What should US Travel Trailer makers do?

[Bajascoob]

Originally Posted by trikkonceptz

Not knowing if they have the same length, weight restrictions as tractor trailers etc ... and advancement in that industry would be to adopt a system like the cruise liners. Build the interior component first then build the outside around it. That way you can still have a basic rectangle shape as a lead in price point then offer, aero add ons, like a front nose, teardrop roof line, boat tail rear, wheel skirts.

Offering these items as gas saving upgrades with data to back up fuel savings over the life of the trailer.

https://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/programs/en...-2939.html#s73 check out what i found

[Hersbird]

I'm going to just build my own, after looking at costs of a new one and then costs of the materials they use it looks like they are loaded with profit. Much more so then the average car which I assume is because the volume is so much lower. Anyway, nobody builds a true areo camper. I saw somebody post the average camper only travels 500 miles per year and I believe it but the question is why? I'm sure the owners plan on more when they buy them but then the reality of 8mpg and $4/gal hits and they just can't afford the 500 mile trip each way to the beach, national park, or whatever. At that point the $500 spent on gas would buy hotels. My thing is also the wear on the tow rig While your drivetrain is getting 8 mpg it is also working it's butt off.
For my design I think I have settled on a design that looks like a boat from the top and a tapered box from the side. That gives me mostly upright but curved side walls and flat but sloping roof. About 15' long not counting hitch by 6.5 feet wide. I will keep the hitch short about 2' and the trailer about 1' off the ground with a 6.5' max interior height.

[jcp123]

The other reason Airstreams are good: they last. Most trailers don't.

[Hersbird]

They last, but they don't $80,000 last, that is ridiculous.
They aren't all that aerodynamic either, they could do a lot better.

[Bajascoob]

I may add a campershell then add a frame and sheet extension like my other topper...or modify or build another topper

[Fat Charlie]

Aero trailer:



With the boattail installed, it's no higher than the minivan pulling it. It's a box, but it's a smaller box than the TV.

Campers are one of those places where you can't have your cake and eat it, too- usable interior space and effective aero work against each other. The practical limitations (amateur drivers and people who strap gear all over the place) are worse for campers than big rigs. I just don't see any improvement for production models.

[Big Dave]

BTW, the US RV industry is doing just fine. Elkhart County, Indiana is still a stronghold.

RVs are tough to offshore because of the transportation costs.

One of my clients makes them and he builds regional factories to keep transportation costs down.

[freebeard]

Has your client looked at Local Motors and their microfactories?

[slowmover]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

They last, but they don't $80,000 last, that is ridiculous.
They aren't all that aerodynamic either, they could do a lot better.

The cost has laways been high, relatively, A fixed location vacation home, or an all-aluminum, aero TT with independent suspension. Both are financed the same way with second mortgages. But the AS can go wherever you want it to go. True now or in 1965. Cheap if you actually understand whta you are getting for that money which is decades of service, not a half dozen years. So buy a used one. Ten years old is still a new AS.

The shape and layout has been been pretty well standardized since the mid-1960's. As to how areo they are I'd suggest you aren't thinking of how they're used. And that is stationary. Interior space layout is central.

They're on-road performance speaks for itself. Nothing else comes close . . and in this we speak of braking and handling. As to MPG, a turbodiesel tow vehicle will be the champ. Breaking into the 20's is not a challenge.

.

[aerostealth]

I am working on my 2011 Apex trailer aerodynamic mods now. As a trailer owner I am here go tell you poor aerodynamic performance is a concern of mine. Base mpg in good conditions can be between 11 to 12 mpg. This limits traveling simply because of the fuel cost. Having the same trailer that could get 14 tp 15 mpg would be a real coup. I have built appliances to help push the air from the tow truck (F 150) up over the trailer but this is not enough. I am looking at front facia for the trailer to store air from hiting the front edges and to act as a gap filler. I am also looking at a 3 ft boat tail to reduce the wake area. See my aero mods for trailer towing post.