Trailer aero

[sabat]

I just picked up a 2003 Wells Cargo 6x10 trailer to haul my bike and gear. It has a flat front. It pulls nicely, torsion axle, only weighs 1000lbs. I'm pulling it with a older Tundra pickup with no bed cap. The trailer height is about 90".

I noticed a lot of cheap trailers on the market with V-nose fronts. Also Wells Cargo sells a version of the 6x10 with a fiberglass nose cone that looks like the rounded front of a streamliner. These nosecones are available as an add-on. Neat before / after video here;

http://www.nosecone.com/aepull.htm



Some forum posts claim 1 mpg savings. Costs about $500, which buys a lot of gas. Maybe 20,000 miles of towing to break even.

I've also read about vortex generators placed on the rear of trailers to reduce drag. About $150 to cover the rear edges. This could pay off sooner, if it works. I can't find any info on drag reduction.

http://www.buyairtab.com/shop/individual-airtabs/



So what do folks think? Could I expect to see a measurable drag reduction from the nosecone or 'airtabs' ? Or should I just pump up the tires and slow down. Lately I've been towing around 10K miles a year.

[Seldom Seen Slim]

"Nose cone" is good, if you ask me.  It's pretty hard to quantify the gains, though.  I always had them factory-installed on the straight trucks we ran at my medical waste business, so don't have a way to compare with and without results.  I'd strongly suggest that you get it.  And - if nothing else it'll be a point of bargaining when you try to sell the trailer later on.  Not much to lose and perhaps lots to gain.

A V-nose front end on a trailer?  Our present 26' rig has one and I'm satisfied with it.  Again - if there's a fuel economy advantage I don't know for sure, but the trailer tows well in all weather, and the sculpted nose makes visibility when backing a bunch better, too.  No big need, though, especially for a small trailer.

Vortex generators?  Ask the Nish Family about 'em.  They use them on their support van and trailer and I think even on their streamliner.  If you're going to buy them - think about visiting the Nish website and buying there (if the price is right for you) to support other land speed racers.  I have no information about how they work, never having tried them in any way.  Let us all know if you find a benefit, hey?

Congratulations on the new trailer.  There's one bad thing, though -- you'll sooner or later discover that it's not as big as you need and will then be in the market for a bigger one.  Don't ask me how I know -- but we are on the fifth one for the Seldom Seen Slim team stable of race bikes.

[SPARKY]

I would try the vortex generators first--- Katz says many small vortices have less drag that a big one.

A cab height topper and deflector on top of it to keep the air off the trailer nose at all will help some.

 as a truck peddler unless the nose cone comes almost to the frt of the truck cab they dont help much



In the imortal words of PP  " It dosent much matter how you open the hole it is ALL about how you close it."

[sabat]

Thanks for the suggestions folks, I'll keep playing with the idea. What I need first is a trip without any aero stuff, as a baseline. That will be in May when I go to Texas, 2000 miles roundtrip.

[WOODY@DDLLC]

I'm with Sparky, Katz and Herr Fleischpastete [Pork Pie] - go with the Air Tabs! They do make vortices! 
I think Nish sells them, too! They put them on the back of the liner and it calmed their chute deployment!