| Author | Message | ||
     Svh |
Lately I have been seeing more trailers with what I would call skirting from the jack to the first axle. From experience, either yours or others, how much fuel does that save? If I recall the average semi-truck gets 8mpg. | ||
| Tbolt_pilot |
It helps a little with fuel, and also helps reduce water spray in the rain. Both a result of less turbulence. Do the trucks your seeing also have full disk hubcaps on them? It's one company I've noticed lately that does that. | ||
| Froggy |
I have never seen the skits on trucks, but it always made me wonder why they never did it. But then again I am an econut that wrings max fuel economy out of everything. | ||
| Svh |
No they haven't had those yet. I know the Euro's have had them for awhile along with the skirts between rig and trailer to help with drag. I will try to snap a pic tomorrow as I have seen 3-4 a day for a few weeks now. | ||
| Chris_in_tn |
The company I work for has tried experimenting with them. Tests have so far been disappointing. Little to no increase in MPG. | ||
| Svh |
These trucks in Europe get 30-40% better fuel mileage than the standard Euro aero trucks that get better mpg than our trucks here. Supposedly they get nearly 20mpg with just the body no engine changes when paired with one of their aero trailers. A bit on the fugly side though.  | ||
| Court |
That is a COOL looking truck . . . I think it was UPS who came up the the spray brooms over the wheels . . . all I know is that they've come along way from the 2 years spent hauling in an International TranStar 4200! | ||
| Tbolt_pilot |
Yeah, the little fringes on the Big Brown trucks actually help a LOT. I think those need to be put on more trucks. That thing up there is just plain funky. How do those wipers work? Looks like a 3-blade prop and it just spins around. | ||
| Brinnutz |
does that trailer say schart? | ||
| Tbolt_pilot |
If it does say schart, then it says scharter under it. And with those chili peppers on there it may very well say that. Is fharter on there somewhere? | ||
| Badlionsfan |
The skirts are for aero reasons, but like every thing else in the US transportation industry, it's being poorly executed. For these things to actually do anything, they need to be as close to the ground as possible. Problem is, if you get them that low to the ground, they'd be damaged when you backed into a dock that goes down into a pit. At least one company makes the skirts that can be flipped up to gain ground clearance, but of course that set up costs more money. So the companies just use the higher skirts, and see no real bennefit. Truck technology is about 20 years behind cars. We just started dealing with egr in 2003, and it's been a nightmare. Every few years they've increased the amount of exhaust that the engine has to injest and try to reburn. Egr valves plug up constantly, engines run hotter, etc. The guy who invented the diesel egr system admits that egr is the worst thing you could do to the engine. The 2010 diesel engines will have a system that will burn the exhaust gases, allowing the amount of egr to go back to 04 levels I think. Disc brakes are available by special order only, not standard equipment on any class 8 truck sold in the US. Now you all have a bunch of knowledge that you don't give a crap about. | ||
| Court |
>>Now you all have a bunch of knowledge that you don't give a crap about. Inaccurate. I find it fascinating. I think trucks . . . have always been the victim of the "whatever . . it's not going to be THAT efficient anyway" thinking . . fuel costs could always be passed on. I can easily see trucks, with some of the existing technology, looking completely different in 20 years. I'd like to see more of that wild thing above. Waiting for Mr. Grumpy to weigh in . . . he, as I recall, is a professional driver and I'd be eager to hear his take. | ||
| Svh |
Semi's have been fascinating to me since I was a child. I do care about these things because everything we buy/use touches a truck. So lowering transport cost not only makes our goods less $$ it also helps with the environment. I have marveled at the technology in Europe since the first time I saw a Benz that was full skirted with magnetic flex panels between the cab and trailer. That was mid 80s. It is simply amazing that the technology hasn't made the jump across the pond. As far as brakes go I am on the road in work vehicles or my personal vehicles for 60,000+ miles a year and I am not a proffesional driver. So when I am out there with all of the semis I would much prefer they have the best technology to get them stopped. Air brakes lock up too often to be truly effective. Hopefully brake tech can catch up quickly. When I started the thread Badlions you were who I thought I would hear from. So I do value your opinion on it as well as anyone else with experience. Thanks | ||
| M2statz |
Only Wilson would bring up the "Schart" on the side of the truck!!  | ||
| Drkside79 |
Mr Grumpy? | ||
| Badlionsfan |
ABS has been around for a while on tractors and more recently trailers. Problem is a lot of the old equipment is still on the road. As far as costs go, the EPA doesn't share your views. The new 2010 emission requirements will add thousands of dollars to the initial cost of the tractor, not to mention the cost of this "diesel exhaust fluid" called eurea or something, that will have to be purchased regularly. Cali is even more out of their minds. Effective 2014, they plan to ban all trucks made before a certain date, I'd have to look it up, I don't remember the cut off, due to emisssion standards. Many carriers with older fleets and owner operators with older trucks simply won't go to Cali. This is gonna cause a shortage of trucks, which will drive up rates on stuff going into and coming out of the state. When I think Cali, i think produce. Guess where you're gonna pay for those higher rates? The grocery store. Cali's infamous CARB is also going to play a part in a major shift in port traffic. They're squeezing out the little guy at the port of long beach and la, increasing costs to get stuff on and off the boats. Combine that with the fact the longshoremen in those ports are bringing down 6 figures a year, everything is pointing to more goods being brought in and out thru the east coast ports. East coast longshoremen don't make as much and they don't have the wacky emission crap coming down the pike. The company I work for is on the port of Elizabeth nj where they are deepening the harbor for the larger container ships, as well as other ports up and down the east coast. My brain hurts, so I'm done now. | ||
