Full-boat-tail trailer with gap-fillers for Toyota T-100 pickup

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by miket

If a careless driver hit your trailer and totaled it how would that persons insurance determine how much to pay you for it? Or would they bring it to an auto body shop and have them spend a lot of and money to rebuild it it no matter how messed up it was? Would they fix any damge to the main truck and you do the same work again yourself on the modifications and trailer an bill the hours to their insurance company or would they have to do it all? Is your truck with modifications appraised for higher than the blue book value in case the insurance company would want to write it off and give you a small check?

Last night a big old car just pulled out in front of my car from a side street without looking. I slammed on the brakes and swerved around in a split second between that car and an oncoming pickup truck missing them by a couple of inches at most. It was all reaction. That got me thinking.

miket,those are good questions,I think about it all the time,but unsure as to how to come up with anything reasonable.Here's a 'sense about it:
One summer,I worked at a local marina doing a restoration on a 45-foot Chris Craft cabin cruiser.Cost to the client was $40.00(U.S) per hour for the labor portion of the work on the all-wood boat,which included some reconstruction of moisture-damaged teak and mohogany(sp?).
If $40/HR was a reasonable figure,applied to the trailer,I would have $21,440 invested in it for labor alone.
I have on the order of $20,000 invested in the T-100 for labor only.
I suppose a person could take out extra coverage,however,in a 'normal' collision/claims-adjuster/claim pay scenario,I have no idea how real 'cost' could be estimated for a one-off,hand-built,custom vehicle.Doug's Dolphin car set him back $100,000.One of the X-Prize cars absorbed 2 -1/2 years chemical engineer salary to build.
This is a tough one!

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by Varn

Aerohead:
Your rig would attract some attention at battle mtn. We raced our bike there in 2005.

Varn,I was able to make the last two sets of runs at Battle Mountain which included the fastest rigs,then attend the awards banquet downtown,where I finally 'joined' the IHPVA.
Back at the Super-8 Motel,a bunch of us loitered in the parking lot with Sam Whittingham (SP?) entertaining us with antics on a lithium-powered electric assist trike which 'Georgi' had brought from B.C. along with the race-winning Varnas of Sam and Barbara( from Paris,France).
'Georgi',Varna's designer made orbits around the T-100,while I made orbits around his Varna Diablo-III( Sam's bike) and Barbara's shrunken version,soaking up as much as I could,as it was night,and photos were out of the question.
Hope to be back next year,and much 'earlier' than this trip.Hope to see you there!

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by BamZipPow

Aerohead...

Just got my T-100's front end aligned this evening with Firestone's lifetime alignment with their Sep 1-30, 2010 10% off coupon fer an out the door price of $134.26. Major difference in driving. Hope you find the time to have yer T-100 checked/aligned while yer out there. I think it will make a major improvement if you haven't had it done lately. I should've done this before I made my major run out West.

Bam,I did the alignment ahead of getting the racing tires and she tracks perfectly at up to 100-mph so far.But I never said that! Thanks for the tip!

[aerohead]

After leaving 6-days late on my trip I salvaged an afternoon and a morning at Bonneville before the 'World of Speed' concluded.
I ran the T-100 through tech inspection and when I inquired about running the trailer on the salt,we had to track down Utah Salt Flats Racing Assoc. President,Jim Burkdoll by radio to get a definitive call.
Mr.Burkdoll was kind enough to spend some time with me as I described the project and my aspirations at Bonneville.
A couple of years ago a USFRA member pulled a U-HAUL sport trailer behind a 'lakester' ( opened-wheel streamliner )and 'spun it' at speed.
He didn't crash but they say it was 'pretty hairy',as you might imagine.
Anyway,to make a short story long,I've been given conditional approval to run with the trailer for the 2011 USFRA World of Speed event,so long as I do not exceed 130-MPH.
I will fashion a link which will 'fix' the location of the trailer behind the truck,preventing it any side-to-side motion.
I will also fabricate a vertical fin to move the center-of-pressure way back,and also,I have a DEIST cruciform drag-parachute that I will install.
Runs will be bracketed 10-MPH at a time,building velocity with each run until I either get squirrely and go for the chute,or eventually end up at 130 MPH and shut down.
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I will be able to make multiple passes,both with and without the trailer,and should have a better database from which to evaluate different configurations.
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For this recent trip,running with parts missing and no boat-tail,the new mods indicate that the T-100 is operating at approx. Cd 0.20.
The trailer and gap-fillers,theoretically,will push that value down to on the order of Cd 0.13.
It could make for interesting numbers.
I've got a year to be ready.We'll see how it goes.

[Varn]

Aerohead. Hope that you can share your Bonneville work to some extent.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by Varn

Aerohead. Hope that you can share your Bonneville work to some extent.

Varn,if the whole thing works out,I'll be sure and post as complete a report as I can.
If you plan to be at Battle Mountain next year I'll see you there,as I have much un-finished business there and hope to report on that as well.
Otherwise,I'll be knocking on your door for some overhead photos of the Varnas hanging on your wall which I'd hope to capture this trip in Nevada.
Georgi said he'd done some overhead shots for a British contingent which visited him a few years ago,and would try to dig those out and post at his website.
Photo-essays on these things almost never depict the vehicle as viewed in plan,something any aero-modder would need to see.

