Aerodynamics Matter !!
Hello All. First post here... wanted to share some data on aerodynamics. I am designing an ultralight (under 100 lbs/ft) small travel trailer and wanted to find out the effect of shape on aerodyna...
Forum Discussion
GrandpaKip,
Your post says/reveals the very same thing/results we have experienced including MPG's towing our flat with rounded corners 6 X 10 X 6' high inside enclosed trailer and our 6 X 12+ the front Vee floor length X 6' high inside 90 degree Vee nosed enclosed trailer behind the same '05 I-6 Chevy Trailblazer with the same GVW (3200-3300 lbs) on the same road trips and same speeds. The only difference was the Vee nose vs flat front on the trailer. Thus, the aerodynamic efficiency effect.
I'm a retired automotive engineer having owned a engineering operation for nearly 40 years and already knew approx what the difference should have been by calculations, and it was! It's a fact not a fantasy!
FWIW: A smoothly covered trailer underbelly also creates much less turbulence and air drag than an un-enclosed trailer underbelly because each crossmember is like dragging it flat ways to/thru the wind and creates lots of turbulence and when added together, they really count up in air drag! Obviously, neither of our enclosed cargo trailers had enclosed underbellies.
Your post says/reveals the very same thing/results we have experienced including MPG's towing our flat with rounded corners 6 X 10 X 6' high inside enclosed trailer and our 6 X 12+ the front Vee floor length X 6' high inside 90 degree Vee nosed enclosed trailer behind the same '05 I-6 Chevy Trailblazer with the same GVW (3200-3300 lbs) on the same road trips and same speeds. The only difference was the Vee nose vs flat front on the trailer. Thus, the aerodynamic efficiency effect.
I'm a retired automotive engineer having owned a engineering operation for nearly 40 years and already knew approx what the difference should have been by calculations, and it was! It's a fact not a fantasy!
FWIW: A smoothly covered trailer underbelly also creates much less turbulence and air drag than an un-enclosed trailer underbelly because each crossmember is like dragging it flat ways to/thru the wind and creates lots of turbulence and when added together, they really count up in air drag! Obviously, neither of our enclosed cargo trailers had enclosed underbellies.
