Semi truck drivers getting into aero mods more?
 

Since joining this site, I have really noticed a lot of semi trucks with side skirts on the trailers.

Example site is at Proven 7% Savings in Tractor Trailer Fuel Costs | Frieght Wing.

Are semi truck drivers going to lead the aero change over since they are ran less by looks over function? A 7% gain for a semi is quite a lot since they drive so far O.o. I know they have had the top caps for a while for the cab to trailer line to be more aero, but the side skirts is something new for me.

Also has anyone else noticed these? I live in michigan, and economy is complete crap where I live.

Discuss.... :D

It's a pretty conservative world - on either side of the Atlantic - but the transport sector gets hit hard with high fuel prices.

They can use the benefits towards a healthier profit, use it to win (back) contracts, or both.

And use so much fuel in the process that even minor gains become worthwhile.

You'll see a lot more aerodynamic improvements in the trucking world when the high oil prices stay high or continue to rise.

Legislation may hamper their introduction though - definitely on this side of the Pond.

I agree that truckers see the most benefit from small gains. I have yet to see one with smooth hubcaps though :).

They exist.

There's a fair amount of info on Kevin Rutherfords Let's Truck site and Sirius radio show. Disputed, proven, up-for-grabs.

I just got back from a trans-Canada drive (helped my cousin move from BC back to Ontario), and saw a lot of side skirts on truck trailers. More than I've ever seen (though it was a long trip!).

I also saw my first set of "super single" trailer tires in the wild on this drive.

I was driving a U-Haul van with a built-in "Eco - Gauge" on the A-pillar (vacuum gauge) and a sticker on the dash encouraging the driver to "keep the needle in the green".

It's likely that commercial vehicles will lead when it comes to adopting fuel saving add-ons, where laws permit. It's all about the bottom line, and fuel is the biggest expense.

Those super singles also look really awesome!

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.

I think OTR trailers may be where we see automated multi-vehicle convoys where they can take advantage of close drafting.

"Semi truck drivers getting into aero mods more?"

Some are. Please see my thread titled "AirFlow BulletTruck Project"

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-la...599-images.jpg

It would be nice to see something like this sooner than later!

schnider is doing some good stuff. a lot of there trucks have full fairings the fairings even have brushes at the bottom that are less than an inch off the road. they have wheel covers that cover the drive wheels that zipper on and off (let me tell you how much crap builds up in those things). they also have there own tire bank to retread there own tires. a lot of there trucks also have the trailer fairings that drop down. (california actually requires trucking companys to have them now) and they are starting to use the boat tails on the trailers also.

the big problem with the trailer fairings is that soon as a new driver takes a turn to tight in a parking lot or somewhere the trailer fairings break off.

A local company that was an early adopter of many of the things you guys are talking about.

Mesilla Valley Transportation

Their first super singles on trailers looked pretty scary, they sat in too narrow and the trailer would rock pretty bad on even calm days. Now it looks like they are getting either a different offset on the rims or are getting trailers with wider axles to make up the difference.

They have a few with the colapsable boat tails on their trailers, but by in large the only visible mods are... Smooth covers on the drive wheels, trailer skirts and super singles in place of the duallies on both the trucks and most of their trailers.

ps2fixer -

I see those side skirts all the time. I think that if it's proven then they'll do it. The Aeroflex is also a model for our side skirts, aka taper in at the front.

CarloSW2

I have seen a few.

Oh yea, I saw one semi with a boat tail, I was amazed O.o.

Makes me want to go for a kammback :).

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog....1/boattail.jpg

Ive heard truckers say the big down fall of running the super singles is that if they have a blow out they are stuck there on the side of the road. where if you have the dual tires they can atleast drive it to a safer location.

I have seen a lot of trucks around here that have the wheel covers, trailer skirts and even seen a few of the kambaks/ boat tails. I think everyone should encourage the trucking industry to do what they can to save fuel because in the end its us the consumer that pays more, more for anything and everything that gets transported by truck.

Supersingles also wear unevenly pretty easily so you have to change their places a lot if you want to use all thread depth. That is the case at least is Finlands bad roads...

skirts
 

NASA's research demonstrated an 8.7% drag reduction @ zero crosswind,and 19% drag reduction under a 6 mph wind @ 6-degrees yaw.

I don't know any truck drivers that own their own trailer unless they are flatbed/consetoga trailers. the 53 ft Van trailers we see on most of the roads are owned by the company those drivers work for due to many many loads require the trailer to be dropped. So unfortunetly 99% of truck owners don't get to choose to put trailer mods so they can save on fuel. At my company we have about 15 trailers with skirts and 30 without. The owner did this because he owns 90% of the trucks and the fuel savings go to him. The other 10% of drivers own their own trucks and like i said before, they don't get to mod the trailers because they don't own them.

The owners do enojy when they get the trailer with skirts because even at 5% better fuel mileage means a saving of about $20 per day

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

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

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

GRU -

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

CarloSW2

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.

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

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 ! )

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?

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
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps72a0a9f8.jpg
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...psd374cbe2.jpg
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...psb59675de.jpg
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...psb6740065.jpg

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

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...psa7acf458.jpg
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps8f55e5b9.jpg