Doin what they say cant be done.

[freebeard]

Overlapping plates ...like an armadillo?

[Sparkeysmall]

Originally Posted by kingster1989

If I remember right, do you tow a fifth wheel trailer or a bumper pull trailer, either way, you could make an aeroshell that could tilt up and become the aero front end for the trailer to keep the air flowing smoothly.

its a bumper pull.

and to other comments... i have trailer brakes. and spent the time to adjust them to the truck. i even pulled the drums apart and adjust.

so i guess theres only one thing to say..... welcome to the u.s.a...

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so. after waltzing through home depot without a plan i walked out with 1/2" cpvc, a bunch of tee's and 90's, 4 sheets of corrugated clear plastic and screws.

so far i got halfway done till i got tired. after working all night and staying up through the day... anyway, I'm going to hopefully have it functional by the time i have to go to work tonight. I'm going to have to go back to the local hardware store and get more tee's. i have to build up more support for the middle, and probably use the rest of the pipe i got to make a few more cross supports.

anyway i never pulled out a tape measure. and only had my pocket knife to cut it all... so far I'm pleased with how its turning out. definitely needs some things ironed out. but I'm sure it will make an improvement. ill have to fill the tank up again to see what kind of change it makes.

[ECO-AKJ]

Man, after standing on my head and doing a handstand to look at the pics, I commend you for the work done so far on the aero cover

[Fat Charlie]

Sorry, I thought it was the undertray.

[freebeard]

after waltzing through home depot without a plan i walked out with 1/2" cpvc, a bunch of tee's and 90's, 4 sheets of corrugated clear plastic and screws.

That's what happens when you don't have a plan.

Is the corrugated sheet polyurethane? How do you plan to cut it?

What do the screws look like?

[Daschicken]

How about tire deflectors in front of each dually set?

I found a semi that made a deflector for the trailer, no driveshaft here to worry about, so you would want to make two deflectors instead of one big one.

[Sparkeysmall]

Originally Posted by freebeard

That's what happens when you don't have a plan.

Is the corrugated sheet polyurethane? How do you plan to cut it?

What do the screws look like?

polycarbonate. and i bought a jigsaw and ended up using scissors and a razor blade...

and 1" self tapping screws. i know over 170 of 'em. i used one box and a few out of the other i got.

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in short. it looks absolutely dreadful.

still has a few rough edges to get off, and my "no tape measure" method had a few issues. but. its sturdy and so far hasn't fallen off. i need to get another panel to seal off the back and level it off. i put some curve into the rear cross to help with the load.

i drove to the gas station to get a top off for this mod. and my recent city cruising has killed my 12mpg avg... 10.8 this tank.

while i was filling up a guy pulled up to the pump next to me in a new lincoln continental. needless to say i asked if i could have a look... and its exactly what i imagined it to look in real life. absolutely gorgeous... made my truck look like it belongs in a junk yard. ..... someday ill have a nice car...


anyway. so far i can definitely tell a difference. it coasts much farther then before. and my instant gauge reads a few miles higher than usual. so hopefully this tank will go awhile further.


so i guess my eco driving tactics should be mentioned.


1: accelerate as quickly as possible while keeping the ignition advance as high as possible. usually above 30 degrees. wide open it drops to 15-20 degrees. cruising 35-40 degrees.

2: steady throttle down hill. less up hill. essentially pick a target mpg and keep the needle above it. traffic permitting.

3: learn the farthest i can coast to a stop at an intersection or slow for "reduced speed ahead".

... thats about it... i can't engine off coast with the auto. even then i tried it in a parking lot today and had decent steering but no brakes... 2 feet hard on the pedal to get it stopped... hydroboost brakes do not like a still power steering pump.

so... further input will come.


i guess i should also mention that this topper is a prototype. i want to see some improvements before i go and get a few $'s worth of sheet aluminum and small pipe. i don't need convenience right now. and if this topper saves me a few dollars more than i paid for the materials then we're going somewhere. cost me $150 for everything other than the $25 jigsaw i thought i was going to use but never opened the box... I'm sure ill find a use for it later though...

[Natalya]

I wonder if the corrugations in the plastic will cause issues. Wouldn't a smoother plastic be superior?

[Sparkeysmall]

Originally Posted by Natalya

I wonder if the corrugations in the plastic will cause issues. Wouldn't a smoother plastic be superior?

Eh, maybe. The corrugations are running with the flow. And i thought about laying them sideways to make an attempt for a "golf ball" effect. But actually laying them out longitudinally made for more efficient use of material.

And i would think having the corrugations running front to back would help direct the flow. If anything trimming the edges and improving the slope would make a massive improvement. This topper is not perfect. To be honest i really dont want to take many more pictures of it. Its ugly as sin. At least not until its finished. I diddnt have time to polish it off abit better today. And even then. Theres really not much more i can do. I did it alone. So im sure anybody can get an idea of what its like trying to keep the sides on while putting in the initial screws. Of which did not like staying in the drill.

Anyway. I probably wont have time to finish it until sunday.

[freebeard]

polycarbonate. and i bought a jigsaw and ended up using scissors and a razor blade...

That's probably what I meant. I'm trying to cut some clear corrugated right now. I want to use this:



Hot nichrome wire. I got the 2 D-cells, but I apparently need to scavenge a coil spring out of another flashlight. It should work pretty well. I really dislike PVC, and prefer redwood benderboard. It's a landscaping material. This was done [temporarily] to research the shape:




If it was glued up in laminations it could make a very stout structure. Cross-cuts are easier than PVC pipe.

Try 3/16th inch pop rivets instead of the sheet metal screws. No more trouble and a smoother finish.