drag

[ronsmith100]

Has anyone seen a study of wind dynamics or drag of various trailers?
It seems that most fiberglass trailers are more aerodynamic by manufacturing necessity than by design.

[Pete Dumbleton]

No, I haven't seen actual tests, but I know when one of my friends changed from an 18' box-shaped TT to a 25' Avion he was surprised at how much better it towed!

I would suspect that a Casita 16' would tow better than a Casita 17' because of front profile area and shape.

Underside drag in front of trailer (not lined up with TV), aka air dam, can make a lot of difference also. I found that out when I did a spring-over and put larger wheels on a Jayco.

[Per Walthinsen]

In an ideal world maybe manufacturers could be required to do a basic wind-tunnel air-resistance test in a standardized tunnel. Probably costly and impractical.

My intuition tells me that the frontal area air drag of our rounded shells is significantly reduced compared to slab-fronted trailers. Even when subjected to winds and passing trucks they behave in a more unaffected way, and with the fuel prices the way they are going slipperiness is going to be important. Of course slowing down just a few mph makes a big difference.

I had a giant fan cover on mine that I reasoned would cause a great deal of air resistance, so I switched it out with a much more low profiled one. Haven't towed yet to test my theory, but there are probably too many variables preventing any solid conclusions.