[aerohead]

Some of us members were discussing aero trailers elsewhere and I wanted to do a general project update.
I failed to locate the Goodyear Racing Eagles which were formerly manufactured for use on the front wheels of NHRA Top-Fuel dragsters.Goodyear is no longer manufacturing these tires.So much for Plan-A.
My default plan is to convert the 2-wheel Viking trailer to a 1-wheeler.I've run such a thing back in the 90s behind the CRX.It pulled great across four states and I averaged 48-mpg at up to 80-mph over Vail Pass,Colorado in spite of two completely burned through vacuum lines behind the carburetor.
The first 2-wheel trailer averaged 50-mpg behind the CRX,out to Los Angeles,California,with the all-up weight of a Ford Taurus on the return leg.And that was with only an 'upper' body and fully exposed axle,U-bolts,shackles,and frames square tubing.
I have the swing-arm,mono-shock,and 17" -wheel from a 1990 HONDA NT-650 Hawk.I will marry this to a home-brewed sub-frame which will mate to the underside of Viking.
I've purchased an H-Rated ( 130-mph ) Dunlop touring radial for the wheel and will do the metal valve stem and speed balance.The tire has a load rating which exceeds the entire weight of Viking and the new axle will be situated further aft with higher 'tongue' loading.
I also sprang for an OEM HONDA swing-arm bolt/nut,as I did not have this part,and being 15-mm,cannot be purchased at any local bolt supply houses .Hardware and tire came to $ 154.00.
This morning I phoned Summit Racing and ordered a new Snell SA 2005 Bell helmet,driveline loop for the T-100,and an 18-ft SIMPSON parachute release cable kit for Viking ( $ 410.00 ).
I have a STROUD 10-ft cruciform drag chute which I am required to run and will form an alcove on the back of Viking to receive the chute pack.
I am also required to provide a link between the T-100 and Viking which will prevent Viking from any 'wagging' should I go sideways and spin on the course.This happened to a driver pulling a U-Haul sport trailer behind a Tall-boy or Lakester a few years ago.No wreck,but USFRA President Jim Burkdoll said it was pretty 'hairy'.
They're gonna try and keep me alive!
I'll also fabricate a tail fin for Viking.The drag penalty will be slight and far over -shadowed by the good it can do as a weathervane to keep me straight down course.
USFRA membership is $40.00 and World of Speed entry is $135.00.That's a week of racing,with medics,air ambulance,and a great group of folks! I'll kick in some for' Save the Salt ',which helps to preserve the salt flats for future generations.
The rest is getting back to fabrication when time and weather permit.
I've taken a second 'job' in Ft.Worth on weekends and when weather shuts down my regular gig swinging a hammer and paintbrush.
September,2011 will come soon enough.I'll see if I can make it happen.A lot,yet not much time,and it will be slow and steady baby steps getting there.
P.S. I'll also restore the damage from the first go-around and test as the original 2-wheel setup to have a comparison.

[slowmover]

I could see how the earlier trailer had practical aspects (maybe not much volume, yet potential decent weight carrying capacity), but am lost on the single wheel advantage (except for the one-off Bonneville gig . . which is a fine goal [exciting]). Proof of concept? Or more the niche where you can kick tail (and other/another trailer to follow)?

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by slowmover

I could see how the earlier trailer had practical aspects (maybe not much volume, yet potential decent weight carrying capacity), but am lost on the single wheel advantage (except for the one-off Bonneville gig . . which is a fine goal [exciting]). Proof of concept? Or more the niche where you can kick tail (and other/another trailer to follow)?

I couldn't get the Goodyear racing Eagles I'd hoped for.They are no longer in production in the size I needed for the 2-wheel axle.
The 130-Club rule book requires at least an H-rated tire to run.And I can run as fast as 138 mph with an H-Rated tire,which is the theoretical top speed of the truck with the trailer,if the composite Cd ends up where the physics suggests it will be.
Going to a single motorcycle tire is the only option I have in order to preserve the trailer body and get a speed rated tire underneath. The larger diameter will intrude through the floor and into the interior space.Not 'practical' but one way to get a top speed without completely re-engineering the trailer.
Knowing the top speed will allow me to reverse-engineer the composite drag coefficient,using Hucho's 30% delta-drag/10% delta-top speed relationship for a comparison to the mpg-derived Cd.
After I've got Bonneville behind me I can restore the original axle and wheels for 'normal' duty.

[KamperBob]

Phil, IIRC your trailer previously had 8" wheels. I had no idea, initially, that you were going for speed records. Clearly, 8" wheels are out. Even if you found tires I'd bet the bearings would seize. I'd think 13" wheels might work with 4 on 4 rims and H-rated rubbers. Just playing Mr. Obvious.

Cheers
kb (@kamperbob.com/blog)