Semi truck drivers getting into aero mods more?

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by pete c

A few years ago I saw a lot of the single wide trailer tires. Lately, I haven't noticed as many. Have they decided they aren't all that, or am I just not paying attention.

Doubles on trailers are going out of fashion on this end of the Atlantic.

[GRU]

Originally Posted by cfg83

GRU -

Thanks for the details. Is your company's owner planning to mod the rest of the trailers as the skirts pay for themselves over time?

CarloSW2

I never did the math but let's say they give 5% savings. On average each truck will go through about 385 gallons of diesel per week. At current diesel prices (in Canada) that's a saving of about $86 per week. I'm not sure how much they cost but i think they are about $1000 so in that case they would pay for themselves in 12 weeks.

We don't need all trailers to have the skirts because most of them do local runs without much highway driving, so there wouldn't be much of a benefit but i guess even $20/week/truck is good

[cfg83]

GRU -

Originally Posted by GRU

I never did the math but let's say they give 5% savings. On average each truck will go through about 385 gallons of diesel per week. At current diesel prices (in Canada) that's a saving of about $86 per week. I'm not sure how much they cost but i think they are about $1000 so in that case they would pay for themselves in 12 weeks.

We don't need all trailers to have the skirts because most of them do local runs without much highway driving, so there wouldn't be much of a benefit but i guess even $20/week/truck is good

Ahhh, okay. It didn't occur to me that trailers had dedicated purposes.

CarloSW2

[gasstingy]

Our company hauls fuel, and I haven't seen much aero stuff for tankers. We have tried the super singles a couple years ago. When we stopped using them, I asked the boss why. He had two negative comments on them. First, he said if one gets ruined {due to a puncture or other carcass damage}, you basically have to buy the equivalent of two tires and second, he said our drivers complained about the way the trailers tracked behind the truck when using them.

I'm sure the second item was a nitpick, but the first one adds up to real money. And hauling fuel, we can't run a retread tire.

[dupree]

I have seen smooth wheelcovers on semis, as well as faired and skirted

[Cd]

I just saw my first boattail ! ( kammback )
A Mesilla Valley Transportation rig.
I had seen their trucks first with the moon wheels about a year ago, then gradually the side skirts.

The guy pulled into the store I was shopping at and I watched as he collapsed the boattail.

It literally took about three seconds.
Hats off to the guys that designed it !

The truck had the whole aero package - a clean cab with no external add ons, moon disks on the cab , side skirts and a boattail.

( YKYEM when you get excited over seeing changes like this ! )

[ps2fixer]

Great to see it isn't only in michigan where the truckers are getting better mileage .

I wonder what kind of mileage they can get with the "full aero" package. Of what I have heard in the past, they get something like 8-10mpg, is that anywhere close to normal?

[kach22i]

I don't drive all that much because I work out of my house, but I had to visit a job site yesterday and spotted this.

Automobile 2 - Odds And Ends Photos by kach22i | Photobucket





I also spotted another truck having nothing to do with eco/aero but was just as fun to look at.