Boat tail project based on a single wheel trailer...

[freebeard]

slowmover -- Do you think feeding all the forces through the receiver hitch helps, or hurts? As compared to two attachment points.

[BamZipPow]

Got an indicated 25.8mpg at 65mph from Wichita to the toll booth at Kansas City. The left wing of the upper gap cover flipped up during the drive and I didn't git a chance to fix it until I refueled the truck and passengers. I got an indicated 24mpg at 65mph from Kansas City to Iowa City. I had to slow down a few times due to icy road conditions. Head and cross winds were pretty severe during the majority of the trip and made driving a little squirrelly at times.

I do want to experiment with lowering the air pressure in the air shocks and reducing the amount of sand ballast over the trailer wheel. I do understand there is a relationship with the air bag air pressure and the amount of ballast weight over the wheel. I know I will have to find the matched air pressure fer the air bag and 60lbs of sand ballast when I'm running an empty trailer. Hopefully I'll be able to create a ballast chart matched with the proper air bag pressure with enough testing.

With the exception of the trailer, I've kept the weight in the bed aft of the rear axle to a minimum.

I estimate about 150lbs of luggage weight in the trailer and 180lbs of sand ballast. The cargo weight in the truck bed is approximately 300lbs. I did move the ~75lbs spare tire that was stored aft of the rear axle under the bed to inside the truck bed forward of the rear axle. I estimate the nose of the truck is about 2" higher than my normal runs and the rear of the truck is lower by about the same amount. I'm gonna try lowering the air shock pressure down and see what turns out.

[MetroMPG]

Nice results.

OH MAN! I just realized this project isn't on the front page. I thought it was in that list already. My bad, and will fix that tomorrow.

[BamZipPow]

Had a blast going up a parking garage with the trailer. Don't think it would've been possible with a standard ball hitch trailer at all with the full parking as it was!

Got back home safe and sound. No big issues besides the upper gap cover wing flipping up on the way up to Iowa City. I did lose 60lbs of sand ballast and moved about 30lbs of gear into the truck bed before I started the trip home.

Got an indicated 26.5mpg at 65mph from Iowa City to Cameron. Lots of people were snapping piccies or running out into the street to take a peek at the rig.

Got an indicated 26.1mpg at 65mph from Cameron to Wichita. A few drivers had to chase me down to git more piccies. Some even waved back when I waved.

Got an indicated 28.4mpg at 65mph (peak of 30.3mpg before holiday traffic in Oklahoma City) from Wichita to Ardmore. A few good old boys were making comments about my rig (cab cover deployed to keep the dog cooled down) while I was parked at a restaurant and caught some of the comments on the way out. Some of them changed their minds a bit when I told them what gas mileage I just got from Wichita to Ardmore. A couple of ladies spotted the truck while I was refueling and turned around to snap some piccies.

Indicated 28.4mpg at 65mph before I hit holiday traffic in Dallas. Ending gas mileage from Ardmore to College Station was an indicated 25.8mpg at 65mph. Got chased by some fool who almost boxed me into a merging car right before I got home.

I think I will try to find another set of air shocks and put them on the rear of the truck to see it will help level out the truck some more. I know they don't make them specifically fer my T-100 so I'll have to butcher up a set to make it work...maybe a set fer the F-150 will work.

Road salt gave a pretty good pattern on the truck.




Thinking about having a QR code printed and stuck to the sides of the trailer so people who want to know will be directed to this thread. What do you think?

[Sven7]

I put a couple QR codes on my Probe and don't think anyone even noticed them, let alone scanned them. Besides, no one really uses them...

I'd say just get a 5 foot long Ecomodder logo printed in vinyl and stick it on the side of the truck.

[BamZipPow]

Air bag looked a little low so I did a quick measurement. Seems the air pressure had dropped down to the 40's psi. Any sort of leak when you are taking a measurement lets all the air out of the air bag very quickly. Pumped it back up to 85psi and 120lbs of sand ballast. I need to look at installing an air reservoir fer this thing...

Air shocks had dropped down to the 70's psi. Pumped them back up to 105psi.

[BamZipPow]

Originally Posted by Sven7

I put a couple QR codes on my Probe and don't think anyone even noticed them, let alone scanned them. Besides, no one really uses them...

I'd say just get a 5 foot long Ecomodder logo printed in vinyl and stick it on the side of the truck.

Maybe a sign that sez "Scan me!" since they are taking pictures they should be able to scan a huge QR code.

How many people were snapping piccies of yer Probe? I just figure it would be less time fer me to try to explain everything.

I just got back from the local Best Buy and there were a few land sharks circling my rig in their trucks. One guy even backed up to git a better view or snap a few piccies.

[Sven7]

Well, that link says that only 1 of 5 people have the scanning app, and a fraction of those people are likely to pull their phone out, start the app and scan it.

I got all kinds of looks, especially with the boat tail. A lot of it is on the go, though, when people don't have time to scan a QR code, let alone a stable hand. If they don't have the app, it's gone forever to them.

The reason I recommend just a huge "ecomodder.com" on the side is that if someone takes a picture, they can look the site up later and figure out why you modified your truck the way you did. If nothing else it's a short enough word that they may even simply remember it.

And yes, people love to circle around boat tails (for the kill? ). I even caught a few peekers on camera- one at Menards and one at a car show. As long as you give the curious an avenue to explore further, I feel your duty is done. Most will not understand or look it up, so make it obvious and accessible for those that do. After all, people are probably less likely to personally ask you questions about fringe cars like ours than, say, a Lamborghini.

Anyway, I'm rambling. The important part is to do your own thing, and if people really want to know more, they'll find a way.

[BamZipPow]

Doing a quick inspection of the salt trails on the truck and trailer, I see some interesting patterns underneath. I noticed that there wasn't a trace of salt in between the truck and trailer so I guess I did an okay job on the gap covers.

I'm gonna have way too much fun in the next few days of washing all that salt off, too!

I am gonna try 60lbs of sand ballast and 50psi in the air bag.

[aerohead]

from GOOGLE I got around 2,036 miles hwy for the trip.And on a mileage-weighted-basis,26.118 MPG composite for the trip.That's 37.463% over the EPA HWY,19 MPG.Pretty sweet! And if the wind ever stopped blowing,and it got warmer,the fun index would only climb!
That 30.3 mpg going into OKC is especially tasty!
Congratulations to the BamZipPow team members.Thanks for all the hours of labor and for sharing all the gory details.
This should be in the history books.