Quote:
Originally Posted by jcp123
Not bad! What speeds are you running? I have seen mid-30s in my wife’s van, when I drove from Harrisburg, PA to DC for July 4th several years ago, but I kept CC to the speed limit which was basically a ton of 55-60mph (~90-100kph), and the a/c humming.
As a trucker myself, I’ll tell you that the trailer tails were a thing about 5-10 years ago, but I am guessing it wasn’t worth the cost. My company dabbled in them. Of the maybe 10 trailers I’ve pulled with one, I could not tell the MPG difference, most were broken, and it can make backing up harder. All of our trailers, though, have skirts. The tractors have had these soft (but flimsy) wheel covers for a while, but the newest trucks like my 2020 Cascadia P4 have some nice full metal discs. They’re also exclusively getting automated manuals now, and after 43k miles, although I miss my find-em-or-grind-em 10-speed, it’s made the biggest mpg difference I have seen in the fleet, easily worth a full mpg, or 10-15%.
Savannah and nearby Charleston are charming places. A shame you didn’t have time to head out to Hilton Head Island. Really the whole coastal Carolinas are low-key great places. But do avoid Atlanta if for some reason you have to go that way instead. Oh, and if you happen to go up 95, stop by South Of The Border off of I95 near the South/North Carolina state line, the kitch factor alone is worth the stop and a leg stretch.
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The trailer tails work well. But not for drivers who don’t open them, or stupidly fail to close them when parked or backing to a dock. I’d spec one on a trailer I owned. The advantage of a fully-boxed tail and skirts is obvious: big reduction in steering corrections per 100-miles.
The latest nose-splitter and coanda devices at the tail (sides and roof) more than offset the maintenance headache from dumb drivers. Wind-handling isn’t as good, but still far better than nothing.
Flow-Below is the necessary addition. Now also available for the trailers. An aero package around drive axles. Then, make sure you are ALWAYS loading the Steer Axle properly so that the kingpin puts the trailer nose at 30” separation.
Automated manuals AND all-axle disc braking mean more than just some aero. But aren’t it’s equal when latest “lowered life cost” aero is included.
The fleet highest van average is NUSSBAUM out of Illinois. 9-mpg. A full mpg ahead of us with similar work . . . but who the hell would want to drive a Freightliner?
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