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

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[RedDevil]

I imagine that if you make sure the hitch paneling starts at a set distance from the hook, and the paneling on the tow vehicle stays precisely within that distance, they can be very close together without ever touching.
The divide would be at the surface of an imaginary sphere of which the hitch point is the center.
A gap that small would not disturb the airflow much, and you would not need flexible gap fillers at all.

It does not have to cover the entire surface of the sphere; the plates just have to meet when going in a straight line, as when you're moving at speed it will always be in a straight line or very close to that.

I edited the picture to show what I mean.

The hitch point in read, hitch beam in blue, panel gap in black and imaginary sphere and radius in green.

The picture is quite crude, and cannot effectively show the sphere; but I hope it conveys my idea.
You'd choose the radius as small as possible, so that it just meets the furthest extremeties on the back of the tow vehicle to keep the extra paneling on that to a minimum.

Another view from above:

Tow vehicle and trailer are the black rectangles, the red lines are the additional side paneling.

As you can see this design allows the paneling to go straight from the tow vehicles side towards the trailer.
There needs to be a gap in the roof paneling too: following the surface of the sphere.

The only thing that disturbs it is the hitch beam, which has to enter the forbidden sphere. So the side paneling on the tow vehicle cannot cgo too low, or it would compromise tight cornering.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by RedDevil

I edited the picture to show what I mean.

Another view from above:

It's kind of what I've been thinking about - only reversed.

You don't want a sphere at the rear of a vehicle - it'll add drag, and cause instability when fitted on a trailer.

Now, add the sphere on the trailer's front.
That'd be good for FE, even without gap filling panels.
In a simpler form and providing more internal space, it could just as well be a half cylinder with a slanted top rather than a sphere.

Add gap filling panels on the tow vehicle, and let them rest on the sphere
(tiny wheels on locally reinforced patches, teflon patches and half-spheres resting on / sliding over one another, ...) when driving straight & level.

On the towing vehicle, physical detents inboard of the panels, prevent the gap-filling panels from collapsing too far inboard for side-panels ,; or from dropping too low for the top panel.
The side-panels can probably also be the detents for the top panel.
Springs / bungees keep them resting on the sphere or on the detents.

In a level / straight config, the gaps should be minimal.
In a turn,
- the bungees should keep the inboard / top panel on the sphere
- the outboard panels can't move fully inboard, leaving a gap on that side, but that's not that much of an issue.


On the bottom, use a panel that's hinged at the tow vehicle, and connected with a bungee / spring on the trailer end .

[RedDevil]

Originally Posted by euromodder

It's kind of what I've been thinking about - only reversed.

You don't want a sphere at the rear of a vehicle - it'll add drag, and cause instability when fitted on a trailer.

Now, add the sphere on the trailer's front.
That'd be good for FE, even without gap filling panels.
In a simpler form and providing more internal space, it could just as well be a half cylinder with a slanted top rather than a sphere...

I was not thinking of a real sphere. That is just the dividing 'line' (convex plane) between tow and trailer.
Just some panels outlining the sides and roof of the imaginary sphere would do.
The trailers side panels would be very close to that; that is the whole reason for this setup. So there should be no aerodynamic instability whatsoever.
Tow vehicle and trailer would form one body with just a very small gap in between.

The panels need to be removable or you would not be able to reach the hitch point.

The location of the sphere is solely dependant on the location of the hitch point.
With the hitch at the back the tow vehicle needs to stay within the sphere.
An overhead hitch point like a semi would allow for the front of the trailer bearing the sphere or have top and side panels reaching to the outline of the sphere, while the cabin would have the hollow end (or matching panels).

A close-fitting cylinder and countercylinder would work in corners on the flat, but hit each other when the road is not level, like concave or askew.
When the divide is a sphere around the hitch point they would never hit.

It is easy to determine where the gap should be - tie a rope to the hitch point, find what lenght you need to reach the outermost points of whatever needs to be within the sphere and cut the panels wherever you can stretch the rope for that length. Then hitch the trailer in line and fit the panels on precisely so that they just don't hit.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by RedDevil

I imagine that if you make sure the hitch paneling starts at a set distance from the hook, and the paneling on the tow vehicle stays precisely within that distance, they can be very close together without ever touching.
The divide would be at the surface of an imaginary sphere of which the hitch point is the center.
A gap that small would not disturb the airflow much, and you would not need flexible gap fillers at all.

