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Topic Closedr-pod gas mileage fix
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TIDALWAVE View Drop Down
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Joined: 21 Nov 2009
Location: MINNESOTA
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Posts: 315 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: r-pod gas mileage fix
    Posted: 07 Jun 2011 at 7:43pm
One of the problems with 'spoilers' installed on the TV is still the separation gap between the TV and the pod.  Several members have mentioned the spoilers, etc. seen on 18-wheelers. If you take a good look, the 'spoilers' are not only installed on top of the cab to control the air flow over the top of the trailer...but also 'side spoilers' extend back toward the trailer also.
I am thinking about doing some more airflow sims, using the shape of a fifth-wheeler Casitas attached to the bed of a pickup.  This combo should be closer to the optimum than towing a Pod.
I will try to post the results ASAP.  Unfortunately, this type of combination won't be of any consolation to those of us who haul a Pod.
TIDALWAVE
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Hodge-PODge View Drop Down
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Posts: 539 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Jun 2011 at 7:36pm
Originally posted by Outbound

Quantitative analysis?  Not in a very long time.
 
Well, I wasn't really expecting you to, but it was worth asking.  Seriously though, I am soon going to have to find an "expert" in the field, seeing as my dissertation is a quantitative study and statistical tests are not my strong suit.
 
But getting on back to the topic of gas mileage . . . . . you had some good statistics there!  Smile
2011 RP 177, the Hodge-PODge
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Joined: 19 Nov 2009
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Posts: 767 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Jun 2011 at 7:05pm
Quantitative analysis?  Not in a very long time.
Craig :: 2009 RP171 towed by a 2017 F150
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Hodge-PODge View Drop Down
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Posts: 539 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Jun 2011 at 4:07pm
Hmmm, you're a statistician.  Ever helped with statistical tests for the quantitative analysis part of a dissertation?  Not that I mean to get the forum so off-topic!
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Joined: 19 Nov 2009
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Posts: 767 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Jun 2011 at 2:26pm
LOL.. I'm a statistician.  Math is what I do for  living Wink

I'd just hate to see someone spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on spoilers or deflectors to save a few bucks in gas.  It was the same thing two years ago when people were trading in 1 or 2 year old SUVs on more economical cars.  Sure, they'd save $50-$100 a month in gas, but they lost $5-$8 thousand on the trade-in.  And, if they'd just drive a little bit smarter, they'd save $20-$40/month on gas on their current car.
Craig :: 2009 RP171 towed by a 2017 F150
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Snowbound View Drop Down
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Posts: 270 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Jun 2011 at 2:11pm
Thanks Outbound. We appreciate you doing all the math!Big smile
Tom and Bette
in our 177 "The Gastropod"
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Joined: 19 Nov 2009
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Posts: 767 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Jun 2011 at 10:45pm
The leading edge isn't nearly the problem that the trailing edge is.  Have a look at the airflow simulations I did when I bought my R-POD.  A spoiler will be far more effective than a deflector.  Look around at the aftermarket manufacturers sites and you'll see that realistically, deflectors, spoilers or other approaches may increase gas mileage by 2-10%.  This will take 10 MPG to an optimistic 11 MPG.  This means you'd save 4.5 gallons of gas on a 500 mile round trip.

And lets say that you travel 5,000 miles per year with your R-POD.  At 11 MPG vs 10 MPG, you'd save 45.5 gallons of gas.  At $4/gal, that would be $182.  How much are you willing to spend on deflectors or spoilers to achieve that savings?

Keeping your tires properly inflated, your trailer properly levelled, your speed reasonable (55 MPH) and dramatically reducing jackrabbit starts are by far the most effective things you can do.  They're free, too.  With conservative driving on relatively level roads, you may achieve 13-13.5 MPG.  At 13 MPG, that 5,000 mile annual distance would save you 115 gallons - $460 at $4/gal.  And time-wise?  That 500-mile round trip would take 1 hour and 24 minutes longer at 55 MPH as opposed to 65 MPH.  Forty-two extra minutes each way.
Craig :: 2009 RP171 towed by a 2017 F150
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blissful View Drop Down
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Posts: 53 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Jun 2011 at 7:14pm
If you keep the speed under 50mph(which most people prefer not to bepoking along) it will increase your mileage...I own a 2006 Hyundai Tuscon and get 15mpg by keeping my speed around 40mph.
 
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Goose View Drop Down
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Posts: 672 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Jan 2011 at 11:15am
  TIDALWAVE, I went back and looked at your youtube sims. I had not seen those before and what got me was the amount of air disturbance that starts at the front of the TV and flows under it all the way to the rear of the POD. I am highly impressed with ability to do that, but I have to wonder what the difference would be if you added an air dam at the front of the TV along with side skirts. It looks like that may help a lot stop some of the drag.    Goose 
Mother Goose's Caboose..2011 RP171..07 Grand Cherokee
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Goose View Drop Down
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Posts: 672 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Jan 2011 at 10:45am
  For the air conditioner on the roof of the POD I have thought of making an air sheild for the front and a boat tail for the rear, using fiberglass with foam to create the shape.
  In the front I thought that a cover over the propane tank and battery following the v of the frame back to the front wall and angling upward slightly might help to reduce the turbulance between the TV and the POD.  Keep it light.
  I keep telling myself to get out to the garage and make a wind tunnel and scale models to test ideas on increasing efficency, but it has been to cold.        Goose  
Mother Goose's Caboose..2011 RP171..07 Grand Cherokee
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