Aero devices

[Greg]

Do you use any aero devices?
If so, which ones?
Did you get a good return on investment?
If you bought a new truck, would you buy those aero devices again?
Did the product deliver on the claims made by the manufacturer?
I'm referring to things like trailer tail , airtabs , side skirts, mud flaps, etc.

 

[usafk9]

From your list, we only have Airtabs. Regarding fuel economy, um....no. However, they greatly reduced the 'roll' when opposing a large truck on a two-lane road. I mean almost eliminated.

Hope that helps.

 

[Greg]

From your list, we only have Airtabs. Regarding fuel economy, um....no. However, they greatly reduced the 'roll' when opposing a large truck on a two-lane road. I mean almost eliminated.

Hope that helps.

Thanks. It doesn't have to be on the list.
I've read that somewhere about the air tabs. Buy nothing much about other devices.

 

[fr8hlr521]

We have the vented mudflaps (eco-flaps?). They were on the truck when we bought it, so no idea on fuel savings. We do like that they almost eliminate the side spray when running in the rain giving much better visability in the mirrors. Safer, we think.

Sent from my LG-E980 using EO Forums mobile app

 

[cheri1122]

Lots of us have AirTabs, and Turtle wrote about putting his Sprinter in a wind tunnel to test them. The fuel mileage increase seems slight, but multiplied over the life of the vehicle, it looks like a no brainer, IMO. And that's not even counting the stability they provide when being passed by a big truck, as AJ mentioned.
TeamCaffee have a Trailer Tail, and have written quite a bit about the various measures to save fuel, so they're an excellent resource for you to check out.

 

[TeamCaffee]

ATdynamics Trailer Tail
Side Skirts
Aero Truck - Cascadia
No hood mirrors
no placards holders on truck except when hauling placarded loads
Wide Base - Singles
Pusher Axle
synthetic oil - Mobil Delvac
Ecco Flaps
GPS
Air Pressure Monitoring System
Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS)
A light foot

Each and everyone of these items are planned to be on our new truck.

Breaking out each one and the percent it has given us now would be about impossible as they were part of the truck when ordered.

ATDynamics Trailer Tail at our slower speed of 58 gave us a return of 2%. Trucks that run faster are seeing a better return.
Side Skirts -We consider this addition to be the best return on our money next to our tires. Bob is in the process of working out the details with Bolt Custom Truck so that they can manufacture the skirts and they can be added to any truck ordered.
Cascadia - Cascadia Evolution will be our next truck. Both trucks are very aero as we feel why buy a truck that is not aero, add on a sleeper that is not aero and then try to get good fuel mileage?
Hood Mirrors - Personal choice as Bob and I have never used hood mirrors. Anything that sticks out into the air creates drag
Placard Holders - Keeping the truck side as smooth as possible is why we do not have these. Bob has a receiver hitch system on the truck and when we have to run placards it is very easy to put them on with his system.
Wide Base Singles - We have run the low rolling resistant Michelin Wide Base Singles for years and have wide base singles on our pusher axle also
Pusher Axle - Less rubber on the ground when not needed less rolling resistance
Synthetic Oil - With 50,000 mile oil changes on this truck it only makes sense to run this in everything
Ecco Flaps - Not sure if they help but know that they do not hurt. They are under skirts so they do not see a lot of turbulence
GPS - Helps to keep us from getting lost which helps save fuel
Air Pressure Monitoring System - Easy to keep an eye out on tire pressure as the correct tire pressure at all times helps rolling resistance and also saves on tire wear.
Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS) - reminds us quickly if we are not staying straight in our lane of travel. Wobbling around is also hard on fuel mileage.
Light Foot - The cheapest and easiest way to save on fuel mileage.

 

[Greg]

Synthetic oil is something I will have to look into. 50,000 mile oil changes, WOW. I can see the savings there. Great post Linda, thanks for sharing.
A light foot seems to give the best returns

 

[zorry]

ARI has had a condo conversion in a Volvo for over 2 years.
This is the first Cascadia condo that I've seen.

So you can have areodynamics and a truly Custom sleeper.

 

[Daffyduck528]

ARI has had a condo conversion in a Volvo for over 2 years.
This is the first Cascadia condo that I've seen.

So you can have areodynamics and a truly Custom sleeper. View attachment 9308View attachment 9309

Wow. That looks nice. I guess no going to Canada for that rig.

 

[nydriver3]

Cascadia with a extra large sleeper. The normal cascadia straight truck is heavy on the steers, how much more weight will that one have on the steers?


"Character is doing the right thing, even when no one is looking"

 

[zorry]

ARI has the Condo Pkg on KW now.
This is one sweet ride.

 

[TeamCaffee]

Starting with an aero truck makes all the sense world... As Henry Albert always says we have a lot of things to fight with in this industry why fight the air with the truck we drive.

We have had Freightliner Engineers see our truck and ask when did we start building that big of sleeper? Bolt did a fantastic job mimicking the already wind tunnel tested roof line of the Cascadia.