How much of a penalty from ideal airflow would a triangular trailer tail extract?
(ok- found it here
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post294074
with a similar example dropping Cd from 0.25 to 0.214)
My enclosed car hauling trailer has a drop-down ramp, but I use long extensions to get the low-riding car in and out. I'd rather rebuild the ramp to be longer, and extend the roofline down at approx 12 degrees till they meet, forming a 'triangular prism' tailcone. Not a pyramid, as the apex will be just as wide as the base. This approach maintains overhead clearance while coming up the ramp and entering the trailer. Actually, I could make the end of the ramp about 20" narrower than the hinged end, to match the floor width between the wheelwells. That would provide perhaps 10-15 degrees of taper on the tailcone sidewalls.