Silverado aerocap build thread

[bondo]

Originally Posted by Fubeca

Well - it was a terrible day to do any real testing but it was the only time I'll have for a while.

I warmed the truck up and drove back and forth on a 1.5 mile stretch of straight rural highway.

I ended up doing a B-A-B-A test. Each leg was 4 sets of out and back.

B: avg mpg 19.6
A: avg mpg 18.8
B: avg mpg 19.4
A: avg mpg 18.8

So it looks like a lackluster improvement of ~.7 mpg or ~4%

The ambient temp was 10* and there was a NW wind at 10-15 mph. The road was East to West.

So I don't think the test is really all that valuable. I'll be interested to see how my mileage looks over time.

I'll take some more pics and maybe you all can let me know if you see any areas that may need improvement. I was really hoping to get 10 - 20% improvement.

(EDIT: testing speed of 55 mph)

Ten degrees with a 10 to 15 mile per hour cross wind, I guess 4% increase in fuel efficiency isn't all that bad after all.

Bondo

[Fubeca]

And with that - my thread is almost back on track

Somewhere in the last few pages I reported on my next AB style testing with a 7% improvement at 70 MPH. I'm surprised at how much A/C is effecting my mileage. I wasn't expecting such an effect.

[bondo]

Sorry I missed seeing your post on the improvement in you percentage of fuel efficiency. That is alot better. AC does have a tremendous drain on your gas usage. I try not to run mine that often, but in the high heat and humidity of Arkansas, it is a necessity at times.

Hope you can post some even better results now that you thread is back active.

Thanks,

Bondo

Maybe the 7% increase can be reported instead of 4% in the third line of the top forum picks on the ecomodder home page.

[boonska-boy46]

ive been thinking about that gap between the cab and cap as well, and i think those pool noodles would work quite well. they are flexible and wont restict movement between the cab and cap. and, if they should ever come off at speed they wont kill anybody behind you. just a thought.

[sid]

I have used pipe insulation for filling and sealing the space between the cab and the topper on all three trucks I've owned, a total of 18 years of experience doing this. The kind I use is the foam rubber type. I haven't tried the type that is made with the same material as pool noodles. The foam rubber type seems to me to be more flexible and better at filling voids and sealing.

Last week I tried using this same pipe insulation to fill the gap between my bumper and my grill on my 2010 Ford Ranger. So far it seems to be staying in place. I don't drive regular enough routes to make it easy to tell if it has helped my fuel economy, though I have been averaging about 32 mpg on this tank, according to Scangauge, with 38 mpg being typical on the highway. The truck is still pretty new (bought April 21), so I'm still establishing its baseline performance.

I also use a product called Trimlock to seal between the cab and topper. I use a double seal to keep bugs and rain out, since I frequently camp in my topper. The Trimlock I use is a "C" shaped aluminum strip, covered with plastic, that has a rubber tube attached to the aluminum strip on the side opposite the opening of the "C." I'll take a picture of it and post it in the next couple days when there is daylight (it's dark now), assuming I'm allowed to post pictures. The Trimlock costs about $1.50 per running foot.

[joemann]

Looks great !!! But, what is and where do I get "shrink plastic" because I want to try this one myself. Also, what was your city and your highway mileage each before and after the fantastic transformation AND how do you get the cover to attach to the walls of the cargo bed ??

[joemann]

sorry buds, i didn't see the rest of the thread after the first picture - i'm new to the site so please forgive my asking already-answered questions.

[sid]

Here are the Trimlock pictures I promised. The first shows a piece of Trimlock.



The next shows the Trimlock on my new truck between the topper and the cab. The open end of the "C" part of the Trimlock is mounted on the edge of the 4 mm Okoume marine plywood I used for the skin of this topper, which I built.




Incidentally, my Scangauge was not properly calibrated and was reading about 10 % high. So I really averaged about 29 mpg on my last tank of gas, and about 34 mpg on the highway.

[ChazInMT]

Uh, Sid.....what's this topper you made look like???? From the tiny part showing in the photo, it looks like your craftmanship puts us all to shame. Show more. Please. Thanks.

[Big Dave]

This Trimlock stuff looks like what we've all been looking for. Where do you get it?