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Topic ClosedThe Mystery of The R-Pod Total Frontal Area

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lostagain View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Topic: The Mystery of The R-Pod Total Frontal Area
    Posted: 14 May 2019 at 10:26am
Ok, StephenH, where can I pick up a pair of those cool fins on the blue trailer in your picture?  I think that would add to, not only the aesthetics of the Pod, but to it's aerodynamic efficiency.  Imagine the reduction of drag and the increase of lateral stability to to those sleek fins.  The only thing that would improve on them would be unicorn wings. Thumbs Up  But, I'd never want to hurt a unicorn by harvesting its wings.  Disapprove
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 May 2019 at 10:03am
So, are you trying to make your R-Pod look like a Shasta?  (scroll down to first picture in "Original Condition Shasta Trailer")
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 May 2019 at 9:51pm
I was thinking of the really nice fin like wings that are not horizontally oriented.  I was hoping to get a pair off an old 1950's trailer made of aircraft aluminum and only about an inch thick.  They'd operate more as rudders than creating an airfoil for lift.  And at the snail like speeds I tend to drive, the wind resistance cause by about 10 sq. in. of leading edge surface area would be de minimus.  And if I could score unicorn wings, they'd reduce drag and make fuel unnecessary.  If I find them and mount them, I'll certainly post not only photos but a video.  Big smile
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 May 2019 at 10:00am
Originally posted by lostagain

.... and if you put the wings on the back edge of the Pod, it'll easily double the coasting distance.  Ermm

Wings create both lift and drag. So more than likely you'll get both sway AND worse fuel economy. Try it, let us know what happens, I wanna see the youtube video.LOL
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 May 2019 at 9:22am
.... and if you put the wings on the back edge of the Pod, it'll easily double the coasting distance.  Ermm
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 May 2019 at 9:16am
Originally posted by john in idaho

Seems like I saw a post a few years ago on this forum.  Someone added a canoe to the top of the pickup topper and increased gas mileage a few points.  but my memory may be faulty.

i have a kayak I was thinking of taking camping, maybe I'll try it. Another way to determine air drag is through coast down testing. All you need is a couple of miles of dead flat smooth road, no wind, no traffic, and a smart phone to video your speedometer during the tests.  
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 May 2019 at 9:00am
I think the design of the Pod is so sleek and appealing that it magically resists air molecules as though it glides on clouds in a near weightless environment.  The only improvement, which I've previously proposed, would be some fin like wings coming off the back of the trailer at about the level of the spoiler.  Once installed, it would be like pulling the trailer in the vacuum of space.  Confused
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 May 2019 at 8:59am
Seems like I saw a post a few years ago on this forum.  Someone added a canoe to the top of the pickup topper and increased gas mileage a few points.  but my memory may be faulty.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 May 2019 at 8:30am
Originally posted by Happy Tripping

So, just for fun, please look in your operator’s manual and let us know if your tow vehicle passes or fails its manufacturers’s total frontal area requirements. I know that my entirely satisfactory Jeep Cherokee (towing capacity 4500 lbs) fails, and I am very interested to see who passes.

2014 Toyota Tacoma Access cab V6 4x4 with towing package.  Trailer frontal area is not even mentioned in the owners manual.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 May 2019 at 6:04am
Good point.  The drag of the rig is what matters, not the drag of the trailer separately. Depending on the aerodynamics of the tow vehicle the addition of the trailer might have a more or less dramatic increase on the combined drag. And if you want you can add aero devices like the Purpleline product to the TV, to try to reduce it. 

The numbers I worked back to in my post were for my combined rig. YMMV (literally). 


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