Aerodynamic enhancers

[Rainier70]

Have any of you tried any of the semi trailer aerodynamic enhancements on a cargo trailer? Such as a fairing on the back of a pickup topper, or the forehead bumps (no idea what they are called), or any other modifications? Thanks!

[rinn69]

Havent tried any personally, but google "nose cone" and the company that makes them has an interesting video showing flat front trailer in a "wind tunnel" without a nosecone,and then one with.....made a big difference, at least to me. BUT, they are pricey !!! $500-600 + shipping... !!! I'll be making my own (foam mold and layer with fiberglass) as it is a fairly simple design.

The other things are called AirTabs...google. They (and others) claim it improves towing stability, especially when passing or being passed by big rigs. They run about $3 each and are spaced at 3 per linear foot. Much more economical.

Hope this helps !

[roadinspector]

Rainer70,

This has been discussed a few times. Somewhere deep inside this multi pg post http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=25377 and several others it has been discussed but there are not many that did anything that I saw. One builder did add air tabs and said he got minimal gain. On the Air Tab web page they have a calculator to see your $ for $ gain. I did this and figured out that it would take way too long for me to see a gain over cost if ever. If you find something please post it. I am interested in saving a dime if I can. There are way too many trailers on the road with an the air dam (spoiler) to think it would not make a difference since on a tall trailer it gets the wind drag up and over the trailer.

Earnest

[Rainier70]

That is what I was wondering. How hard would it be to build and install a nose cone for a cargo type trailer. I was also thinking of an "air ramp off of the back of the truck to lift air over the trailer. But maybe not both together. I am thinking maybe the nose cone would be enough on its own. I didn't know if anyone had tried any of these kind of modifications, and how it worked out.

[Rail73]

I have put both Airtabs and a Nosecone on my 6x10. My observations are:

1. The Airtabs did help with trailer stability, but I didn't notice any significant change in fuel economy. They were reasonably priced, and I recommend them as they were easy to install.

2. Haven't had enough trips to notice measurable increase in fuel economy with the Nosecone, but have noticed that it does tow more easily at speeds up to about 60 MPH, but above that speed I don't notice much difference. Due to the design of my trailer (Pace trailer sold by Home Depot), I wasn't able to mount the Nosecone as high on the front of the trailer as I would like, so about 8" on top of the Nosecone still catches the wind off the top of the camper shell on my full-size pickup at speeds above 55-60. At those speeds, the Nosecone seems to just ride in the wake of the truck/shell without having much effect. I expect the improvement would be more noticable if I had a smaller or lower vehicle, or a wider trailer. In short -I would not recommend a Nosecone for a small trailer like mine. I knew when I purchased the Nosecone that I would have to tow it regularly for years to realize enough fuel savings to pay for the investment - but that wasn't the reason I purchased it (was more interested at better performance at highway speeds while climbing mountain grades with my underpowered pickup - and it has helped in that regard). Will also note that installation of the Nosecone was more difficult than I anticipated, although customer service and shipping were painless.