Quote:
Originally Posted by sregord
Side gusts on a 4' long addition to a 32' - 18,000# Moby was not something I would've had on my radar.
Was there a noticeable side-wind redirect with your boat-tail trailer? Is there less opportunity/worry of side gust sensitivity because of wheels on the ground?
|
* So far, I've never experienced any stability issues with any of the trailers, but that's in the context to two of them at the old 55-MPH National Speed Limit the USA had for twenty years, and only Viking has seen duty at up to 65-mph ( I was cleared by the USFRA to pull her at Bonneville, but after running Spirit there in 2014, I new it would be a waste of time; as I'd never be able get beyond the one-mile course ).
* The aerodynamic 'mass' ahead of the trailer axle, producing any yaw moment is transferred to the ball hitch.
* The aerodynamic 'mass' rear of the axle creates an impotent 'weathervane', as it's cross-section continues to decrease, the further it projects to the rear, and the radical tumblehome and upper radii don't really allow for much of a yawing force. The air just bleeds over the top. The full belly pan doesn't allow for anything to grab hold of the underbody. Any crosswind gust experiences a 'wing section' of such tiny aspect ratio as to be laughable, as far as generating any meaningful lift. The streamlining is generating such pressure recovery that, at the trailing edge, the static pressure is nearly equal to that at the forward stagnation point. We lose pressure only equal to what kinetic energy is lost to the turbulent boundary-layer.