Airtbs or Vorblades - Anyone tried them?

Cruz-in,
Do you have an update for us on how your install went?
Cheers

Well....I have decided to give the Vorblades a try. That is if I can be assured they are fine to install on my roof (which I think they will be). I will be chatting with Vorblade tomorrow.

I am going to go the whole way. Place them on the sides and top of the rear, plus the cross-wind mitigation system (along the roof down the sides), and on the tow vehicle.

When not towing, if they only marginally improve the mileage on my truck, they might just pay for themselves (over the life of the truck).

In mid-summer we are leaving on a 9 month cross Canada/US trip. Should be able to give them a good try then. Expect to go about 10K miles. I will be sure to report back on how they do.

I'll have to admit that the stability aspect doesn't really interest me. Our 5th wheel toyhauler isn't affected by crosswinds unless they are really severe, in the 30-40 mph range, and even then it's not a big deal. It might be because I'm pulling with a dually. Most of the time crosswinds are barely even noticeable.

The increase in mileage in interesting, but we don't drive enough miles to make it worthwhile.

Sucker bait.

I shot vorblades an email on mounting on the roof of an rv. Suspect it will be next week before I get a response. Once I do I will share it here.

So far the responses pretty much confirm my research on airtabs. Noticeable improvement in stability/noise/etc. marginal to not measurable improvement in fuel savings.

Vorblades intrigue me from a couple of aspects:

1) IMHO, they are a more aggressive design and to my eye may work better at lower speeds.

2) The idea of installing them down the side of the roof to help mitigate the effect of cross winds.

I installed the AIR-TABS on my trailer sides AND roof, and noticed a difference right away. Granted...no difference in mileage, but a big difference in stability. I would use them on any trailer again for sure.

A few of my neighbors have them on MHs, car haulers, SUVs and a smart car. They all say mpg is minuscule but stability is a biggie. Craig

Hi,

I installed air tabs. They helped with noise. They perhaps made a slight difference in mileage. I would install them or a similar product again.

Here's what it says about mounting surfaces: "VorBladeTM vortex generators must be installed on a flat metal or painted surface. Do NOT install the generators on the top of rivet heads or on non-approved surfaces including but not limited to rubber fairings, rough fiberglass surfaces, any flexible or non-flat spots and the like."

The website reports 8-9% increase in fuel mileage. So if you drove 10,000 miles/year and got 10 mpg, you'd save about $300, figuring $4/gallon.

Of course if you drove the kind of miles most truckers do then the savings could be a lot more substantial. If, and a fairly big if, they performed as stated.