air tabs

CLefor wrote:

rgatijnet1 wrote:

DanTheRVMan wrote:
Air tabs is now claiming 4% better fuel economy. If my memory serves me correctly they use to claim 2%.

I have friends I worked with in aerospace that are aerodynamic experts running fluid dynamic programs and wind tunnel tests regularly so I spoke with them.

Their opinion was there were various ways to aerodynamically gain a small 1 to 3% improvement in fuel economy so maybe airtabs did or maybe they did not. They thought this was plausible.

Dirt accumulating would be affected by airflow and could be better or worse and they had no comment on these claims.




Improved handling due to winds, passing trucks, etc. seemed like people were imagining an improvement in their opinion. Various devices that had minor improvement in fuel economy would have no perceptible improvement in handling in their opinion. They basically attributed these claims to the placebo affect it had on the driver making them believe things were better.

Any opinion by someone that has not used the product is worthless. Kinda makes you wonder why they would even give their analysis on something they have no personal knowledge of, but they always do.

WOW!! In your 4,387 post you have never commented on a post that you. "give their analysis on something they have no personal knowledge of" That pretty good.

I have not used them, But if they were so good wouldn't ALL over the road truck have them on?

No, because those companies have "bean counters", much like you, who know nothing about that kind of stuff, let alone trucking. And they don't want to "waste" money to find out if it works. Often companies like Air Tab will come in and set up one or two trailers for those over the highway companies. But if those companies don't keep track of what those trailers are doing, it does not accomplish anything; and they don't have the manpower or time to keep track of those trailers with the Air Tabs. And that is why you don't see them on all the commercial van and reefer trailers out there.

And stop and think about this - a 3% increase in fuel mileage on a rig that only gets 7 mpg to begin with. And that mpg already varies with weight, wind resistance, tire types, road pavement and hills. It will be darn hard to determine a 3% increase in overall fuel mileage because of those factors. You will not see it overnight, but if it is there it will come out in the long run.