Quote:
Originally Posted by Concrete
Darin,
do you have any seed material / pictures for the combo taper concept
like Ben I am trying to keep my truck bed useful and am interested in this concept
but all I have found is this:
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The 1/2 tonneau was good for 5% mpg on the T-100,D-100,Chevy Silverado,'93 Toyota truck,and a F-150 4 by 4.With a "blister" which is like the back portion of the aeroshell mounted atop the 1/2-tonneau,mpg was 8% better on the T-100.If you combine it with the first 20-24-inches of the aeroshell(Ford Motor Co. calls this a "sail panel"),you can pick up a combined 18% mpg improvement,and still have easy access to your gear or cargo.
You can use anything for the 1/2 tonneau.John Gilkison built the cab-wing extension out of 3/4" plywood skeleton and side panels,with 1/4-inch plexiglass windows rabbited down into the plywood flush.The top was skinned with coated Masonite,glued and screwed to the framework.The side panels angled in at 7-degrees on ours,and the top came down at a 12-degree angle.The thing was pretty primitive,but the air liked it alot,and we basically achieved the mpg numbers Ford claimed for the combo.The aeroshell was built to verify Ford's claims,and I've stuck with it as it provides all weather protection and a theft deterent.Since I incorporated plan curvature into mine,I picked up a little additional drag reduction,and a 13% mpg overall improvement on the highway with the single modification.I have yet to see anything from SEMA which is worth the money,so unfortunately your forced to build your own.