I'm pulling a 28' trailor with my truck and I'm wondering if a wind deflector would make a big difference in the pulling of my trailor. Anyone have a wind deflector? How much does it help?

 

probley not going to make that mutch difference. We pull a 48' thats just a few " shy of 12' and dont have one. lol

You might wait and see what a few more people think, for some might have one and could offer better advise than me.

 

oh, and welcome to the boards.

 

If any part of this Formula is off, correct as necessary....

Cost of deflector = $975
Cost savings by use of deflector 10%
Cost of Gasoline $1.50 per gallon
Mileage with or without deflector (doesn't matter) 10 mpg.


Tow for 65,000 miles

65,000 / 10 mpg X $1.50 per gallon X .10 (savings) = $975.00

Using this formula, you need to tow 65,000 miles to break even.

If any of the variables are wrong, just change them and re-compute.
(Such as, you can find a deflector wing for $200 or we bomb Iraq and gas is 12 cents a gallon etc...)

 

I think the 10% gas savings estimate is hugely optimistic. I would guess that it is closer to 1%.

There is a good article on RV Wind Deflectors at http://www.rvbasics.com/techtips/wind.html

The article's bottom line is "If wind deflectors really worked on RVs I think we would see more of them being used."

 

Well, if the savings is 1% it don't take a genius to figure out it's a bad deal.

The breakeven point on a 1% savings is 650,000 miles.

 

So, if I get a diesel engine Super Duty, where the breakeven point is 200,000 miles as well as the wind deflector, does that mean I am at 850,000 miles before breakeven?

Ian

 

So sorry Ian N, all calculations were done in US currency.

Assuming a 1.5 exchange rate your breakeven would be
1,275,000 miles.
But Wait! I'm not done, lets convert that to Kilometers!

Hmmm 1,700,000 k (?)

WOW!!! That would be like driving clear across Canada!