Molded Fiberglass Trailers
Long time reader and first time poster. I have done a lot of reading about trailers and from time to time I read that molded fiberglass trailers are better. Yet in the marketplace there are few man...
Forum Discussion
rexlion wrote:Francesca Knowles wrote:SkiMore wrote:
If the rounded front and back make such a difference I wonder why we don't see TTs with molded caps like the one over the cab on Class Cs.
Aerodynamics isn't simply a matter of shape- in fact, frontal area is the most critical consideration. ...
BTW:
I've towed many trailers, and my present smallcamping combo is a a first-generation molded fiberglass Trillium/Kia Sportage 4-cyl that I've logged over fifty thousand tow miles on.
Wasn't it Buckminster Fuller who discovered that the most aerodynamic shape is the teardrop (tapering smaller rearward)? Frontal area may indeed be the most important, but rearward shape's influence on air flow is not at all inconsequential. rearward shape's influence on air flow is not at all inconsequential. rearward shape's influence on air flow is not at all inconsequential. There is much to be said for Safari Condo's Alto expanding trailer, which (although the edges aren't rounded) presents a really small frontal area during travel, plus a long tapering rear to reduce the suction wake.
What's your typical fuel economy with the Kia/Trillium combo?
"rearward shape's influence on air flow is not at all inconsequential."
Absolutely correct, that is why you are seeing more semis with some sort of a device to break up the suction.
