Like everyone else who tows my eternal quest for better mileage will never die. A month or so ago a post here on the Forum mentioned a company up in Canada that makes wind deflectors for tow vehicles. I had considered building something my self but after checking their website decided to give them a shot.
I ordered the AeroShield Classic WD400 which arrived a week later for $339 + $38 in freight, no tax. It is 60" across and 30" high and it mounts on top, at the rear of my Leer shell. The angle of the deflector in this pic is way to steep, it should align with the top of the TT.
Most folks, not having a shell mount them on top of the Cab. The advantage of the shell location is that the farther aft, as in closer to the trailer, the more effective they purport to be. It rests on 4 suction cups and is secured by some heavy web straps. The clips that allow you to attach to the door tracks would not work for me so I used 5/16" stainless eye bolts through the eyebrow of the shell just above the window. I used a heavy black rubber cutting board to make 4" X 2" X .5" backing plates and sealed the holes with caulk. When the straps are tightened it is very strong, you can rock the truck by grabbing the deflector and it goes on or off in about 2 minutes.
The key to getting the most out of the deflector is the alignment. The angle of deployment should be such that it is aimed at the top edge of the trailer. I could tell that I got it a little too low as after the first 180 mile run I had a band of dead bugs across the the top 8 inches of the front of the trailer. If it is aligned right the bugs along with the wind deflect up and over the top of the trailer. After adjusting it a little higher I could feel and see (on the Scan Gauge), that it was working better.
Results: The initial trip was from Tucson up to Hawley Lake in the White Mountains (east of Phoenix). "Up" is the operative word in that last sentence. Hawley Lake sits at 8,400 and you will nearly reach 9,000' to get there. Lots of serious climbing, multiple 6, 7 and even 8% grades in the six to ten mile range. The last 50 miles from the bottom of the Salt River Canyon up to Show Low are, with a few brief exceptions, nothing but climb. Previous trips had seen mileage at 9 going up and a little over 11 coming back down for a net of about 10.3. This trip, driving the rig in my signature cruising 50 to 60 averaging 55, with the deflector aligned a little low got me 10.5 to the lake. I did readjust and improve the angle when we reached Show Low and the last 45 miles into the lake showed marked improvement.
We left the TT in storage up In Lakeside as we plan on returning every couple of weeks for the rest of the summer so I did not get to see the return performance numbers though I suspect they will be significantly better. As exhibit "A" to support that statement I got 18.3 driving home in heavy winds (half of Arizona is under a Red Flag Warning), with the truck loaded with most of our gear and about a third of a cord of firewood we picked and cut while there.
My best educated and optimistic guess is that I will see a 2.0 mpg increase which at $4 a gallon equates to about $56 every 1,000 miles. If that holds up it will pay for itself in about one year of normal use. For the last 18 months I consistently got 10.3 towing all over Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, obviously with lots of mountain driving. The addition of the Scan Gauge (you gotta get one of these..but I digress), has made me more efficient and I have been seeing 11 consistently. I believe that an average of 13 is possible and some of the readings I was getting give me hopes for perhaps a little better than that.
I have no affiliation with Icon Direct, just wanted to share my rather limited experience to date. I will be updating the performance figures on future trips. So far it seems to be working well and with a little more experience and some fine tuning and tweaking it may get even better. As always...opinions and YMMV.
Moderator edit to re-size pictures to forum limit of 640px maximum width to avoid scrolling.
* This post was
last
edited 06/29/12 05:30pm by Desert Captain *
View edit history
Very nice looking shield and good job on the mounting. Now, if you could just figure out a way to streamline the rear of the trailer I think you might have something. I wish you luck in your quest for better mileage! Seems to me like towing and mileage just do not play well together. I have given up on that quest and just let it be what it is!
Barney
2004 Sunnybrook Titan 30FKS TT
Hensley "Arrow" 1400# hitch
2002 Ford F250 Super Duty, 7.3L PSD Visit our website here
last post reminds me of the curved "scoops" that used to be placed near the back end of a mini van. Now, they just incorporate a slight flattened area to the back edge of the roof. I'm wondering if some kind of scoop the width of the towed vehicle might break up the "suction" produced by road travel? Any ideas?
2007 Jayco Designer 36RLTS
2006 F350 DRW super duty
When you're born, everyone is smiling and you're crying. Live so that when you die everyone else is crying and you're smiling!
I cured my MPG problem. I bought a MH with the mercedes benz diesel engine . hows 20 plus mpg its the I 5 cyc engine . but your rv looks great hope it helps.
I have decided to only drive downhill....I get much better mileage that way
The deflector looks great.....nice job installing it.
Not sure how I could fit one on the Motorhome...LOL!! I could use an extra 2 mpg!!
I guess I'll just be happy with my 7-8 mpg....not that I could do much about it, and it seems that many of the "fixes" aren't all that much of a savings....they take decades to pay for themselves....which is often longer than we'd keep the RV, so a waste of money.
This one sounds better.....if it will pay off in a year or so.
Bill & Claudia / DD Jenn / DS Chris / GS MJ Dogs: Sophie, Abby, Brandy, Kahlie, Annie, Maggie, Tugger & Beau RIP: Cookie, Foxy & Gidget @ Rainbow Bridge.
2000 Winnebago "Minnie" 31C, Ford V-10
Purchased April 2008 FMCA# F407293 The Pets
60 feet across HUH! can I just follow along side of you? how do you make it past semis? LOL
Seriously, I have always wanted to do this, but I figured between the initial price and the savings in fuel it would be awhile before I seen any savings. although it would be nice not to have so many dead bugs on the front of the trailer!
Let us know how it goes on the next trip.
Wife Kim
Son Brandon 11yrs
Daughter Marissa 10yrs
Dog Shadow
07 Cherokee 32B
02 Excursion 4X4 V-10 4.30 gear 5Star tuner Y-pipe mod Hellwig sway bar
Reese HP dualcam Prodigy brake controller
A bad day of camping is
better than a good day at work!
dodge guy wrote: 60 feet across HUH! can I just follow along side of you? how do you make it past semis? LOL
Seriously, I have always wanted to do this, but I figured between the initial price and the savings in fuel it would be awhile before I seen any savings. although it would be nice not to have so many dead bugs on the front of the trailer!
Let us know how it goes on the next trip.
Duly edited for your further viewing pleasure. Film at eleven!
Looks great Captain! I've got an adjustable wing myself but no scan gauge. I run at about a 35-degree angle, probably close to what you show in the picture. Did your gauge indicate that steep an angle reduced the benefit in terms of fuel economy?
I have experienced some fuel savings, but not as much as you. Maybe it will improve if I reduce the wing angle.
Need a wind tunnel verification, but think you can pick up a small benefit (5 percent range) from an air dam at the front to divert air away from the underbody of the truck.
Never checked the aerodynamics of a rear air dam for the trailer underbody... but worth testing.
Offline
