CRV Cross Country Trip Aero - Temporary Aero Just for the Trip

[walteraxe]

I'm realizing this is going to be a difficult situation...

1. The trailer will have to be taller than the CRV at some point.
- CRV = 64" tall
- Trailer + Bike = 67" at tallest point of bike +/-

2. I don't think I can make the teardrop shape that I wanted. I was reminded by my father-in-law that this thing has to be structurally sound (good advice). I don't want to be picking up pieces of the DIY trailer on the road in the middle of Oklahoma.

Currently I'm just going to go with a V shaped nose (same all the way up. I do want to get closer to the back end of the CRV, but I don't have an abundance of PVC fittings. 45 degrees is the only variance from the 90 degrees that everything else comes with... I may start using the heat gun, but that may turn out to be a waste of time and materials if I don't have a clear plan.

---------

I love those airstreams too... I bet Winnebago could make a ton of money just going w/ a retro exterior.

[Xringer]

- CRV = 64" tall
- Trailer + Bike = 67" at tallest point of bike +/-

If that's the way it's got to be, you should still try to keep the nose directly behind the CRV lower than 64".. Then you can taper it up a useful height. Have some flat area and then taper it back down for the tail-end boat tail.
You do not want an abrupt edge sticking up into the wind stream.

[walteraxe]

I started to model the pipe cleaner again, and decided that I should crown the top of the bike. This will reduce some of the exposure to the wind. I'll take a picture once I get the model where I like it.

[Xringer]

One thing I recall from my days of hauling a sail boat around is seeing a lot of trailers broken down on the road side. Some were missing a wheel.
Since I was backing down boat ramps, I installed some bearing buddies.
http://www.etrailer.com/tv_demo_bear...ddy_1980A.aspx
I recommend these for all small trailers, not just for boats.
To be safe, you should buy a small grease gun to take on your road trip..

[walteraxe]

Originally Posted by Xringer

One thing I recall from my days of hauling a sail boat around is seeing a lot of trailers broken down on the road side. Some were missing a wheel.
Since I was backing down boat ramps, I installed some bearing buddies.
http://www.etrailer.com/tv_demo_bear...ddy_1980A.aspx
I recommend these for all small trailers, not just for boats.
To be safe, you should buy a small grease gun to take on your road trip..

Thanks for the suggestion. I have a spare tire. I too saw a broken down trailer on the side of the road about 2-3 months ago when I ordered the trailer... a good reminder to get the spare. But I need to get that grease gun... when I put the trailer together I had to assemble the axle/hub and removed some of the preinstalled grease on accident.

------------

MODEL FRAME UPDATE:
I attached pics of my current model frame. I'm going to use the heat gun to bend the nose and tail section. The torso ribs should provide some rigidity, as well as enable me to use shorter sections (e.g. waste less PVC).



-

[skyl4rk]

For a cross country trip it might be worthwhile to put a second axle on the trailer with no wheels. If one of your main axle wheels goes bad, just move the tires to the other axle.

[walteraxe]

Originally Posted by skyl4rk

For a cross country trip it might be worthwhile to put a second axle on the trailer with no wheels. If one of your main axle wheels goes bad, just move the tires to the other axle.

It's brand new so I'm just hoping that it'll not s*** the bed on the way out there... lol, better have my AAA card handy though :-/

---------

AERO TRAILER UPDATE (pics attached):

I have to decrease the nose size to be just inside the trailer footprint. The most important reason is structural integrity. I'm just concerned that this thing will be too flimsy once I get some strong lateral wind on it.
Also, it'll save me some PVC... I'm starting to run out of it, and don't want to make another trip to Lowe's.

Looking good though. I just need to make the final nose and tail sections, and I'm set... The next challenge will be figuring out how I will get the bike in there, and any other stuff I throw under the enclosure... Not sure if I should make a door, or turn the tail section into a hinge somehow.


-

[Xringer]

Originally Posted by skyl4rk

For a cross country trip it might be worthwhile to put a second axle on the trailer with no wheels. If one of your main axle wheels goes bad, just move the tires to the other axle.

I'm not 100% sure, but I get the feeling that a lot of small trailer wheel problems are due to lack of lube in the bearings.
That's why the bearing buddy's spring loaded lube feed is so successful on boat trailers. If any lube is lost, fresh grease is squeezed in..

[Xringer]

If you could skip using the rear hatch for the trip, this might work..





So, if you could get a big piece of 1/4" Plexiglas or something similar,
jig-saw it into to the approximate shape of your CRV's tail, but smaller..
You could bolt it on a support attached to the spare tire..
Once it was in place, you could run the clear tape down from all sides of your CRV to the Plexiglas..

I used to have my office chair on a big Plexiglas sheet that protected the rug from my wheels.. hummm..

I've got some clear FrostKing tape that is thick, strong & stays in place at almost any temperature.
I use it on anything I want to stay put.

Yeah, this could work..

[ChristopherFloyd]

HI

I started to model the pipe cleaner again, and decided that I should crown the top of the bike. This will reduce some of the exposure to the wind. I'll take a picture once I get the model where I like it and i thank u.....