front design

[Ron Dickey]

I Wrote Camp Inn and they wrote back first I said,
Hi,

My name is Ron and I am a member of tntt.com
We are having a discussion about trailers curved like the RainDrop by Camp Inn.

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=49872&p=959995#p959995
we have just started into it.

But I had wondered sense you have trailers with front end both bowed up and down and left to right, can you tell any difference when you pull it.

I am thinking about a 2nd build and The Rain Drop is my dream trailer But out of my budget for now.

I am considering making it not only because it might be better pulling but also so I have more room in the front like a closet.


Can you offer us an opinion or what you have found.

And will you be offering other models in the future with the left to right bow.

Ron Dickey
Los Osos, CA.
I lived in Milwaukee 1966 to 79 Kind of miss the winter not the summers.

Cary Winch of
Camp-Inn travel trailers replyed.

Ron,

You betcha. This is a often discussed point. Interestingly enough no one guesses the correct answer on this. Believe it or not the Raindrop is actually more aerodynamic as a trailer than the 550 series. There are several factors that come into play here.

1) Wing chord. If you look at the side profile of a teardrop you generally see a wing profile. On a 8' long trailer like the 550 series this is a fairly short chord thick wing. It would be a low speed wing. With the 550 at about 60mph it is generating a nice amount of lift and is very clean aerodynamically. At about 63mph it overspeeds the wing a bit and the wing stops trying to lift and settles down hard on the road. This causes extra drag and will lose some mileage at higher speeds over 2 lane road speeds. The 560 series is a 10' long wing and the longer chord gives you a more high speed wing giving allowing you to cruise the interstate without the trailer getting aero dirty at speed. We honestly do not know at what speed the 560 starts to turbulate off the back.

2) Frontal area. This is the one that causes the most confusion. First off, the 550 and the 560 have the exact same amount of frontal area. Both are 5' wide and 4' high. They punch the same size hole through the air. The 560 creates a dirty transition edge along the upper roof line. 5' of sharp transition area that hurts the aero. However, the 550 has two dirty transition areas. These are the vertical edges of the side wall, 4' on each side for a total of 8' of sharp transition area that hurts the aero. So, from what we have seen the 560 has the cleaner, though less than perfect, front shape of the two.

3) Tow vehicle matching. This is where there is great variance in the performance of the 560. With the 550 the shape of the tow vehicle does not seem to make much difference. However with the 560 there is the real chance of the tow vehicle benefiting from the aero shape of the trailer. Most SUVs, vans and some trucks seem to work great with the 560 design. The aero off of most of these vehicles is problematic without a trailer because of the bluntness of the rear. Attaching a tail cone (like on the space shuttle in transit) for instance has been shown to greatly enhance the aero of the average SUV. The teardrops tend to become that tail cone in some cases. The 560 shape helps match the back of the tow vehicle better creating a streamliner train of sorts. We actually see tow vehicle GAIN mileage whenever the 560 is hooked up. Granted those few cases are indeed extreme cases of course.

We don't have any plans for new models at the moment.

Let me know if you have any questions at all.

Thank you
Cary Winch
Camp-Inn travel trailers

Just so you know the Raindrop is the 560
http://tinycamper.com/tourrain.htm
and
the 550 teardrop
http://tinycamper.com/teardrop550ultra.htm

Ron

[droid_ca]

WOW what a great letter that helps me out with the idea that I'm thinking of as I'd like to do a standy which would match the height of my tow vehicle and go about 10-12 feet long but I want to differ from the teardrop rear end and possibly do a puffin rear end thanks again for getting us that information

[DriverOne]

Cary Winch is an awesome name for a camper company representative.

[S. Heisley]

Cary Winch is an awesome name for a camper company representative.

Yes, and that was an awesome answer. ...Gets me to thinking.

Thanks Ron and Cary!

[KCStudly]

...Gets me to thinking.

Uh, Sharon, you thinking what I think you're thinking? I was sorry to hear that you, lets just say, had some problems with your recent trip, but if all of this has you thinking of building #2 (...there, I said it) then where do I get on board? I, for one, would love to follow along, and maybe offer some back seat engineering , if you decide to have at it again (or even just a major redo?).

I think you can, I think you can.

[S. Heisley]

...Gets me to thinking.

Uh, Sharon, you thinking what I think you're thinking? I was sorry to hear that you, lets just say, had some problems with your recent trip, but if all of this has you thinking of building #2 (...there, I said it) then where do I get on board? I, for one, would love to follow along, and maybe offer some back seat engineering , if you decide to have at it again (or even just a major redo?).

I think you can, I think you can.

...Not for a while, KC.... Talk is cheap but building isn't.....Gotta chew on ideas plus fill the piggy bank and find the energy. Remember, I'm an old gal. MYAWAY still serves my needs well. It is plenty good enough; but, before I get too old, maybe..... For now, I've still got some vandal repairs and some upgrades that I want to do on MYAWAY. I think I may put her in "dry dock" this winter....

While at Walk with the Winds, in Wyoming, a lovely couple visited to get building ideas . They were laughing with me because I said that, if I had it to do over, I might have built a 5x10'. The husband chuckled and said that most all trailer owners get the "Two Foot Syndrome" and that this was what I had: ...No matter how big it is, it could always be a couple feet bigger.

[rowerwet]

I'm finding I could really use another 6" in the galley, the space under the counter exactly fits the cooler we got as a wedding present, however it is rather battered after 13 years, I'm finding the newer ones seem to be wider, I already cant put an inner skin on the lower hatch to clear the cooler, I may have to put a bump (think like the xtera has with the first aid kit in the tail gate) to clear a wider cooler. Not a problem with traveling as the cooler rides in the van or car, but try shutting the hatch while camping with it there... or go with a bunch of smaller coolers (not as efficient)

my next trailer will be a raindrop.

[Junkboy999]

I got this old ideal laying around in my head. This might be a good place to post it.

[Ron Dickey]

I kind of thought of that to but not as well. My thinking is that as it is raised there be a window there or a swing down window.

Looks nice I must admit

Ron Dickey

[NathanL]

O pull with a 1 ton diesel. The beauty is I really can't tell the difference in a teardrop or a 24' RV behind the truck. I have a 16' V Nose cargo trailer I haul R/C planes around in and it's about the same as well. I've often joked that I could turn the 2 smaller trailers upside down and pull them on the roof and not notice lol. I pull a 39' boat with it twice a year and that you can tell it's back there from the weight and because it's several feet taller than the truck.

The one thing I have noticed from having a Vnose cargo trailer now and a flat nose one before. They both pulled equally easy but if yo met another big load coming head on like a semi or whatever pushing a lot of air the V Nose buffets a lot less when meeting them than a flat nose one of similar size.