AeroJeep (remote cousin of aerocivic)

[winkosmosis]

That long tail is going to cause huge problems, mark my words!

[usergone]

Well, the rear corners are actually not visible from the side mirrors

As far as increasing visibility, I believe I will put some very obvious LED lights on it, possibly get some lights that strobe a few times before they come on like motorcycles have. I will also put a yellow and black stripe pattern near the rear end.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by Weather Spotter

I would add more bracing diagonally in each square on the top.

I was going to say the exact same thing
1 diagonal brace per square should do the job.

[elhigh]

Considering I keep seeing vehicles going down the road with hitch receiver totes on them, I think your extension doesn't really go beyond the limits of what's reasonable. It's about as long a tail as you'll ever see on a passenger vehicle, but only a foot or so longer than a receiver tote, or a power chair carrier.

Blaze orange, or bright arrest-me red, and add secondary lighting. You'll probably have to move the plate, too. This is just me, but I would be inclined to taper the tail in from the sides, as well as from top and bottom.

I remember my experience with an '86 Excel. It pinged almost constantly, unless I poured in a tankful of premium. I hated doing that and as I recall it actually did kill my mileage a little, but it also killed the knock. For the extra $1.25 per tankful, it was worth it. If your ride runs better on the rich stuff, then who am I to argue with that?

[winkosmosis]

Originally Posted by thecheese429

Well, the rear corners are actually not visible from the side mirrors

As far as increasing visibility, I believe I will put some very obvious LED lights on it, possibly get some lights that strobe a few times before they come on like motorcycles have. I will also put a yellow and black stripe pattern near the rear end.

What I'm worried about is how freaking long it is. It's going to hit stuff. Why don't you chop it in half and still get most of the benefit?


Also, you can buy reflective tape at Ace Hardware. I put the yellow stuff on a few spots of my Jeep to improve visibility when parked

[usergone]

Originally Posted by winkosmosis

That long tail is going to cause huge problems, mark my words!

Originally Posted by winkosmosis

What I'm worried about is how freaking long it is. It's going to hit stuff. Why don't you chop it in half and still get most of the benefit?

Could you provide a little more explanation to your opinion? I want to hear your opinion, but also what is behind it

[winkosmosis]

Originally Posted by thecheese429

Could you provide a little more explanation to your opinion? I want to hear your opinion, but also what is behind it

It's a really really long tail is what is behind my opinion. I can totally see it swinging out and hitting stuff, or someone running into it from the side.

The other thing is it has to be strong to actually work like it's supposed to. A shape like that is gonna have a lot of lift. Think of how strongly a spoiler has to be attached to a race car. Your tail is much bigger than a spoiler! I don't think there is any way those spindly aluminum beams are strong enough.

[usergone]

Today I went and got a little more done, but not much. I put a license plate holder on and sprayed some primer on the joints. I'll have to see what kind of lights I can scrounge up then skin it.

[usergone]

I sourced some shiny sheet metal and started on the lighting aspect of the aerocap. I made some parking lights (low light) from a piece of it, basically a rectangle bent about 150 degrees around a round bar. It has 11 LEDs in it, but they are diffused and terribly dim, so I may replace them with brighter ones, or just add more.

For the bright "filaments" I will use superbrights.




Also, the longer I think about it, the more I think I should narrow the back of this by more than a foot. I'm thinking 2 or 3 feet wide at the very back, to compensate for sticking out when I turn.

[usergone]

Today I narrowed the back to a little shy of 3 feet wide, and started with the plastic sheeting. I didn't have a camera handy, so pictures will wait till later.