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Vee-nosed enclosed trailers

Discussion in 'General' started by iagsxr, Jun 26, 2016.

  1. iagsxr

    iagsxr Well-Known Member

    Do vee-nosed enclosed trailers actually pull any easier? Enough that you see a mileage improvement?

    Sold my 7' x 18' flat front trailer today with the idea of going to an open trailer. Now I'm second guessing that in that I don't what my stuff out in the rain.

    Could do a 7' x 16' flat front no problem. A 7' x 14' flat front might work depending where the side door falls. A 7' x 14' + a vee should also work. I should mention I hate the looks of a vee and think they screw up how I want to lay out the front of a race trailer(car, not bikes).
     
  2. Motofun352

    Motofun352 Well-Known Member

    If the rear end is the same then there's no difference in how they pull...Basically you're still pulling a big sail through the air.
     
  3. iagsxr

    iagsxr Well-Known Member

    You're saying the low pressure created behind the trailer is more of a drag than the front? I'm not arguing, just trying to understand.

    I have a HS classmate that sells 400 trailers a year. He says vee-noses don't pull any easier, but he's always pulling with a worked over diesel dually.
     
  4. Trunxgp1224

    Trunxgp1224 Well-Known Member

    The Vs pull better in some situations to me and it seems to be more efficient, at least according to how much boost im pushing while driving. It's hard for me to get accurate MPGs. You may not see much if any improvement in MPG. The vortices created at the stern of the trailer is what causes a lot of issues think about getting real close to a semi and all the buffeting you feel from the negative pressure, find a way to smooth those out and you could could improve around 10%. Again think those flaps you see on the back of semis.
     
  5. Hyperdyne

    Hyperdyne Indy United SBK

    I went from a flat to a V-nose. No difference in aeros.

    Trailer build quality is the biggest gain as well as the materials used.
     
  6. notbostrom

    notbostrom DaveK broke the interwebs

    I saw no improvement switching to a v
     
  7. iagsxr

    iagsxr Well-Known Member

    I found this:
    [​IMG]

    My truck has a topper on it. A buddy gave me a fiberglass deflector I was going to mount on top of the topper(trailer is 18"-24" taller than topper). I'm not sure it's shaped exactly right now, but it still has to be better than nothing.

    Then it looks like if a guy could mount some vortex generators on the roof and sides of the trailer that would be your biggest other gain. The roof would be gravy, no one will ever see them. The sides, if you could find some out of carbon fiber or looked carbon fiber they wouldn't look bad.

    I'm trying to get my head around the vortex traps they have for the fronts of trailers and how that relates to a vee nose. IDK
     
  8. SundaySocial

    SundaySocial Blue & Gold

    Vee nosed trailers have much better (lower) numbers as far as 'penetration' drag. Not 'laminar flow', but a significant improvement.
    'Flat back' trailers have large 'parasitic' drag numbers. The trucking industry is addressing this with the rear 'air flow closers' known as Boat Tails. http://truckingefficiency.org/trailer-aerodynamics/trailer-rear-devices
    Drag numbers are to the third power, which makes relative wind speed the holy grail. If you are concerned about the mpg numbers, drive it 55 mph.
    MPG on Semi's has doubled since I drove in the 70's, so the aero stuff works, the drive line improvements work, and the tire technology works.
     
  9. BSA43

    BSA43 Well-Known Member

    What is the claimed MPG gain using the big tires in place of the duals?
     
    S Tsotsoros likes this.
  10. Trunxgp1224

    Trunxgp1224 Well-Known Member

    nearly 10% with super singles.
     
  11. Trunxgp1224

    Trunxgp1224 Well-Known Member

    The vortex traps are supposed to decrease frontal area drag by trapping vortices in the vertical direction and directing airflow that way. 3-5% claimed in windtunnel

    Also when measuring the trailers some manufactures dont claim the V so say a 7x16 is measured from the "base" of the triangle back so you are in essence getting like 3 extra feet of enclosed area with the V section.
     
  12. sdiver

    sdiver Well-Known Member

    I did a ton of research on this...no aero gain for the vee just more room. Better cd is offset by more frontal area.

    That graphic above is exactly right. Even so I found doing all 3...vortex trap, side skirts, boat tail was good for about .6 mpg on a semi. Significant for a fleet of trucks running millions of miles per year but not so much for us.
     
  13. notbostrom

    notbostrom DaveK broke the interwebs

    Ducati has some semi sized winglets they won't be needing. Maybe email them and see if you can have them
     
  14. t11ravis

    t11ravis huge carbon footprint

    Same here.
    The speed I drive is far more important no matter which trailer I'm pulling.
     
  15. Newsshooter

    Newsshooter Well-Known Member

    No difference just a bit more room inside which is nice to have.
     
  16. dcemotorsports

    dcemotorsports Well-Known Member

    Went from a 6x12 "radius" nose (nearly flat) to a 6x12 "V-nose" (with rounded Vee). Fuel economy is about the same. The V-nose tracks better in cross winds and big truck turbulence. The extra room is nice too. Going to try vortex generators at the trailing edges of the sides and roof.
     
  17. Trunxgp1224

    Trunxgp1224 Well-Known Member

    .6 on a semi is still somewhere around 10%
     
  18. TLR67

    TLR67 Well-Known Member

    Pending on the type of trailer the V Sometimes takes away room and does not add room...Like cutting corners.... Just saying...
     
  19. Eskimo

    Eskimo Well-Known Member

    I talked to a guy who had those AirTabs on his enclosed, said it made no difference in MPG, which is echoed on every other site I've seen. The only positive effect *some* have mentioned was reduced buffeting/sway when being passed by a semi or something.
     
  20. I've pulled both (with a truck), saw no difference. I like the extra room of the V and the shape is cool, but that is it. When you look at them you would think they would pull better, but they dont. Like they said, the rear is still a huge issue.

    The trailer I pull behind the RV is a V. The RV is bigger so it didn't matter what kind of trailer I got (aerodynamic wis). I just like having the cabinets in the V area so I can still have 18' of floor space. Leaving that unused space on the tongue doesn't make sense to me.

    You just have to make sure you get an extended tongue so you don't have to worry about contacting the V on steep grades.
     

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