Quote:
Originally Posted by slowmover
What is the reason for the trailer? Just for aero fun? Or will it carry a load (and how much)?
With any trailer the difficulites raised by bump steer -- the trailer getting sideways abruptly -- and causing problems at the steering wheel are always central. The more sophisticated the suspension, the more this problem is lessened. Bump steer and wind-handling difficulties are what get trailers into trouble.
Trailers also present a problem for other drivers due to size. Time and distance considerations especially when turning across traffic. Thus LED side marker lights and 3M brand conspicuity tape for both vehicles starts to make sense. There are now tiny red or amber marker lights to look at for both vehicles . . and they can be set to flash with apprpriate controls should one be at the side of the road; as here. I have seen these used in the rear trailer bumper, too, at end extremities to highlight trailer width.
And, as always, enjoying the work and thoughts. Thanks for including us.
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The purpose of this single wheel based trailer is that it will be used as a platform fer testing a boat tail/tail cone configuration since most of the other boat tail configurations are based on hard points on the vehicle and are difficult to remove easily. The fact that the trailer already has a cargo body isn't a big deal to me. I will probably test a custom built shaped body to see how much better my mileage can git. If there isn't a significant improvement, I'll probably go back to the original cargo body. I keep cargo in the current setup to preload the suspension of the trailer and to minimize it from bouncing (about 300lbs worth of gear). Hopefully (if designed/engineered correctly), my forward dampening/bump suspension will keep the trailer pinned to the road more efficiently and minimize the amount of oscillations/vibrations the trailer will see and I can keep the boat tail weight down to a minimum.
No significant amount of bump steer in this setup as the trailer is attached at 2 points on the hitch receiver adapter. Think of it similar to towing a wheelbarrow with the 2 handles attached to the back of the vehicle. The only real movement I will git is where the trailer will pitch up and down pivoting on the 2 attachment points on the hitch receiver adapter. There may be a little yaw or roll movement (minimized by the Hitch Vise device) but nothing that will be significant to steer the truck as the single wheel will pivot/steer (just like the front wheels on a shopping cart) to allow fer those forces.
I will make it a point to ensure the trailer is highly visible (as far as markers go) on the rear and sides as I don't need anyone tagging me on this project. I already have the LED side markers that will git moved when the shaped sides go on.
