New aerodynamics?

We just took delivery of two new 53' trailers, and I've never seen these before. Does anyone have any experience with these? I'm curious how effective they are supposed to be.

 

Supposed to cut down on drag. Smarttruck products tend to be a quality product. Never used any myself.

 

@JReding please keep us updated. I’m curious to know if there will be any noticeable long-term improvement in fuel mileage, or if it’s just a gimmick.

 

Scam by "Smart truck".
Airflow becomes turbulent when making abrupt changes in direction, it loses laminar airflow.
At highway speeds adding such a tiny amount of radius to the edge has minimal effect on drag... The bend is to abrupt.

If you want something effective, get a tail.

 

Company I work at ran tails for years but is not buying them anymore and is moving to these noted above. The "tails" are not worth all the hassle and damage repair costs they WILL eventually cost, especially in larger fleets with lots of drivers, some with questionable abilities to fold them in when they should. Not a matter of if but a matter of when unless it's YOUR only trailer and your finances that will pay for repairs which will cause more attention and care to be applied.

 

I consider them gimmicks.

The fraction saved in less drag will be erased easily in a older docking situation once the affected part designed and installed for that purpose is damaged or rubbed off.

Large trucks are not airplanes. We don't "Fly fast enough" to make it worth while. 50 years ago 5 miles to gallon is awesome and here we are fighting to get above 7. Also a proper ice storm will just pile ice on those devices along with snow etc.

In my time the worst we deal with is actually exhaust that would brown a corner and portion of the trailer or the load (Flatbed) etc.

I hate to be difficult. The air is going to be turbulent anyway when you are in the Midwest on I-70 all herded together between 59 and 65 mph on the governor.

 

We can't use tails because we have roll up doors, not swing doors.

 

I ran with and without those side panels on trailers at my last job and there was no measurable difference in fuel economy.

 

Bingo!

I agree about potential damage with the Tails or Skirts because of the miserably low skill drivers in the industry now.

Functional wise, the Skirts and Tails have a huge effect ....>>>> Not the FAKE crap from smart truck though<<<<

My all time best quarters were pulling skirts trailers , bar none! they made a huge difference in my IFTA ... And caused my to buy them for my own trailers after seeing the numbers.

 

Big fleets have big fuel costs & many trucks. If something, aero or fuel treatment, works they will be big adopters. They experiment by using items on a few trucks to see if they save enough fuel to pay for the purchase & maitenance. I wouldn't spend my money on something until I saw Prime, Swift, Schneider adopt it fleetwide. Learn from other's experience before spending your money.