Wal-Mart aero-mods 1,000 of its 7,000 semi-trucks?

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by oldpecan

Thanks for the info, aero.

I'd say 71,000 lbs is pretty high---isn't 80,000 a typical top weight?

I looked around Waggoners Trucking Home Page a bit, but I only found this confusing reference and inconclusive picture:

"... nose and rear bubble cones for added clearance and vehicle protection..."

(no mention of aerodynamics, but the photo of the blue tractor-trailer seems to show some kind of structure on there behind the rear corner of the trailer, but the photo's too small)

The Waggoners Trucking (Compay Info) [then click on "Equipment"]

I did notice Waggoners has a specialty of transporting wind turbine blades

btw: Did their drivers you talked to say that the boattails were a big headache at the loading dock? Could they feel a difference at 65 mph?

The drivers did not mention any problems at pickup or destination sites.Their take on the boattail,was that the company could legally carry cargo which exceeded the trailer van length by 4-feet (1.2 meters ).BMW of North America was running this same boattail on the West Coast back in the early 1990s.With the rear wheel situated at the back of the trailer,the "overhang" of the car's rear could extend into the cone.The units are top-hinged and lift up for loading/unloading.

[winkosmosis]

Looks like they should be using nosecones on the trailers
Aerodynamic Trailer Nose Cone

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by winkosmosis

Looks like they should be using nosecones on the trailers
Aerodynamic Trailer Nose Cone

They do!

[trikkonceptz]

Wanted to let the group know that today on my way into work I saw a tractor trailer with the following;

-Smooth wheel covers on the truck's rear tandem
-Smooth wheel covers on the trailer tandem
-Front wheel skirts (basically eliminating all the gap between the tire and the fiberglass front cap.)
-Wheel skirts on the truck rear tandem
-Wheels skirts on the trailer tandem, which also included an enclosed fender, haven't seen those to often.
-Single wheel set up on the truck tandem
-Choroplast sheeting riveted to the trailer with small bracing along the whole side of the trailer. It just had a cut out for the handle to lift and lower the trailer stands.
-It had the stacks cut down below the level of the trailer high wind deflector
-The truck had a piece of stainless steel that acted as a front air dam with less then 3" of clearance from the floor.

-Oh and most importantly ... he was doing 60mph !!! I could swear it was one of you guys ... LOL

[winkosmosis]

trikkonceptz, did you wave at him? I wonder if he could see your aero mods

[vortex]

COEs can be very aerodynamically efficient. Nearly 20 years ago Peterbilt constructed a hypermiler concept from a model 372 cabover which achieved 10.49 mpg. It used a full fairing trailer and conceptual "ball and socket" trailer gap closure.

[Shepherd777]

Originally Posted by bondo

With this in mind, in 1988 I designed and Patented an aerodynamic "nosecone" which fit on the front of these cabover style trucks, below the front windshield and above the front bumper. The nosecone "optimized" the frontal area of the flat front cabover style truck affording a more slipstream shape. I approached Wal Mart with the product in 1989 and they were interested. Bondo

I built this one 5 years earlier, in 1983.

10mpg.

Average mpg then was 4.5mpg.

I have been working on a brand new design for the last 2 1/2 years.

Almost done now. Hoping to debut it in a month or 2.

[Coroner]

I know this is an old thread, but the real stopper to the railroad replacing the trucks is IFTA. The gubbament won't get their revenues from the IFTA fuel taxes.

[Big Dave]

Hmmmm.

Sure do see a lot of container trains around here and almost no box cars any more.

The key has been automation of loading/unloading container on/off trains and on/off flat trailers.

Trains are so much more fuel efficient for long hauls. I think the break-even is now down to about 650 miles.

[Coroner]

The biggest reason the trucks are going to continue to run cross country simply has to due with IFTA. The fuel taxes that truck owners pay for as calculated by how much carbon fuel emmissions they burn in each Jurisdiction (State) based on MPG.
It's how the NAFTA deal was sold.

Freetrade my **s! Grab the taxes is more like it!
It is the reason trucks will still haul the ridiculous miles they haul. I used to drive the big rigs, now I drive a much smaller vehicle and provide a more focused service. You won't get a big rig where I usually go, nor a box truck for that fact.

But, too stay on topic as a reply to Big Dave. IFTA is the unseen culprit.