Anybody see these on the road yet? (Transport trailer add-on taper)

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by Shepherd777

Frank I completely agree with 99% of your last post, but I would like to add to elaborate on the following two points:




Actually, Walmart, who does extensive Class 8 testing as most are aware, did it reversely. They built several low-boy van test trailers with smaller rear tires and wheels. They had vertical pneumatic actuators that raised the rear of the trailer to standard dock height to facilitate loading and un-loading.

Also, FMCSA allows up to 60" past the rear of the trailer for rear aerodynamic add-on devices. Although most all sold are 48" in length so they can be stowed behind the open doors, per one of your other points. The units that we will be selling in the spring will be a full 60" and stowable.

I hope they sell like hot cakes,that you recover all your expenses quickly, grow filthy rich,and drive the market,out of greed if nothing else.
Best to you and your team!

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by Sven7

Frank, notice I did not claim the Colani trucks are aerodynamic. I regard him more as an idea machine than anything.

Luigi showed up at Bonneville about a decade ago with his cyclopian truck loaded with eleven LSR attempt vehicles.The tractor-trailer had a Cd 0.38 graphic on it.And the truck ran in the high 80-mph range with a small engine on the salt.
There were quite a few HPVs and some were reported with very low Cds.And they weren't all freakish looking.
Colani's a mess.And its a good thing that the Universe is expanding,it will take all that room to contain his ego,but some of his stuff IS kinda scientific-looking.

[radioranger]

Video on you tube seems pretty convincing, i guess anything that eases the transition form flat to tapered really helps,I have an old shortbed ranger and am thinking of trying to make a bed cover that extends past the tailgate a foot or so to make the truck seem longer , and use the same thing under the rear bumper to bring the airflow up gradually , understand you only have to cover the back one third or so of your bed to get full benefit of cover , so a 4 X 8 sheet of plywood cut to fit across the bed and let it hang off the back a bit , easy and cheap to test, any taper past 7 degrees down though will cause flow to separate, that's why all these new crossover vehicles have a tapered roof.

[Frank Lee]

[radioranger]

A little pricey that way , I am definitely low buck eco modder, more fun too, anybody tried the extended bed cover yet!, it seems , believe it or not but i seem get better mileage towing my small rowboat, since it kind of tucks in behind the truck and is lover than the top of the tailgate maybe it is helping, how about a boat tail trailer for aero and match it to your truck any cargo is just a bonus capability and it keeps people from tailgating too close, always a bennny fit

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by radioranger

how about a boat tail trailer for aero and match it to your truck any cargo is just a bonus capability and it keeps people from tailgating too close, always a bennny fit

Legal issues get in the way - rig length, and towing 2 trailers at the same time is not allowed everywhere.

Practical issues : where do you drop off the boat-tail trailer before (un)loading the big trailer ?
Where do you park the big trailer to just use the boat-tail trailer ?
The long-haul guys who would benefit from an aero trailer normally don't do the distribution runs with smaller trailers / fixed box trucks.