Anyone using a "wing"?

[Opie366]

Has anyone here had any experience with the "wing", "air dam" that mounts about or just behind the cab of the truck to deflect wind off of the trailer? Earlier this week I found myself towing my 24ft Thor toybox (about 8k as loaded)into a headwind between Clayton, NM and Trinidad, NM. It really felt like the trailer was dragging things down. I have seen them on a few trucks pullling travel trailers, but never heard if they actually help or not... ... . What do you guys think?



As an aside while in Cheyenne I filled up at a truck stop that had their pumps marked "Auto Diesel" and one next to it marked "Diesel"..... would their be any difference? I also came across stations selling "Premium Diesel". I'm guessing the only difference with that is the extra . 20c they seem to charge for it.

 

[bmoeller]

filled up at a truck stop that had their pumps marked "Auto Diesel" and one next to it marked "Diesel"..... would their be any difference?

One of 2 things. Could've had a smaller nozzle (auto diesel), or some truck stops charge $0. 03-8 more to use a credit card on the big truck side.

 

[GAmes]

I pull all kinds of trailers. Toy box travel trailers are the worst as far as aerodynamics go, sorta like pulling a parchute. A wing would only give you more drag because it isn't tall enough, wide enough or close enough to the trailer to smooth out the flow of air. About all they are good for on 5ers is to decrease the amount of bugs you have to clean off at the end of the trip. For the same reasons as above they will not increase your mileage enough to pay for them selves, if in fact they increase your mileage at all.



The good news is your trip was pretty short. I once pulled one with constant head and cross winds from Perris, Ca to St. Paul, Mn. I still averaged about 10 mpg if I remember correctly.

 

[WestTN]

If your trailer is a conventional, then you would need a shell on the bed to get the wing to the back close to the trailer. Then you need to aim it. The best way to aim it is to attach a ribbon to the wing that is long enough to reach the roof of the trailer. Then take it for a drive and see if it is just touching the trailer roof. Reset the wing angle as needed until the ribbon is lightly spanking the roof. You only want to lift the air barely over the roof. When you find the sweet spot you will notice a definite increase in mileage. Too high is worese than too low. I found this solution back in the mid eighties when I towed my 29' TT with a Ford Van. The procedure is the same for a fifth wheel, but the wing naturally will have to be on the back of the truck roof.

 

[SWC]

When I was hauling RVs I had a Taylor Wing on my truck. In summer is a good time to see where a wing moves the air. My wing is mounted over the cab. When towing a bumper hitch I had the wing as flat as I could get it. To my surprise there were no bugs on the front of the travel trailer except on the sides. Similar to a wide hour glass shape on the front of the RV. The bug line came in about 2 feet on both sides about half way up the front. The top and bottom were nearly bug free. The air moving under the wing and following the curve of the back side is what makes a wing effective that far back on a travel trailer.

I never did tow without the wing to do a mpg comparison. On a high front fifth wheel the trailer was more stable. If the trailer rocked side to side a little I did not have the wing angled steep enough.

Stan

 

[EricBu12]

i have the ultrafab wind deflector and I added the help by putting airtabs on the top edge of it. the thing with the airtabs is they lift and spin the air to straghten it out. The bug line is near the top and in from the edges on the fiver. The panel is straight up because it is on spring jacks to make it striaght up for manuvering and over 40mph, it lays back to the angle you set the jacks at. I do believe this helps me "wedge" the air to the top and sides rather than a single face. . I drove to a dunes this weekend and in a headwind, over 200 miles, I only lost about 1-2 mpg from the normal 10-11 in no headwind... (this was on the way back... not a tailwind either) So it does help and if you do it like I have, it looks cool too...



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This is in the stored position. I added the LED Lights... .



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