Aerocaps are alive and well in China (pickup truck aero shells)
 

After going to alibaba.com and word searching camper shell, several Chinese manufacturers came up who produced aerocaps. It seems they are selling in the far east with much success.

After trying to get an American manufacturer to produce the Aerolid for over seven years now, I might have to talk to these guys.

Bondo

Links below:

http://i01.i.aliimg.com/photo/v0/600...ort_Canopy.jpg

http://i01.i.aliimg.com/photo/v0/600...ort_Canopy.jpg

http://i01.i.aliimg.com/photo/v0/201..._Cover_Lid.jpg

http://i01.i.aliimg.com/photo/v0/201..._Cover_Lid.jpg

...just wait and Walmart will have them in the automotive department (wink,wink)!

...or Harbor Freight. ;)

US patents mean nothing to the Chinese, until they bring them to the US. Maybe they won't fall apart in a moth or be full of lead or other hazardous wastes.

regards
mech

McDonald's?

http://i01.i.aliimg.com/photo/v0/600...ort_Canopy.jpg

http://i01.i.aliimg.com/photo/v0/201..._Cover_Lid.jpg

I wonder how aerodynamic they are. From what I could gather from the listings, they're marketed as "sport canopies" with no mention of improved mileage. They probably happen to help, but with some room for improvement.

I wonder how much windtunnels cost in China.

Bet they have lots of string and plenty of mountains for coast down testing.
Do they have a hinge at the top?

Like that crappy Apple stuff.

I really like my Android! :D

"Aero" style caps are available for several models here in Asia. And the quality is generally good enough to last for several years (or over a decade, maybe?) before the rubber seals start to leak.

They're not as popular as the straight caps, though... which are more useful.

wind tunnels
 

I'm not sure about cost,but China has many leading world-class laboratories.American P.hDs (two I know personally)are traveling to China for advanced training.
There is at least one low-speed wind tunnel over there.They are researching high-speed rail with it.
Their fuel economy requirements are too stringent for many US automakers products and they cannot be imported or produced.
After my experience with Chinese in college, I wouldn't sell them short.

No taper in plan = not an aerocap.

Probably also made in China? Mine is haha.

Apple sucks for the record. Also if you want to talk "eco friendly", those giant hunks of billet aluminum they use for their computers are probably as bad as it gets.

Man, if they styled it nicely like Bondo's cap it would seem to be a decent product! Now, though, it makes your Ram look like a Ssangyong.

Thanks Sven7 for the kind words. Coming from someone like you who works in automotive design, that is a compliment indeed.

The influence of the Asian culture always has a bit of flair to it in automotive design. One design aspect of the far east aerocaps is the fact that they recessed the surface of the roof to allow for a space to put the third brake light into. This breaks up the most important surface of an aerocap, the top. Also, by doing this, it diminishes the angle of the rear window which reduces the rear visibility.

Maybe aerohead could chime in and verify that the step down to a recessed top of the Chinese aerocap may hurt the aerodynamics of it. I'd say it probably does. As far as quality of the Chinese aerocaps, I feel they are quality made as Aerohead implies in his earlier post.

Bondo

I would guess that it does just based on general principle, but the recess is pretty shallow so it may not hurt that much. If you think about it, your typical sedan has a much bigger pocket of turbulent flow sitting over the rear window, but they compare pretty well to say fastbacks or hatchbacks (like the Prius or Audi A7 hatchback, sloping down significantly) in terms of drag.

Not to name-drop, but I was standing next to the T-100 as aerohead described how the air just skips over his recessed rear window. Did the videos ever get posted?

Bumps seem to be worse, but golf balls have dimples; so who knows?

:) That can't be true; I know the Jeep Grand Cherokee is sold over there. A very 'not stringent' Fuel economy case. They use a 2.99~ liter engine because anything 3.0 liters or higher has a serious tax penalty. In the US, the smallest gas engine available is 3.6l.

The government simply doesn't allow importing large volumes of vehicles, to encourage local manufacturing. Most of the major automotive companies have set up local factories to produce/sell there.

The only thing I take issue with is the non raidused corners. It looks like the top shape is good. Unless the box has a plan taper, I`m not so sure a plan taper on the cap wouldn`t be a wash in drag reduction. So, if they only radiused the edge, it would be pretty ideal aero wise.

Well aerohead's statement was mostly correct, the fuel economy requirements there are higher. The way around it is to use smaller engines in everything like you mentioned. They have 3.0L engines instead of 3.5L + engines in Mercedes, 2.0L engines instead of 3.0L engines in BMWs, etc.

step down
 

Yes,you're gonna lose the boundary layer right there,with localized vorticity and turbulence sequestered within the void.
The flow will reattach before it leaves the cap,but you'll pay a little penalty for the chaos inside there.
It should take care of the rear lift issue,which is a great reason for having the cap in the first place,even if mpg doesn't excite you.
Jaguar has gone to the 'aerolid' with their F-Type,I think we'll be seeing more of this roofline.:)

Jeep
 

JEEP has been produced there since the 1980s.And now that they're more effeminate,and with modern powerplants and 9-speeds,they more efficiently fill a niche which has existed for decades.
Some passenger cars don't make the cut.The Chinese 'CAFE' standards are more stringent than the US.We're catching up though.:p

radii
 

Yes,Koenig Fachsenfeld and Kamm measured a 16.6% drag reduction when the surfaces were softened.
FIAT reported that a fastback wants 40-degrees of tumblehome to be best.
http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/...ntitled4-3.jpg

http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/...ntitled4-3.jpg

That right there is The Template in a nutshell.

Not to open up a new can of worms, but China has stricter standards than the United States?

standards
 

Some journalist reported on it years ago.China,as Admiral Mike Mullins of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was concerned about the geopolitical implications of the reliance on imported energy, and China was just going to leapfrog,going beyond USA standards, to help protect their economy.
Some USA products weren't efficient enough to make it in.

K-form Template
 

Here's there side elevation
http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/...d2/06-2831.jpg
Plan-view
http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/.../2-289-141.jpg
Together
http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/...85x11Scan2.jpg
Here's the evolution of it
http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/.../11x17Scan.jpg