Martiangod wrote:I know I'm not a TD but am a TTT, just posted from my observance,
i'm starting to think the 45 degree cut on the front is the biggest culprit and
that a blunt nose would have been better.
I've got a TTT also, not aero in the wildest stretch of the imagination, but designed as the result of logical (to me) compromises. Choosing the 45 degree angle nose was the first such choice. I originally designed the TTT to be as simple to lay-out and cut (and bolt, glue, and screw together) as I could get it, but still be vaguely a TD/TTT variant. The angle of the front slope on the nose is a compromise of three wishes: airflow, inside storage, and reflectivity. The height of the bottom edge of the angle is < height of the wing on my wife's Cobalt (one of the intended TVs, the other an HHR). The 45 degree slope gives the air somewhere to flow when it hits the flat surface of the trailer. The amount of lost space inside the trailer cabin would be less than if a steeper angle were chosen, and the 45 degree angle is the maximum angle compromise for shedding sunlight/heat (reflective paint was always a design imperative). The square edges of the plywood structure are wind catchers; I always intended to attach half-round to smooth the flow, but as I am towing with a large truck instead, it can wait. Then there is the un-curved rear of the trailer. I wanted to put a Kammback on it, but after I lengthened the original frame by 24" to house my generator, I realized that the intended Grasshopper shape, with a Kammback, would have to be another 12-18" longer. So, I just hung a vertical hatch there instead. Compromised again. Airflow at the rear of the box structure is only helped (at this time) by the rough-surfaced hatch opening cover, made of industrial conveyor belting with a bedliner coating. I chose this because I wanted it to break up the vortex at the rear of the trailer, which might actually somewhat reduce the suction, or at least reduce the amount of dirt/dust build-up on the rear (my HHR has no such addition, it's like having dirt magnet at the rear window; my family had a wagon with a flow deflector there, it had no dirt build up). Too many compromises, too many "must-haves" in my build. The 4x8 size trailer cut from 4x8 sheets of plywood is inherently limiting to aerodynamics, since H vs W vs L is not in the proper proportions for ideal streamlining. Ideal for aerodynamic camping: Summers Bros. "
Goldenrod" with a cd of .117; take along a sleeping bag!
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