maurice-r
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Re: Air Deflector Van + Cargo Trailer Fuel Improvement
I respect you guys who have driven tens of thousands of miles! I had not seen any air deflectors that were as gradual as the one I made. I wondered how effective the short but sharp angle style is. Such as two pictures that have been posted in this thread. If I may ask for clarification? Of the comments of little milage difference, (both your experience and from hearing others report) are most of the air deflectors of the short length and sharp angles? Could it be possible that a long shallow angle deflector might help milage better than a short sharp angle? Our family members also drove a Ford F150 pulling a car hauler empty except for a small cargo trailer ON the car hauler - so top of small cargo stuck up at the 9' mark. His fuel milage was much lower than with no trailers. (I had offered to make a quick "camper shell-air defelctor" out of osb ply before we left but he said his bed cover prevented that.) He got better milage on the eastbound trip when he pulled the car hauler with a kia sedan on it and another family member drove his own F150 pulling the samll cargo. Again I say, all of my information is from the dashboard computer, so it is not scientific.1.5KViews0likes0CommentsRe: Air Deflector Van + Cargo Trailer Fuel Improvement
Admittedly, a Chevy Express van gets poor gas milage, but we enjoy our van. Our adult kids keep trying to get us to buy an SUV like them, but for some reason, they still ride with us in our 15 passenger van! Our family did one trip with no deflector, and saw the fuel economy drop in half. I did some google searching, including here on RV.net. I saw a lot of negative comments, but a few positive. So I figured, what the hey, its just a hobby and my time; I'll try something. For us, it worked. I was not and still am not prepared to do scientific studies. I am not selling any plans, just basically giving away my idea and example. If I have everything fastened down so that I do not present a hazard to someone else nor bring attention to our fine dedicated Highway Patrol, then why be so adamant that "it does not work"? Thank you for allowing me a place to post my idea!1.5KViews0likes0CommentsAir Deflector Van + Cargo Trailer Fuel Improvement
This post is about my homebuilt air ramp or deflector and the fuel savings from it. We are running a 2010 Chevy with 6.0 gasoline, 180k miles. Cargo trailer that I added a 9,000btu mini split, condenser mounted on front. Live in Indiana. Few years ago, step 1 was I built a "luggage rack" on the van, based on a commercial ladder rack that clips onto the gutter rail, but lowest possible to roof without paint damage. Van not pulling a trailer gets about 13.5-14 MPG whether loaded or empty. All values as reported by Chevy dashboard, and backed up by occasional hand math from gas reciepts. Our first trip with van and cargo camper got us 6-7 MPG. About 70-75 MHP Few years ago, we drove/towed to Yellowstone NP and Arches NP, with an 8' long air ramp made from OSB plywood and open sides. This got us about 7-8MPG and a few odd looks and questions. This year I built an 8' long, 18" high to match the trailer, and enclosed sides air ramp, open at the back. We drove to San Deigo CA using the Flagstaff/ Yuma route. Going west empty, the best we got was 11.3 (dashboard). About 70-75 MPH. Going east, we were loaded with a family moving to Sommerset KY. From the picture, you might guess we were loaded heavy. For the eastbound trip, 65 MPH, we got 10.5 MPG. The air ramp comes off with 6 bolts, and is stored in my barn. My hope is that this info helps someone else. My numbers are not scientificly accurate.5.1KViews0likes32Comments
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