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

[BamZipPow]

Originally Posted by orbywan

I love that round opening thingy in the grille, looks like a jet air intake. What is that? I assume you have a controllable air intake there? That whole front end looks really cool. Nice job.

From what I recall...it's from a trash can that used to be sold at Sam's Club or Costco.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by orbywan

I love that round opening thingy in the grille, looks like a jet air intake. What is that? I assume you have a controllable air intake there? That whole front end looks really cool. Nice job.

The 'Steve Canyon fighter jet intake' is a stainless steel waste basket lid from a unit that was once sold at Sam's Club.
I first saw them at a restaurant in Colorado Springs.Management would not part with one.
Years later I discovered one in the break room of a Dallas manufacturing company that was a client.They know I'm a nut-case and agreed to swap the lid for a new stainless unit of different design.
It is very much like a turbine inlet.The curvature prevents any vena-contrata entry loss.It's virtually ideal,aerodynamically.Why jets use 'em.
The center bullet valve is a cast-aluminum architectural outdoor floodlight housing I found at a junk dealer in west Texas.I couldn't get it for a junk price though.
In the future,the bullet will move to control air volume into the cooling system,etc.,and completely close off in the winter to conserve engine heat when shut off.Right now,it's in a fixed position.

[orbywan]

Originally Posted by aerohead

The 'Steve Canyon fighter jet intake' is a stainless steel waste basket lid from a unit that was once sold at Sam's Club.
I first saw them at a restaurant in Colorado Springs.Management would not part with one.
Years later I discovered one in the break room of a Dallas manufacturing company that was a client.They know I'm a nut-case and agreed to swap the lid for a new stainless unit of different design.
It is very much like a turbine inlet.The curvature prevents any vena-contrata entry loss.It's virtually ideal,aerodynamically.Why jets use 'em.
The center bullet valve is a cast-aluminum architectural outdoor floodlight housing I found at a junk dealer in west Texas.I couldn't get it for a junk price though.
In the future,the bullet will move to control air volume into the cooling system,etc.,and completely close off in the winter to conserve engine heat when shut off.Right now,it's in a fixed position.

That's awesome Phil, I love it. I need one for my Saturn. That's a thought. Now that I've got the diesel engine on the RV cooling fabulously, if I go to the DM scrap yard and find an air inlet for an F-16 or something and graft it into the front grille and add a flow controller I'd have it licked. Seriously. It's nice to know there are others that share my mental illness. Ha! We don't need no stinking therapy, we just need spare parts!

[Cd]

Looking mighty sleek Phil.
Are you going to pull back the mirrors for the speed run ?
I know you tested the CRX and found no change, but I'm wondering if they would have an effect on this particular vehicle.
Also, whatever became of the hood ramp ?

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by Cd

Looking mighty sleek Phil.
Are you going to pull back the mirrors for the speed run ?
I know you tested the CRX and found no change, but I'm wondering if they would have an effect on this particular vehicle.
Also, whatever became of the hood ramp ?

Cd,I will run a 'stock' configuration,as that's where my mpg numbers will be coming from.No variables that way.See what that nets me.
Then,I'll start messing around.
As to the hood blister,we were having some significant tornadic weather weeks ago and a lot of chances for big hail.All my plex parts have already been destroyed by tennis ball size hail and will have to be re-fabricated ( ouch!),so I pulled the blister to protect it until I test some more.
Without it,the hood literally caves in about a foot in front of the cowl.I should ask BamZipPow if he's ever experienced that on his.Wild!

[BamZipPow]

On my 1993 T-100...the hood supports weren't connected to the skin anymore and it would flap as I was driving. I ended up shoving a piece of 1x2 wood between the supports and the hood skin and it stopped the flapping.

Snap a few piccies of the hood supports and post them up. I'd be curious on what's still attached. You could probably git some Liquid Nails construction adhesive and put dabs between the support and the hood skin...but only if you thoroughly clean both surfaces before you apply it.

