Price check on 16' aluminum trailer

[crazyal]

It is. I wish I had a way to prove it. Now it all depends on how much mesh area there is. But the standard stuff its true. Now if was a mesh with holes big enough to pass a basketball though it may be a different story.

Chris

I remember Mythbusters doing a tailgate open vs close and gas mileage. Turns out closed is better than open and once in the fluid tank with the dye it became clear why. They also did a smooth car vs one with dimples like a golf ball has, the dimples increased MPG. Just because we can visualize it in our heads doesn't make it true.

 

[Will_C]

No one had mentioned it, but one disadvantage of the ramp is it limits you to hauling loads the length of your trailer, no more. I had a 12' trailer with a ramp, and that was all you could haul. I have a 18' trailer with stowable ramps now. My tractor, FEL, and bushog are around 19' long. I simply let the tail wheel of the hog stick over and I can haul the unit.

Just something else to think about.

Will

 

[timswi]

No one had mentioned it, but one disadvantage of the ramp is it limits you to hauling loads the length of your trailer, no more. I had a 12' trailer with a ramp, and that was all you could haul. I have a 18' trailer with stowable ramps now. My tractor, FEL, and bushog are around 19' long. I simply let the tail wheel of the hog stick over and I can haul the unit.

Just something else to think about.

Will

That's why you buy the trailer that you need..Good point.

 

[archerynut]

Update, I decided not to go with that trailer, but instead by 17'6" Featherlite car hauler. About $1000 more than the 16' used trailer, but brand spanking new, should be here tomorrow.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Can't wait to see it.

Chris

 

[Runner]

Chris,

Regarding the mesh vs solid gate and drag. Does the effect change with speed? I mean, I know drag is supposed to go up exponentially with speed, but does the effect become more pronounced to the extent that the net effect could change between the two?

Real world example: I have this old trailer that I pulled behind a Honda Civic. It used to have a redneck looking "gate" on it that was made by bolting a 4x4 sheet of plywood to a couple of 2x10 hinged ramps. I could not get the rig over about 55 on the highway before the drag stopped me.

Then, I made the mesh gate you see on it now and had no problem maintaining any speed I wanted to on the highway. The mesh gate weighs at least as much as the plywood gate did, maybe a little more.

I can't figure out how to explain this, based on the aerodynamics you mentioned earlier.

I'm thnking it has something to do with the type of turbulence created by a solid gate versus the mesh. In other words, maybe there is some type of "bow wave" created that caused the solid gate to have a bigger effect than its actual size would predict.

Any thoughts?

 

[Diamondpilot]

Runner, yes drag goes up by a factor of 4 as speed increases. The issue is there are so many variables. In you case it probably had more to do with the trailer length and the distance from the rear of the vehicle to the gate. Also, size of the object, angle at which it attacks the air, speed, ect.

Chris

 

[Will_C]

Congrats! I looked at the Featherlites and came close to buying one, but could not find a local dealer.

Will

 

[bigtiller]

Great choice! You'll never regret it! Post some pics when you can.

 

[archerynut]

Congrats! I looked at the Featherlites and came close to buying one, but could not find a local dealer.

Will

I found closer dealers but the best price was about 180 miles away.