Teardrop trailer aerodynamic advice

[freebeard]

My understanding is that all three should have their trailing edge in the same location, the profile reduced pace Mair. The inset box is nice because it leaves taillights exposed.

I'm working on a rear profile, floor plan / top view, and other details this weekend. At some point I'll put it on Sketchup or Blender.

I point at this simply to keep us on topic. Standing by.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by 4862forestgrove

I'm working on a rear profile, floor plan / top view, and other details this weekend. At some point I'll put it on Sketchup or Blender.

Your train of thought and then reasoning at the end of the post followed mine... I only need it to crush and won't worry about even large gaps when turning, since almost all turns at highway speed are very gentle. The gaps will occur in town when aerodynamics is not needed. The application doesn't seem too daunting with my proposed method :-) :

1. Needs to crush / deform very well, 2. can not be abrasive or solid enough to dent things, but, 3. needs to have a "slick" rigid surface, 4. needs to be easy to shape (cut to form), and scalabe 5. Must be easy to attach and will not detach when needed but easily removable. I think my method meets all criteria and seems rather simple to apply.

1. Foam crushes very small, especially low density, 2. rubberized surface is "soft" and should be non-abrasive, 3. Rubberized surface is "slick" and "rigid" (like a wrestling mat), 4. can shape foam with hot wire adn make it big or small (like pillows, mattresses or couches). 5. Velcro attachments should be easy to install and remove.

Major problems might be... uh...storage bulk, (I also thought of air, because of deflation but that causes other problems, such as difficulty of manufacture, and not as "crushy" without popping, might have to attach to air reservoir or pump).

Can you think of other possible problems or engineering criteria?

Today there are adds for a 12-foot inflatable kayak with seats,paddles,etc., with total weight of 32-pounds,for $350.00 (US).
A company like this could certainly manufacture a perfectly tailored,custom-fit gap-filler en masse for less.People spend more on car audio.

[skyking]

I have some ideas for a telescoping fairing system that clips to the trailer on each side, and uses bungees for most of the sliding features. The big trick is allowing for the trailer to roll on a different plane than the car, as when crossing in and out of driveways at the very infrequent fuel stops
As others have suggested, I'd go with a mild (easy to build) convex nose that will serve you OK on any tow vehicle. The fairing system would adapt to that if and when you can.
As to the open box termination:
I plan on that with my trailer build for a couple of nice features.
1) crisp separation
2) relatively easy to add a folding tail to. The fittings go under the edge and are clean and out of sight. I plan on a 4 panel tail with open bottom so the bikes can still hang on the back OK.

[Tugger]

Meh - too much BS in this thread. A basic box trailer, with a rounded nose, faired wheels, a clean profile and a tapered tail, and capitalise it to ride - at least initially (from it's front pointy end) within the wake, or the plough wave, of the towing vehicle.
.
And it really doesn't have to look like a nuclear submarine - basic wind tunnel tests can be done on a kitchen table, with an incense stick, and a fan, and some scale models - a few blocks of balsa, some ice cream sticks and a bright light and some black paint...

[freebeard]

I'd need to see a diagram to see what the black paint is for.

[Tugger]

Is easier to see, under a bright light, with a black back ground.

The word is contrast.

[Tugger]

And while scale, air density and air velocity - in a true sense, is valid, especially in high subsonics and beyond, a simple desk fan, suction based wind tunnel, with an incense stick, a bright light, and a black back ground - will enable you to see how a scale model of the trailer - behind the scale model car, punches it's own hole through the atmosphere.

[Tugger]

Basically you want a plain box trailer, with a rounded nose, clean covered sides all around, faired wheels, and a bit of a boat tail on it.

Just gentle tapers.....

[Tugger]

On you tube - wind tunnels etc.

[Tugger]

This is both using a wind tunnel, using a smoke to see the air flows and using contrast to make the smoke visible.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpI2phIV4CI

www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_eMQvDoDWk