RickBetterley

Have we come to an informed consensus as to which trailer nose is best shape for mileage and stability (let's ignore interior space efficiency for now)?
Assume tow vehicle is a large crew cab pick up with a tonneau cover on the bed and trailer is a 24' bumper pull.
I'd love some data to support your comments.
Thanks

Quinlan

Bueller? Bueller? Bueller? Kibort?

Frank 993 C4S

I did my Masters Thesis on the aerodynamics of blunt objects. Unfortunately, 30 year later, I don't remember much so can't help you there

linzman

My used 24' ATC came with a cone on the front. I get the same gas mileage as I did with my 20' + V CargoPro. Both aluminum, both 7' interior, the ATC is probably a few hundred pounds heavier. No hard data, just going by my dash MPG indicator on a Ford F-150 Ecoboost crew cab with tonneau cover. Not sure if either helps the MPG, but the ATC feels much steadier than the V-nose did.

rlm328

The 3/4 ton pickups punch a pretty good size hole through the air. My best evidence of this is the bug splatter pattern on the front of my trailer which is flat. The bug splatter is pretty much limited to within about a foot or so of the edge of the trailer, clean in the middle part.

RickBetterley

I love the idea of the bug splatter test, which has the virtue of common sense as well as killing bugs.
Thanks for the reminder and the insight.

RickBetterley

Sounds like my current CargoPro (20' plus the v nose).
By cone do you mean the rounded bubble?

TXE36

Makes sense. All that air the truck is displacing has to go somewhere. Each one of those air molecules is like a little bug that doesn't stick to the front of the truck nor the windshield. If you look at semis, if they have a trail air deflector, it is on the cab roof, and it isn't shaped like a V.

As a possible interesting note, about a year ago I rented a Chevy Impala for a highway trip. At night, going up the interstate in AR, there are whole bunch of trucks. Something about the suspension and aerodynamics of that car made it sensitive to the aero packages on the trucks. A regular truck had little buffeting as I closed on him. A full aero package truck with cab deflector, side skirts, full hub caps, and a trailer tail had markedly increased buffeting on the Chevy as I closed in from behind. The experiment was very repeatable. Hey, it was an 800 mile trip and I needed something to do.

-Mike

linzman

Yes. I'll try and attach a picture but doesn't always work from phone.

onefastviking

I doubt Kibort tows, probably drives his to the track, of course I am sure he has an opinion none the less.

No real data on this but my gooseneck has a slightly rounded reduced nose section which seems to be more stable than the square brick I use to pull. I get better gas mpg with the gooseneck than I do my open trailer, but I think it's just because I am going slower. In the gooseneck.
Both of mine are aluminum so trailers are pretty light either way.

Martin S.

Totally unscientific, but the ATC Becker guy told me that the rather sever V nose on the ATC, optional on the Becker, resulted in incremental buffeting on the trailer. I have also noted that my friend's 24' Featherlite has a V nose, but very moderate, compared to the ATC.

He added, the V nose on an ATC, or Becker adds about 200 Lbs,. The trade off, you can store stuff up there....but the downside, you are shifting the trailer's center of gravity forward I would think. I went with the flat front on the Becker I have on order. For 8 years I towed a 20' Hallmark with a flat nose and used a Reese weight distribution hitch. Never had any problems. I'll probably get another Reese for my 20' Becker....I was told that the stretch axel design of the Becker compared to the Haulmark, with a greater distance between the axels, the trailers are more stable and may not need a weight distribution hitch.

On this trailer, I will check the tongue weight and adjust the position of the car accordingly. No more than 10% to 15% of the trailer's weight should be on the tongue/ball hitch.

Dave 86 930 Fl

I replaced my 24' flat-nose with a 26' v-nose and the 26' was much more stable from a wind buffeting standpoint. The flat-nose would get sucked in as you reached the front of an 18 wheeler and then pushed out as you passed. Whereas the v-nose did not demonstrate the same tendencies. Regarding mileage, I have no data.

Bill Verburg

No experience w/ different trailer noses but an exaggerated example is a displacement hull moving through water. You definitely want a V nose there.

rlm328

I would say a more appropriate analogy would be a tug pulling a barge.

RickBetterley

Or - a barge (my trailer) being pulled by the tug (F250 crew cab long bed).