It does not have to cover the entire surface of the sphere; the plates just have to meet when going in a straight line, as when you're moving at speed it will always be in a straight line or very close to that.

I edited the picture to show what I mean.

The hitch point in read, hitch beam in blue, panel gap in black and imaginary sphere and radius in green.

The picture is quite crude, and cannot effectively show the sphere; but I hope it conveys my idea.
You'd choose the radius as small as possible, so that it just meets the furthest extremeties on the back of the tow vehicle to keep the extra paneling on that to a minimum.

Another view from above:

Tow vehicle and trailer are the black rectangles, the red lines are the additional side paneling.

As you can see this design allows the paneling to go straight from the tow vehicles side towards the trailer.
There needs to be a gap in the roof paneling too: following the surface of the sphere.

The only thing that disturbs it is the hitch beam, which has to enter the forbidden sphere. So the side paneling on the tow vehicle cannot cgo too low, or it would compromise tight cornering.

The sphere is a good representation of the boundary from which all range of motion of each panel must respect.
I've ended up with quite the Rube Goldberg device but it's survived many thousands of real miles now.With simultaneous pitch,yaw,and roll it cannot bind.
A bulbous nose on my trailer would allow shorter,lighter panels.The lower inertia would be an improvement.
Perhaps this work-in-progress will get finished.

[GregsGarage]

I live in Denton and have seen this truck before. I would like to meet you if possible. I drive an automatic 4 cyl. 2004 Kia Optima and would like to get into the ecomodder scene and I wanted to see what you think I should do to get started. I have thought about buying a smaller car but like my old Kia so I would rather just deal with what I already have. Let me know when you get a chance. I just need a bit of direction / advice. Thanks! Greg

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by GregsGarage

I live in Denton and have seen this truck before. I would like to meet you if possible. I drive an automatic 4 cyl. 2004 Kia Optima and would like to get into the ecomodder scene and I wanted to see what you think I should do to get started. I have thought about buying a smaller car but like my old Kia so I would rather just deal with what I already have. Let me know when you get a chance. I just need a bit of direction / advice. Thanks! Greg

Greg,I'll be at Copy-Pro,across from UNT,at Fry Street and Hickory,Saturday,between 11:00 am and 4:00 pm doing EcoModder.
Come by if you can,or send me a PM and we'll figure something out.

[aerohead]

No real news.I'm to take it real easy for another month to give the September 21st abdominal surgery a fare break.
I'll be 6-months without income this year due to the T-100 breakdown,so any significant developments are pushed down the calendar as budget permits.
There's a bit of activity in Europe with trailers.Don Burr has sold over 3,000 teardrops and M.A.N. has a nice teardrop trailer as well.
Delft University has tested a tractor-semi-trailer boat tail of 78-inches.Their aerospace spin-off company has been purchased by WABCO if memory is correct and they're pursuing serious aerodynamic add-ons.
AT Dynamics 'Trailer Tail' is very active in Europe.
The manufacturers are trying to get EC length regulations at least as good as the USA or better.Presently,they're limited to 16.5-meters overall length.
I found a dated article about US manufacturing.It basically said that Trucking executives would spend millions on aero tractors,but nothing on aero trailers,so the trailer manufacturers essentially said to -ell with it all.
Bob Sliwa is America's lone-wolf with his up-coming "FUTURE" aero tractor/semi.
Trillions of dollars/Euros/etc. are at stake over the coming decades.It will be interesting to see where Bubba goes.

[skyking]

Good to hear from you, and interesting news from across the pond.
I have not started anything new yet, nor finished my active grill system. I simply do not drive the truck enough.
I do have a plan for a proof of concept trailer for the Beetle, so I can test out some of the methods and materials for the big 5th wheel.
My take on the join between tow vehicle and trailer will take a different tack;
I will build a Kammback for starters on the Beetle, and a aero trailer with a power telescoping tongue.
I will be able to pull it up quite close and still navigate typical corners. I will use any additional fairings sparingly.

[aerohead]

That would be a fun project.
I have a 1950s clip of a tongue-pull telescoping-roof caravan behind a bug.
"The little engine that could!"
The modern water-cooled beast should be able to just 'shrug' with a smart trailer behind it.