| Pkman |
The side skirts on euro trucks are primarily under-ride protection for when a car t-bones them. Too many people got decapitated. The aero advantages were realized later. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Sorry to be so tardy but I've been away driving them. One the major problems you have in the US is aerodynamics, with huge great long tractors with tanks & mirrors & stacks & all those dinky lights & horns etc stuck on them. And with a large gap between tractor & trailer they're about as smooth as a house. Here we use close coupled cab-overs which give a much smoother airflow over the whole rig, with consequent economies. The other major factor is that European heavy trucks over 12t gross are restricted to 90kmh by law with heavy penalties for tampering with the limiter. This was introduced as a safety measure around 15 years ago but has the added advantage that constructors can engineer their vehicles to be most economic at that speed. As for Truck technology lagging behind cars, that may be the case in the US but it's the reverse in Europe, virtually all the mechanical advances in car technology have been tested on the truck market first. Simply put, on a truck you have the space to put whatever it is you want to try testing & easily comparable test environments. Then it's just a question of scaling down. I'll be up the road again tonight , in one of the nicest vehicles I've ever driven; A Volvo FH12 Globetrotter, 440hp & a 12speed auto, all the whistles & bells, it's quieter & more comfortable than most cars! | ||
| Badlionsfan |
Problem over here is no one wants to spend the money unless all other options have been exhausted. I also drive a Volvo every nite. My Terminal manager calls my truck the 12 gauge and me "dead eye", as I hit two deer (bucks btw) in 8 days. Get some interior pics of that thing grumpy. I'll get some too and we'll compare. | ||
| Court |
Get some interior pics of that thing grumpy. . . . and exterior. If French women happen to be in the photos . . . so be it. | ||
| Doughnut |
My Frieght Liner got 6.5 - 7 mpg av. Had the "high" govener of 67 mph. | ||
| Geforce |
My Grandpa owned a rock truck company for several decades in Bridgeport, TX. Every year for summer I would go stay at my grand parent's house and just ride and ride all day long with him in his old Peterbuilt Extended Hood, Lowered Cab (70's Model) hauling rocks between construction sites and rock crushers. The morning usually started at 0300 at the diner to eat a big plate of biscuits and gravy. He would give his drivers the dispatches while the trucks warmed up and make them do a pre day inspection he came up with for the drivers. When I was old enough to work the pedals and shift he would let me drive it around the crushers and parking lot. I learned a lot about CB radios and how materials get transported to and from large work sites. I also learned a lot about driving on the road and just how difficult it can be to drive a big ass truck loaded down with tons and tons of gravel or rock or sand in Dallas traffic. I did manage to earn a nickname during my second summer. We had a wait time to enter the drop site and so we decided to pull into a cleared area and have a break. Two of the other drivers pulled in with us and everyone got out to share coffee and a smoke and "kick the tires". While the adults were occupied I decided it would be a good idea if I inspected the coolers for food. I would sneak into a cab and steal a little something and leave a IOU note. Not long after that I was given the handle. "Sandwich" and an Ellison trucking jacket and hat for Xmas. | ||
| Kyrocket |
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDPRyP-G2fs How's that for tractor aero-dynamics? | ||
| Delta_one |
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| Toona |
A little something one of my customers asked me to build for them, just the grille insert, not the entire custom truck. It's one of the new 2010 International Lonestars. Their website says it's up to 10% more efficient than standard "long nose" tractors on the road. BEFORE:   AFTER:   | ||
| Froggy |
Beautiful and functional. Fantastic.  | ||
| Badlionsfan |
What we lack in efficiency on the road we make up for when it's time to unload. (Message edited by badlionsfan on November 18, 2009) | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
As requested, here's the one I've been driving this week, on the loading bay at the GM/Opel parts distribution centre, just N of Paris. As a matter of interest it's right next to the airport at Le Bourget where Lindbergh landed the "Spirit of St Louis" in 1927.  There's my work station, gear lever/selector is fixed to the side of the air-ride seat. The big gray box stuck on the dash is a Transics combined gps tracking & gsm phone/messaging system. It registers everything from driving hours to where you stopped for coffee.  This is the real spy though, latest generation digital tachograph, records drivers hours & speeds. Uses a smart-card with your picture on it. If the plods want to check what you've been doing, the card holds 6 months data, & the unit itself can be interrogated up to a year! No double log books here, it might seem intrusive to you, but it all works as protection for the driver too, from being pushed too far by unscrupulous employers. (mostly)  | ||
| Cowboy |
Mr Grumpy- I notice it is a single axle, What is the load limits per axle in Europe? 18 wheeler here is only alowed 80,000 here unless we are hauling agri.products and 150 miles or closer to home. | ||
| Svh |
Most people don't realize that the cabovers like that Volvo and the Benz tractors are more aerodynamic than those "streamlined" Internationals and Volvos we have over here. |
