The Mystery of The R-Pod Total Frontal Area |
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lostagain
Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2587 |
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. But, I'd never want to hurt a unicorn by harvesting its wings.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
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StephenH
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6288 |
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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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
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lostagain
Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2587 |
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.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
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offgrid
Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Posted: 13 May 2019 at 10:00am |
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.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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lostagain
Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2587 |
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.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
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offgrid
Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Posted: 13 May 2019 at 9:16am |
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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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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lostagain
Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2587 |
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.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
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john in idaho
Senior Member Joined: 04 Nov 2014 Location: Eagle Idaho Online Status: Offline Posts: 611 |
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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tcj
Senior Member Joined: 05 Jul 2018 Location: Central WA Online Status: Offline Posts: 141 |
Posted: 13 May 2019 at 8:30am |
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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2018 R-pod 180 Hood River Edition
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offgrid
Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
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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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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