Go Back   EcoModder Forum > EcoModding > Aerodynamics
Register Now
 Register Now
 

Reply  Post New Thread
 
Submit Tools LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 05-26-2008, 05:07 AM   #1 (permalink)
EcoModding Minded
 
Chris D.'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Eagan, MN
Posts: 667

Lunar Mist - '02 Toyota Tacoma SR5
90 day: 25.31 mpg (US)

Silver Streak - '08 Toyota Corolla S
90 day: 38.25 mpg (US)
Thanks: 67
Thanked 25 Times in 12 Posts
Send a message via AIM to Chris D.
Talking Areomodding my 6x12 enclosed trailer

I bought an enclosed trailer for my upcomming move next month.
I can't leave anything alone and I need all the fuel effeciency I can get with my truck..

Heres what I'm working with..








Well, with all the elections over with, I saw an abundance of
coroplast as far as the eye can see on one of my bosses properties
(in which they didnt have permission to hang in the first place)

So I've come up on the recycling advantage!

I plan on making the nose into a V to help cut through the wind..
Any other ideas?

I have plenty of coroplast..

__________________


  Reply With Quote
Alt Today
Popular topics

Other popular topics in this forum...

   
Old 05-26-2008, 07:22 AM   #2 (permalink)
EcoMudder
 
Harpo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Gainesville, FL
Posts: 79

Harpo's Honda - '05 Honda Civic VP
90 day: 42.64 mpg (US)
Thanks: 0
Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts
Me too

I'm watching this. I have a 6x12 as well that I tow to MTB Races. I only get about 12mpg behind the Ram1500 HEMI MDS. I can get 18.5+mpg when not towing the box. I'd guess around 1650lbs loaded for racing.

Same rules apply. Run Max Pressures for conditions, and keep speeds down. I can tow at 62mph in overdrive, but once I try to start averaging 65+, I need TowHaul, which defintely uses more Throttle Position changes and higher average Fuel Flow. Staying out of Cruise on hilly sections, and driving with load works great as load goes up.

I'll tow about 3500-4500 miles this year to race venues. So one or two mpg would be a big help at $4/gal. I've looked at pre-fabbed domes for the nose, but they have low return on investment unless you are really stacking up the miles. Without a High Cap, trying to get the air over the box is all but impossible. I've seen that 30degree nose has highest effectiveness when towing without sidewind. Reducing underbody drag with trays and fairings. Reducing drag at the rear seems easiest with some simple extensions in the rear or aerotab like vortex devices. There's an easy 10-15% drag reduction in the front that is hard to build, and another 10-15% in the rear that probably takes less overall effort.

http://www.nosecone.com/table.htm

Do some googling on Tractor Trailer drag reductions and there's a bunch of designs. Most make the asssumption of a high truck-trailer spoilers and gap wings, but there are some with good info on the box alone.

http://www.freightwing.com/about2.htm

http://www.marama.org/diesel/frieght...DCAeroOvw2.pdf


That coroplast will need some good bracing for the nose. I've used 1/2" and 5/8" aluminum tubing used in race car fuel lines. It's moldable, light, and can be flatted to drill holes through for attachment points. I got mine at Summit and comes in variety of rolled sizes.
__________________

Last edited by Harpo; 05-26-2008 at 08:06 AM..
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2008, 08:56 AM   #3 (permalink)
Legend in my own mind
 
trikkonceptz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Homestead, Fl.
Posts: 927

Evil Pumpkin - '08 Scion xD RS 1.0 #1633
90 day: 35.45 mpg (US)

Silent Silver Killer - '10 Honda Insight EX
90 day: 51.5 mpg (US)
Thanks: 2
Thanked 14 Times in 13 Posts
My immeadiate suggestions would be;

-Skirt the trailer to reduce airflow underneath it.
-If the wheels allow build fender skirts
-I would also modify the fenders, like dually fenders so they do not present a wall from the side of the box.
-Ultimately, building a boat tail for the rear may help the most, but is the most difficult to build on a trailer. Hanging it so it swings on a hinge and out of the way of the doors would be the best bet I think.
-And the obvious, get good bearings for the wheels and run the tires at the safest max psi.
-You may also want to consider a wing on the truck to pass the wind over the trailer earlier.
__________________
Thx NoCO2; "The biggest FE mod you can make is to adjust the nut behind the wheel"

I am a precisional instrument of speed and aeromatics
If your knees bent in the opposite direction......what would a chair look like???





  Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2008, 01:09 PM   #4 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: USA
Posts: 568
Thanks: 1
Thanked 73 Times in 58 Posts
You might want to elongate the trailer by extending the nose all the way to the tongue, using Coroplast. An elliptical nose is much less draggy than the stock configuration. Adds usable space, too. Would look more like a horse trailer.

Then, use more Coroplast to fair the wheels, using the existing fenders as mounting points.

The axle assy. under the trailer may hang down into the airflow, so fair that too, using Coroplast.

And, a boat tail can't hurt, either.

I'm considering purchase of a cheapo 4X8 trailer from Harbor freight, ~$200, to haul motorcycles. That's got just a flat bed, plus side rails. I'd mod is per description above, for an effective length of ~14' and effective width of ~6' once the wheels were faired in. Could even make a teardrop/airfoil shape, joining the Coroplast siding at the rear. Being flexible, it would not need hinges, and stringers for stiffness can be made by inserting wood or fiberglass battens into the Coroplast flutes.

I'm told the Harbor Freight cheapo trailers have crappy bearings and wheels/tires, so plan to swap those out for better ones on day one.
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2008, 12:36 PM   #5 (permalink)
Ex-lurker
 
i_am_socket's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Jersey
Posts: 571

Skeeter - '05 Toyota Corolla LE
90 day: 35.55 mpg (US)
Thanks: 2
Thanked 8 Times in 6 Posts
While on vacation last week, I was passed by a pickup pulling a flat-bed trailer with a car on it. In front of the car was a half-circle airdam that went from the floor to just above hood-height. It looked like it would be fairly effective.

I'd definitely fair and skirt the wheels. Throw a half-circle on the front too. Do the doors swing out or down in the back? (swinging out would make boat-tailing simple)
__________________
  Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2008, 02:18 PM   #6 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
aerohead's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Sanger,Texas,U.S.A.
Posts: 16,185
Thanks: 24,334
Thanked 7,337 Times in 4,743 Posts
aero-modding the trailer

The members have made some really good recommendations.If you can imagine the pickup and trailer as a single unit,with the body flowing up from the rear of the cab to the top of the trailer,filling the entire void,top to bottom,this would be ideal.Besco,of Northhampton,England,marketed an inflatable trailer nose which attached to travel trailers and created a semi-spherical nose when inflated with a 12-volt vacuum cleaner.I believe they claimed a 28-percent mpg improvement.If you could build a cheapy skeleton( maybe two-by-twos and angle brackets) for the bed rails of the truck and skin it with the chloroplast,you'd have a good transition.If you did as Otto recommends,and also push the nose of the trailer forward,like the stock trailer,then your filling in the gap that you see 18-wheelers trying to seal off,which offers significant drag.And as Techtricks (sp?) and Otto have mentioned,clean up anything on the trailer that you can.The fenders are horrible! Fair the leading edges,boat-tail behind them,and put skirts on if you can.Someone posted the NASA/Continuum Dynamics 4-panel faux-boat-tail,which was good for up to a 10% drag reduction.It's just 4 rigid panels that extend straight back from the back of the trailer.They are inset,and extend such that when viewed from the side or top,they limit the air to a path that would be defined by a 12-15 degree angle,converging behind the trailer.The panels create "locked" or "captured" vortices,as Ford's bi-wing spoiler,and the air flows over the vortices as though they were a solid structure.If you get into strong crosswinds,slow down!!!!!!!!!! Your rig will be an "unknown quantity" and you will have no fore knowledge of your center of gravity, center of aerodynamic pressure,and it's handling behavior.Be careful,we want to hear all about the results.P.S.,you could also sew up an inflatable envelope of rip-stop nylon to do some of the big streamlining and keep it around for some future moves,or to loan to another member for research.
__________________
Photobucket album: http://s1271.photobucket.com/albums/jj622/aerohead2/
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-02-2008, 04:55 AM   #7 (permalink)
EcoModding Minded
 
