Service Bay
products are long flat panels that attach
to the underside of a box or reefer trailer,
minimizing air movement under a trailer
on the move.
Paul Hegdahl, business development
manager at Ridge Corporation, maker of
Green Wing and Freight Wing side skirts,
says his company's products reduce drag
under the trailer by minimizing the
amount of air hitting the trailer's rear
axle when in use.
Melomed says her company's VorBlade works as a small scale vortex generator strategically placed on the roof of
tractor and trailer. As the tractor drives
down the road, air is pulled into the
VorBlade and shifted to create a stable
vortex of air contrails. Melomed says this
stabilizes the trailer against head winds
and cross winds and minimizes drag.
At ATDynamics, CEO Andrew Smith
says his company has zeroed in on
minimizing the low-pressure center created behind a box trailer to improve fuel
economy with its Trailer Trail product.
Smith says ATDynamics' product is
affixed to a trailer door or frame, and
opens automatically when a vehicle
reaches a certain speed, creating an
artificial tail similar to the back end of a
teardrop.
Mitchell Greenberg, chief commercial
officer at SmartTruck Systems, says his
company's under tray systems also are
engineered to combat the low-pressure
center behind a truck. By pulling air
from under the trailer into the area
behind the trailer doors — bypassing the
rear axle in the process — SmartTruck is
able to increase the energy found behind
the trailer and reduce trailer drag.
These product design differences still
lead to similar end results. The products listed above are all EPA SmartWay
verified to save fuel, and for commercial trucking rigs on the highway, the
manufacturers say estimates can range
anywhere from 2 to 12 percent.
W W W . T R U C K PA R T S A N D S E R V I C E . C O M
SmartTruck Systems' aerodynamic
products work to eliminate trailer
drag by capturing air under the
trailer and pushing it backward to
the low-pressure area behind the
trailer doors.
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