Rear Spoilers

[Montana_4391]

Don't know if this question has been raised or not (if it has I haven't found it), but I was just wondering about the effectiveness of those spoilers/wings some folks put on the rear of their tow vehicles suposedly to aid in the airflow over the fifth wheel/trailer behind them. Do these things really work or is it just another gimmick? I've seen a few of them, but most folks don't use them - are they really effective or are they more show than anything else?

[Countryfolks]

From what I've been able to find out, they do a fair job of keeping bugs off the front of the 5er but that's about all.

Skip

[Montana Sky]

The few folks I had talked to about their wind deflector said it really helps with the bugs and they noticed about a mile per gallon better. I do not have one, and do not really plan on getting one. A good coat of wax on the nose does fine by me.

[Bill and Ann]

Don't have one and won't be getting one. You can buy a lot of diesel for the cost of one of the deflectors. You don't save much mpg. Wax works good for the bugs.

[richfaa]

Several folks in our local camping group have them or did have them and the general consensus was they made a fair but expensive bug deflector. Just about all of them have disappeared from the TV's execpt for those folks that think they look "cool"

[Dave e Victoria]

One of the sales pitches for Montanas that I heard was the front cap was designed to smooth the airflow and thereby negated the need for a spoiler on the truck as far as fuel mileage was concerned. Moreover, from an aerodynamic point of view, if one wanted to reduce air pressure on the front of the trailer and thereby reduce drag, the spoiler monted on the truck roof is not necessarily the best device. Rather, something that caused turbulence to break up any laminar flow over the top of the truck would be a better approach. Looking at some of the designs, they are obviously developed by folks more interested in appearance without much regard for engineering. They tend to follow the shape of the devices on the back of race cars which are designed to manage rear wheel traction. I doubt that many of us need more traction.