With my current 1998 T-100, I don't have that problem.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by BamZipPow

On my 1993 T-100...the hood supports weren't connected to the skin anymore and it would flap as I was driving. I ended up shoving a piece of 1x2 wood between the supports and the hood skin and it stopped the flapping.

Snap a few piccies of the hood supports and post them up. I'd be curious on what's still attached. You could probably git some Liquid Nails construction adhesive and put dabs between the support and the hood skin...but only if you thoroughly clean both surfaces before you apply it.

With my current 1998 T-100, I don't have that problem.

Actually,I find the deformation quite entertaining! Witnessing 'tin-canning' first hand.
It helps me remember the forces lurking just beyond the glass.
I appreciate the confirmation.
Hope your weather's a little cooler down there.

[aerohead]

'been recycling metal into the gap-fillers.
I was given the late Bob Parson's sail car by his wife and I'm chopping up the steel tube truss sections to create the space-frames for the upper Viking gap-filler panel,as well as the T-100 rear,upper,inter-spanning gap-filler panel.
The Viking upper panel is 'there' and in a tack-welded condition.I've run it through the full range of motion and it's going to operate just fine.
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I am nearly complete with one of the side-panel super-structures.I came up with a double-wheel bogey and single roller combo which 'ride' the prismatic trailer face,forcing the outward swing articulation of these panels as the trailer comes off-center during a turn initiation,all forced by contact of the lazy-C pivot-frame face with the contact rollers on the rear face of the integrator.
What remains,is a final roller which supports the outward lower rear extremity of the frame when on-center,should the rig encounter 'jerk' from a killer pot-hole,etc..The roller will roll atop a heavy aluminum bellypan section which cantilevers forward off the lower prismatic face on each side.
All the rollers are from recycled inline skates.1-skate will do an entire side.$2.
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During near-jack-knife turning maneuvers the operating velocities should be low enough,and on level enough ground to permit survival of the lazy-C pivot-frame which carries the 'flag' side-panels.The lazy-C frame's weakness will be in torsion.So the support rollers should really help.
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The tack welds will make 'corrections' easier,should I get stupid and have to re-engineer my engineering.
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The fiberglass welding blanket has allowed me to weld 'directly' on/over the trailer.It's a nice addition to the shack.
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So far,so good! No major surprises.
I'll get more photos taken soon,and post the few that I have if Al can break free.
The 'trumpet-player' should be back from Europe soon so my 'working vacation' is nearing its end and will have to go to work soon."#%@(*&)+_@*&^%!!!!!"

[aerohead]

'been working out details on the mechanisms.
*I've done the 'easy' forward bellypan section for the drivers side.The upper side of the pans will double as the runways for the trailing roller supports of the side-panel frames.
*The pans will require cantilever support.I will use aluminum angle underneath which will appear as a flow fence,although fences would not be necessary.
*I moved the trailer outside to attempt better photos.
The series of images reflect the trailer going through a full jack-knife range of motion.
*The lazy-C frame,to which swing-panel frames are attached is always parallel to the integrator frame on the back of the truck.When you look at the C-frame orientation,it is mimicking the integrator.
* I've left out the 2nd degree of articulation at the C-frame as depicted in the Prius trailer thread.Tongue weight is growing steadily and I'm going to omit any feature which isn't 'mission critical' to aerodynamics.
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*The last series of shots are of the bogey and roller which travel the prismatic face of the trailer.
* When I get the pan on the passenger side I can work out the roller support.
* The passenger side pan will require a trap-door for the landing gear to rotate and fall through when the trailer is de-hitched.
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* The integrator itself will require articulated panels to deal with pitch and roll.
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*This morning I purchased the aluminum for the second forward pan and 5/8ths square tubing for the panel frames,along with some more steel pre-forms.
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* If time avails itself I will race-drill all the frames to add lightness.
*Plenty ahead of me!

[aerohead]

here are 2-more shots of bogey/roller