air deflector

[kcv67]

I been thinking about getting one of the air deflectors that you mount on top of the cab of the truck. Are they worth it any problems comments suggestions. My 5th wheel is 11 feet high.

Thanks

Casey

 

[Peter Campbell]

AKA "ckicken slides"??

 

[RAMINSPEED]

Originally posted by CASEY VELTKAMP

I been thinking about getting one of the air deflectors that you mount on top of the cab of the truck. Are they worth it any problems comments suggestions. My 5th wheel is 11 feet high.

Thanks

Casey

Only 11 feet. My pull trailer is taller than that (over 13 feet total). LOL I too have thought about the "wedge". I have seen some cool ones but don't know anything about them other than I bet you get some great down force.

 

[Casey Balvert]

I found about 1/2 mile better mileage and it reduces buffeting from trucks and in strong cross winds. If you are looking for a payback real quick, it won't make you happy. I would probably buy another.



Casey

 

[BerylPugh]

how about any deflectors for a camper shell? I have a desert fox toyhauler that is also very high. somewhere aroun 12 feet. that is about 5' higher than truck. I currently tow with an f-250 with high rise shell and the trailer is still a lot higher than shell. I get about 8 MPG now and can only imagine it would be worse without the shell. any comments

 

[Okie-Go]

I have a chicken slide and love it. Big difference in the way the 5er pulls with it on. Peter, I thought I was the only one to call them a chicken slide. They are pricey but I would buy another.

 

[kcv67]

Is the chicken slide one of those sprint car wings.

 

[Dkevdog]

Never heard of them called "Chicken Slides". . I've always heard them refferred to by the big rigs as "Chicken Wings". Either way, I have the Taylor Oversize for about 10K miles now. Pricey, but I got it on sale and picked it up from the factory.



Like Casey said, the biggest improvement is in handling. Mileage is too hard to tell, at best I'd say no more than . 5mpg. But, based on the handling improvements alone, I'd buy another. Trailer seems to handle better even in crosswinds, and it does well to keep the face of the trailer cleaner. Adjustment of the wing angle in critical, and Taylor has gone through some revisions in their mounts, the latest one is pretty nice.



And Casey, Yes- Taylor makes them for the sprint cars, which is originally where they started with them.



Kev

 

[Fireman]

BerylPugh



F-250! How did you get on here???:-laf



Seriously, is it you I saw on another board that had a new Desert Fox 5th wheel????



Fireman

 

[BerylPugh]

fireman



f-250 soon to be replaced by 04. 5 600

No that is not me with a desert fox 5ver

 

[Fireman]

Beryl,



I spend too much time on the net, I get confused. Congrats on the new truck, I'm sure you're going to love it.



Fireman

 

[RustyJC]

They move the bug line up on the front of the 5ver. Beyond that, it depends who you talk to, I guess... ... ... ... ... .



By the way, our 5ver is 13'2" tall to the top of the front A/C unit.



Rusty

 

[**ICEMAN**]

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[Buffalo]

I saw a couple of air deflectors in Quartzsite, AZ. , last week. They look like the ones you see on 18-wheelers. They, not only, taper upwards but, are thin in the front and taper to the sides, also. The ones I saw were all white and looked like a heavy-duty plastic. They looked quite a bit more areo-dynamic than others i've seen. Don't know who the manufacturer is.

 

[ropinfool2]

I have always called them wind deflectors. I actually have one for sale, it is the semi-type. It mounts to the gutters and is adjustible, i. e. up for towing, down for cruising. This way you don't have to take it on and off. I also have wind deflectors for the sides, they mount on the bed rails. They are fiberglass and paintable to any color, currently are Ford White. They are too big to ship. If anyone is interested, give me a shout. I really want to get rid of these things!! Too grandpa for me. robertsonthego at msn dot com. Thanks. John

 

[PLaFrombois]

John



Sent you a pm



Paul

 

[Jim Smith]

I had one before and didn't think they were worth the price and the effort. It might keep the front clean but the mileage savings is minimal. Whem spending all the $$$ it will take a while to get the return.

 

[Shooter]

FS

Taylor oversize stainless wing and new style EZ mount.



http://www.taylorwings.com/rvwings.htm#puwings



00 quad, sb, 3:54, auto, 327hp. 13'3" frontal.

It was the difference between foot to the floor 65 and foot to the floor 75 in the great rockies w/ 40+ mph winds. Very stable handleing and what I could have saved in fuel I spent doing the speed limit ( 75 ). Greatest thing since sliced bread for handleing, well worth the investment for the 50k+ miles and 3 yrs I used it.



Same trailer but long bed 03: Not effective. With the longer distance between the wing and trailer it is not effective.

Just my experience.



Dilfferent trailers will react differently.

 

[Casey Balvert]

I recently completed some testing the wing with the new trailer. After comparing fuel milage both with and without the wing on long trips, I found a 10 to 15% improvement in fuel mileage with the wing and a noticable drop in boost pressure with the wing on. In other words the truck is not working as hard with the wing. I found the results surprising because this trailer is rounder and more aerodymanic than my last trailer but the wing seems to produce a larger improvement with this trailer. With the old trailer, which was flat as a pancake at the front I only found about a 5% increase. Go figure. FWIW



Casey

 

[Jefff929]

Just got back from the first trip with the Air Deflector, chicken wing thing. Wind especially a cross breeze was much better. No noticable MPG improvment in ~220 miles.