areo for tractors?

[ffvben]

while drafting/side drafting tractor trailers I've noticed the trailer part could use some big side skirts to reduce drag. the whole side and back are wide open near the bottom. I can see the rigs wheels on most. I think the only side skirts made into the trailer are the nascar trailers that almost touch the ground( i guess they learned from the cars ) and most busses have good areo side skirts. I've seen the rigs have low front air dams, the big air wing on top , and side skirts but never on the trailer. that would be like towing an anchor with all that drag.
we need to inform the big rig drivers, who probably never been on this site, to save some fuel the easy way. get some light weight aluminum panels or plastics made up for the sides of those big boxes. Not to mention it would probably reduce turbulence behind the truck and increase my Fe

[VetteOwner]

LMAO! ok theoretically it would work. but have u every tried pricing aluminum sheeting? or even plastic? COSTLY! and those truckers dont even own the trailers and most dont even own the trucks. the company does. if you were an owner of a company would you want to pay tens of thousands of dollars to put some kind of aero thing on the trailers?
nascar trailers and busses are liek that because of STORAGE not because they learned... also nascar trailers are like that because they haul the low clearance racecar in there. so the loading ramp has to be low(ever notice how small the trailer tires are on those traielrs?)for the car to not bottom out or scrape bumpers while loading/unloading.

[skewbe]

Transportation of "stuff", like food, is a significant chunk of our wasted of energy. It is definitely an area that needs more ideas than criticism. (i.e. eat locally grown food if you can)

I recall that Metrompg used a picture of a truck with a giant cone on the back as inspiration for doing a series of tests on boat tails and such, to good effect, and reported on walmart wanting to double truck mpg by 2015:
http://www.metrompg.com/posts/mpg-miscellany.htm , including side skirts. Says they'll save $52 million a year in fuel costs(yikes, you can still melt a lot of glaciers w/the remaining $52 million)

[kitcar]

Originally Posted by ffvben

while drafting/side drafting tractor trailers I've noticed the trailer part could use some big side skirts to reduce drag.

Wal-Mart is working on this with Peterbilt and Eaton. Right now they're testing hybrid type 8 semi tractors along with a auto lowering side skirt system for the trailer at highway speeds with Great Dane trailers. The hope is to raise the mileage from about 6.5 to 13 mpg. 13 mpg is quite a feat for an actual fleet truck, BTW. 200 gallon capacity, that would be..... what, 2200 miles?

Here's your links:

Article 1

Article 2

Article 3

The truck is made by Peterbilt and is based on the 386. Must be a heck of an electric motor. Maybe a Kirby with the hybrid truck attachment. I don't care who you are, that right there is funny.

Photo looks like Photoshop work to me, but it's from Wal-Mart so you've got to trust it. Right? Hmph. Maybe I should paint Stinkerbutt green. Maybe just painting "HYBRID" on the side would work.

[VetteOwner]

hahah i could get a few cans on green paint a random car and stick some square type white letters on the side and BOOm instant hybrid! lol those motors must be huge. prolly the same DC traction motors used on trains. not to mention some huge heavy batteries.

[Dynamically Aero]

Freight Wing Aerodynamic Solutions


"...most high mileage fleets will receive an ROI on their original investment in less than one year."

Good thinking, ffvben.

[GasSavers_BMac]

Originally Posted by kitcar

Hmph. Maybe I should paint Stinkerbutt green. Maybe just painting "HYBRID" on the side would work.

It IS a hybrid! It burns GAS and RUBBER!!!

[kitcar]

Originally Posted by VetteOwner

hahah i could get a few cans on green paint a random car and stick some square type white letters on the side and BOOm instant hybrid! lol those motors must be huge. prolly the same DC traction motors used on trains. not to mention some huge heavy batteries.

There is a source that I have that sells hybrid chrome insignias for your vehicle. I was going to get some but the weight penalty is too high.

I actually did daydream about welding a cog gear onto my drive shaft, cutting a hole in the bed and mounting a 300 volt 20 hp variable speed electric motor (using something like a blower belt). Powering it would be the problem. Figuring each type 31 deep cycle weighs 70 pounds, I'd need 10 which would add about 1,000 pounds in weight. Then I hit on the idea of filling the tires with helium.........