Chris D.'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Eagan, MN
Posts: 667

Lunar Mist - '02 Toyota Tacoma SR5
90 day: 25.31 mpg (US)

Silver Streak - '08 Toyota Corolla S
90 day: 38.25 mpg (US)
Thanks: 67
Thanked 25 Times in 12 Posts
Send a message via AIM to Chris D.
I've got an idea I wanted to toss at the collective for feasibility..

Using some 1" schedule 40 PVC piping for the V frame and a heat gun for it to contour to the sides and reuse some of the screws that hold the outter walls on to attach it.



I know thats not much of a V, but I still need to get to the front tongue jack unless I extend it well past it and make a little access door to get to it inside?

Then with the coroplast, a rivit gun and some washers to attach, white duct tape to seal things up and blue painters tape inbetween anything thats added to the exterior of the trailer to protect from movement of the frame, body wear, damage, ect..

Any ideas that mite trump this one?
Thats all I have..
__________________



Last edited by Chris D.; 06-02-2008 at 05:01 AM..
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-02-2008, 04:28 PM   #8 (permalink)
Veggiedynamics
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Alexandria, MN
Posts: 684

Volt12 - '12 Chevy Volt base
Thanks: 0
Thanked 12 Times in 10 Posts
v the front is probably the easiest simple mod, you could also angle off the top too.. seems from my CRX nose anything close to a 45 degrees or more deflects the wind very well..

also you just got that pickup topper may make sense to build a wing to push air over the top of that trailer? Like some semi's have.. could be as simple as a half sheet of chloroplast and a few support rods to hold its shape at speed..
__________________

  Reply With Quote
Old 06-02-2008, 04:31 PM   #9 (permalink)
EcoModding Minded
 
Chris D.'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Eagan, MN
Posts: 667

Lunar Mist - '02 Toyota Tacoma SR5
90 day: 25.31 mpg (US)

Silver Streak - '08 Toyota Corolla S
90 day: 38.25 mpg (US)
Thanks: 67
Thanked 25 Times in 12 Posts
Send a message via AIM to Chris D.
I have plans to transition some coroplast on the campershell to kill off some of the turbulence for the trailer..

I'm just not sure of the V concept method I thought
of will have what it takes to last 3500 miles worth of driving
__________________


  Reply With Quote
Old 06-02-2008, 11:52 PM   #10 (permalink)
EV OR DIESEL
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: South Louisiana
Posts: 1,758

FarFarfrumpumpen - '03 Volkswagen Jetta Wagon GLS Premium

Quorra - '12 Tesla Model S P85
Thanks: 57
Thanked 113 Times in 86 Posts
Send a message via AIM to dremd
"nose cone" maybe able to find one used . . . . just a thought

__________________
2016 Tesla Model X
2022 Sprinter
Gone 2012 Tesla Model S P85
Gone 2013 Nissan LEAF SV
2012 Nissan LEAF SV
6 speed ALH TDI Swapped in to a 2003 Jetta Wagon
  Reply With Quote
Reply  Post New Thread


Thread Tools


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Teardrop trailer campers bennelson Aerodynamics 42 05-23-2024 10:28 AM
MetroMPG.com: Electric pusher trailer MetroMPG Fossil Fuel Free 30 04-23-2015 03:24 PM
How my home-built bicycle trailer lowers my MPG MetroMPG Alternative Transportation 17 03-30-2012 07:15 PM
Aerodynamic Heavy-Duty Truck Trailer Cuts Fuel Consumption and Emissions By Up to 15% SVOboy Aerodynamics 11 12-27-2011 07:18 AM
Cap vs Trailer: Trailer wins! bennelson Aerodynamics 10 05-08-2008 10:08 AM



Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.5.2
All content copyright EcoModder.com