Optimized Winter Warrior O.W.W. OWW

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Postby angib » Mon Jan 10, 2011 2:09 pm

Incidentally I am under the impression that those Australian trailer use 'chisel noses' for stone and rock protection, rather than low drag. Paul?

The Aussies are the one major nation that actually use significantly more energy per person than Americans, so they're not the first choice for low drag examples!

For low drag fronts, this is pretty good:
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Top and sides curve smoothly out into the flat sections.

Minimum-size fenders, and if possible tapering in and out rather than square/round, will help as they are right out in the airflow.

After that I would start to look at tapering the back in ('boat-tailing') in both height and width. Airflow will break away from anything more than about 15 degree slope, so it's gentle tapering we're after - all teardrops taper waaay too much to be low drag. Where the taper ends, cut off square.

So this one-off trailer a forum member posted a while back is pretty nearly ideal, except for the square fenders and the roof that slopes down too steeply - but then that horrendous air conditioner ruins any idea of smooth airflow over the back half of the roof. Of course this shape is a bit of a nightmare to build!

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But the single most important idea for low drag is to make the trailer narrow and low. Making a low drag shape is hard for the amateur to do, but anyone can make a trailer small.

The limit is to make the trailer no bigger than the tow vehicle - I'm annoyed that I didn't keep a copy of a trailer made by Honda as an extension to an Insight coupe that actually had lower drag than the car on its own.
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Postby bobhenry » Mon Jan 10, 2011 2:51 pm

angib wrote:
But the single most important idea for low drag is to make the trailer narrow and low. Making a low drag shape is hard for the amateur to do, but anyone can make a trailer small.

The limit is to make the trailer no bigger than the tow vehicle - I'm annoyed that I didn't keep a copy of a trailer made by Honda as an extension to an Insight coupe that actually had lower drag than the car on its own.


Could it be this one Andrew ?

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/car/my-15.html
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Postby angib » Mon Jan 10, 2011 5:50 pm

No, but a good try. The Honda one was incredibly complex with a flexible joint to the back of the car so that the car and trailer looked like one three-axled vehicle. It was a good illustration of how much better (and expensive?) trailers could be if they got as much design work done on them as cars do.
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Postby mikeschn » Wed Dec 21, 2011 4:35 am

Been trying to advance this OWW design a little bit this winter.

I'm back to a standard 66" wide OWW on a 4' wide HF chassis.

Been trying to nail down my choice of skin though. What an adventure.

Aluminum has tripled in price since I last bought it. $90 for a 4x8 sheet. I would need 3 1/2 sheets per side, that's $315 per side.

Filon would be about $375 per side.

Glasliner FRP .090 In from home depot is $25 a sheet, or $88 per side, but it's not rated for exterior use. And it's heavy.

And I've concluded that an exterior membrane is a requirement for any RV. So that means I have to use either fiberglass with polyester resin, or canvas with glue or paint.

Is that the conclusion you guys are coming to also?

Mike...
The quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten, so build your teardrop with the best materials...
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Postby Kim Armstrong » Wed Dec 21, 2011 8:08 am

Mike, Have you looked for alum. at a semi trailer shop? Just priced some mill finish .040 108" wide at Great Dane trailers. $13.55 a lin. foot.
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Postby jonw » Wed Dec 21, 2011 11:35 am

Interesting thread.

As for aerodynamics, I'm thinking about building a removable extension on the back of my CRV that lengthens the roof backwards closer to the roof of the TD and similarly extends the sides backwards. As long as there is a big gap between the rear of the car and the front of the trailer there is going to be wind resistance issues.

I'm expecting this to work because the CRV has a pretty square back that lines up pretty will with the front profile of my TD. This may not be the case with other vehicles especially cars.

Mike: I'm thinking of using something like this for my next build. I don't have any details yet but it may work for you instead of aluminum. I was thinking of using it for exterior wall panels:

http://fvvleck.com/laminates_alumacorr.cci
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AlumaCorr info

Postby jonw » Wed Dec 21, 2011 1:42 pm

Here's the manufacturers website, and where you can request a sample:

http://nudo.com/Sign-Panels/Designed-Performance/AlumaCorr.aspx

There may be a distributor closer to where you live than the one from Baltimore in the previous post. A call or email to Nudo should get you that.

Thanks.
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Postby aggie79 » Wed Dec 21, 2011 4:03 pm

Mike,

I'm glad to see the OWW design being revisited.

While we've been happy with our teardrop, my wife has made one request for build #2 - a shower. Of course, this necessitates height, but the height and length must fit into our garage.

For about six months now, I've been kicking around different ways to achieve the height - hinged lifting roof ala The Compact 3, lifting roof as per BD Osborne and the Compact 2, lifting wall/roof assembly like the Kimberly Karavan and the old Hi-Lo trailers. While each of these have advantages, they present construction challenges.

So, I keep coming back to the WW design. Right now I've been chicken scratching something along the lines of the WW but with a longer lifting roof like the Alto by Safari Condo.

I look forward to your evolution of the design.

Take care,
Tom
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Postby mikeschn » Wed Dec 21, 2011 4:09 pm

aggie79 wrote:Mike,

I'm glad to see the OWW design being revisited.

While we've been happy with our teardrop, my wife has made one request for build #2 - a shower. Of course, this necessitates height, but the height and length must fit into our garage.

For about six months now, I've been kicking around different ways to achieve the height - hinged lifting roof ala The Compact 3, lifting roof as per BD Osborne and the Compact 2, lifting wall/roof assembly like the Kimberly Karavan and the old Hi-Lo trailers. While each of these have advantages, they present construction challenges.

So, I keep coming back to the WW design. Right now I've been chicken scratching something along the lines of the WW but with a longer lifting roof like the Alto by Safari Condo.

I look forward to your evolution of the design.

Take care,
Tom


I roughed out a design with a shower for the OWW, it's a bit longer though. I'll see if I can find it after dinner.

I also did an Alto with a large front bathroom and shower. I'll look for that too!

Mike...

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Postby mikeschn » Wed Dec 21, 2011 4:54 pm

Okay, here's the alto

Image

Image

and just for fun...
Image

Mike...
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Postby mikeschn » Wed Dec 21, 2011 5:09 pm

Here's the OWW with the shower...

Image

Mike...
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Postby myoung » Wed Dec 21, 2011 6:59 pm

I'm curious, Mike. What is the overall height opened and closed?

Seems like a lot of work for a foot or two.
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Postby mikeschn » Wed Dec 21, 2011 7:01 pm

myoung wrote:I'm curious, Mike. What is the overall height opened and closed?

Seems like a lot of work for a foot or two.


Which one? The OWW or the Alto?

Mike...
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Postby myoung » Wed Dec 21, 2011 8:41 pm

mikeschn wrote:
myoung wrote:I'm curious, Mike. What is the overall height opened and closed?

Seems like a lot of work for a foot or two.


Which one? The OWW or the Alto?

Mike...


Both would be informative? Thanks.
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Postby RAYVILLIAN » Thu Dec 22, 2011 8:53 am

Don't know about Alto but both of my WW are 77" when up and 60" when down. It is abit of work for just 2' but it sure does make a difference comfort wise. Being able to stand up to pull your pants up and having room to take wet clothes off where it is warm and dry is wonderful. Guess I'm getting old and soft.

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Darn blank states keep getting further away and we keep traveling slower ain't never gona get this map full.
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