avantey Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 Has anyone ever put Air Tabs on their enclosed trailer? Here is a link: Aerodynamic Fuel Economy Savers for Road Vehicles They are supposed to cut the drag at the rear of trailer to improve mileage. In theory they create many mini vortex so as to break up the huge suction created by the flat back door on a trailer.I can only find info and testimonials on their site. So I was wondering if there is any practical experience with them in the AACA membership. We haul a lot of trailers as a group! They have a very reasonable cost if they work and a lot easier to install than a front bubble.Any opinions would be welcome.Thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 If they worked every tractor trailer on the road would have them don't you think? Road tractors get about 4 mpg when pulling a loaded trailer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Friartuck Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 Maybe there is something to this......They put dimples in golf balls to break up the air..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avantey Posted May 10, 2011 Author Share Posted May 10, 2011 I have not heard of them until I went searching for mileage improvers for trailers and they stood out in a TT forum as something different. Front end bubbles seem expensive and of marginal improvement on small trailers like a car hauler. They seem to work best when there is a lot of gap between the tractor and trailer on a big rig. That gap also captures air and creates suction to decrease airflow that the bubble breaks up. Air Tab's theory, wind tunnel pics, etc. seem plausible. I just don't like that I cannot find any chatter other than their website testimonials.R32- I agree with you on their market penetration rate unless they are a fairly new product. With the price of diesel what it is I just went looking around and came across these. Maybe I will call and talk to them.Thanks to both for your comments. Guess no one has actually tried them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Roth Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 AVANTEY,Please let me know what you find out - I'm also looking for a way to improve my trailering economy - I even used an open trailer on the round trip to Florida for Founders Tour, and plan to pull open to the Chrome Glidden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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