Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/93143
By Jack Roberts Aero trailers complement tractors for major reduction in fuel use. much of the tractor aero gains already carved out from years of wind-tunnel testing and refined engineering, atten- tion now has swung to trailers. MinStar, a long-haul dry van fleet running out of Eagan, Minn., began experimenting with aerodynamic tractors when fuel still cost less than $1 a gallon. It wasn't until last year that MinStar began working with trailer aerodynamics. "We had some classic models in A our fleet a few years ago," says Mitch Miller, MinStar president. "But we stay away from them now entirely because of the cost of fuel." The carrier's primary focus now is on closing the gap between the cab and the trailer with adjustable fifth 32 | Overdrive | December 2012 erodynamic tractors have been a growing part of the heavy-duty truck market for decades. With wheels and cab extenders, while also using tank fairings and trailer skirts. "Based on our own testing, a full aerodynamic tractor-trailer combi- nation gets ¾ of a mile per gallon better fuel economy than a nonaero- dynamic rig," Miller says. "We feel that aerodynamics allow us to oper- ate a fuel-efficient vehicle for $800 a month less than for a nonaerody- namic model." "When diesel fuel prices drop to less than $3 a gallon, there is not much interest in paying for an aerodynamic improvement that will take six years to pay for itself," says Dave McKenna, director of powertrain sales and marketing at Mack Trucks. "But at approximately $4 per gallon, there are a lot of 'aero-religious' converts." The other driving force for more aerodynamic tractor-trailers is an environmental concern for lower emissions. That's why California and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have been pushing aero equipment aggressively. "Already many millions of dollars have been earmarked by the U.S. Department of Energy to help the cause," says Sean Graham, president of Freight Wing, an aerodynamic trail- er component designer and manufac- turer involved in DOE's effort. "Our goal is to realize a 15 percent improve- ment in fuel economy over trailers without fairings." That's a 6 percent improvement over what is commer- cially available now through Freight Wing's side skirt and gap fairing. "This would come from a combination of side skirts, gap fairings that streamline turbulence between the tractor and trailer, and fairings at the end of the trailer," Graham adds. "We're well on course to make this happen."