would the bed cover reduce drag? For instance, imagine a modified gooseneck hitch arrangement, in place of a fifth wheel hitch, where the ball is at the top of a bed cover. If it could be mechanically sound, do you think it would reduce drag? |
I'm not knowledgeable enough to properly address your drag question but my instinct would be to run with the gate up,to allow for the locked-vortex inside the bed.
Comparing a conventional,non-sleeper tractor to a C.O.E. tractor,the C.O.E.tractor has 15% lower drag simply because it's height is equal to the trailer height.
For both types of tractors,a 31.25" gap between tractor/trailer adds another 19% drag.
So anything which can fill in and blend these interfaces should show at the pump.
As far as raising the hitch point in order to run a bed cover.I think that it would negatively impact the center of gravity and how the rig would handle in emergency maneuvers when dodging Ken and Barbie.