Air deflector for truck and trailer
Wondering if anyone uses one of these We'll be putting about 7K miles towing our toy hauler in a few weeks. A fellow I know has a similar spoiler and says he pick up a extra 60 miles per tank full on...
Forum Discussion
Defectors are indicated for being able to work. The hypothetical side of things. Trouble is finding valid confirmation
AirTabs or Vorblades are said to actually work for better rearward visibility in rain. And keep trailer rear a little more steady. That's a win in my book.
But there is too much "noise" in the steering of pickup trucks, and too much ground clearance with both trucks and conventional travel trailers to register actual mpg gains. If the better handling/visibility is worthwhile, then they may worth the experiment.
A VPP hitch offers safer towing, and the side benefit is reduced number of steering corrections which translates to better FE.
Frankly, FE is bettered by trailer design and a turbodiesel TV drivetrain. A clean sheet of paper is how to maximize FE. From the beginning.
A trailer axle alignment and "perfect" hitch set up is worth quite a bit. Bearing and brake preset. Eliminate slop in TV steering. All things that should be done anyway. That done, some control over travel stops and in maximizing use of cruise control are the other end of things for combined vehicle travel.
For a more serious attempt at lowering travel fuel costs, control over vehicle costs in the day to day is key. I improved my city mpg by 20% on a dare for over 1000-miles. Extrapolated over a year it would COMPLETELY cover the towing fuel cost for 5000-miles.
AirTabs or Vorblades are said to actually work for better rearward visibility in rain. And keep trailer rear a little more steady. That's a win in my book.
But there is too much "noise" in the steering of pickup trucks, and too much ground clearance with both trucks and conventional travel trailers to register actual mpg gains. If the better handling/visibility is worthwhile, then they may worth the experiment.
A VPP hitch offers safer towing, and the side benefit is reduced number of steering corrections which translates to better FE.
Frankly, FE is bettered by trailer design and a turbodiesel TV drivetrain. A clean sheet of paper is how to maximize FE. From the beginning.
A trailer axle alignment and "perfect" hitch set up is worth quite a bit. Bearing and brake preset. Eliminate slop in TV steering. All things that should be done anyway. That done, some control over travel stops and in maximizing use of cruise control are the other end of things for combined vehicle travel.
For a more serious attempt at lowering travel fuel costs, control over vehicle costs in the day to day is key. I improved my city mpg by 20% on a dare for over 1000-miles. Extrapolated over a year it would COMPLETELY cover the towing fuel cost for 5000-miles.
