Ultra Light Foamie Weekender (sleep Platform)

Canvas covered foamies (Thrifty Alternatives...)

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Re: Ultra Light Foamie Weekender (sleep Platform)

Postby rowerwet » Tue Mar 22, 2016 4:53 am

I know it doesn't fit with the "aero" look of a teardrop, but I actually think a V nose is better. Teardrops look slippery, but those slab sides are actually a major drag. One reason I think the raindrop design is better for slippery design.
Of course this could be a great way to test the theory. With foam you could make both kinds of nose, and use the fancy computer in your car as a wind tunnel.
My mercury teardrop has a blunt V nose, at 6 feet wide, it has much less drag than my 5 wide benroy, even with the reverse slope galley hatch.
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Re: Ultra Light Foamie Weekender (sleep Platform)

Postby GPW » Tue Mar 22, 2016 6:18 am

Row, a friend and band member made a plywood V nose for his metal box cargo trailer , and he reported a noticeable improvement in his mileage ... :thumbsup:

Thinking a V Nose Foamie would be really a Lot easier than the rounded shape .... not as pretty , yes, but a lot simpler ... :thinking:
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Ultra Light Foamie Weekender (sleep Platform)

Postby Ned B » Tue Mar 22, 2016 8:07 am

Hmmm I see your point Row... (Get it, point ??? I kill me....) and at this stage everything is in play. Sherman fire up the way back machine to 1990...

I used to full time in one of these:

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1458654539.878029.jpg
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1458654539.878029.jpg (36.79 KiB) Viewed 1999 times


I spent three school year seasons on the road living out of a 27' shadow cruiser, the nose had that funky doubled wedge that "tucked in" to the air flow over the cab of the truck.

Shadow cruiser is back around having failed early in the manufacturer collapse a few years back. They agree with you that the egg shape is better, and they sell only TT with rounded end caps... Sidewalls are still flat.
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Ultra Light Foamie Weekender (sleep Platform)

Postby Ned B » Tue Mar 22, 2016 8:54 am

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1458654719.950002.jpg
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1458654719.950002.jpg (21.39 KiB) Viewed 1996 times

That's the 5' wide with a dual slope nose similar to the shadow cruiser. I'd be fine putting a full nose version of that on. Or even a full nose similar to I believe the modified boxcar build.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1458654672.593602.jpg
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1458654672.593602.jpg (51.49 KiB) Viewed 1996 times

Given that this is primarily a sleeper, I might make a tail cone as well, or extend the hatch out . I would use 3/4" foam to keep the weight down. I'll sketch something up after work.
Last edited by Ned B on Tue Mar 22, 2016 9:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Ultra Light Foamie Weekender (sleep Platform)

Postby GPW » Tue Mar 22, 2016 8:56 am

Here’s a simple V nose that would be easy to build to most any size ... Not the most efficient , , certainly not the prettiest , but real Easy to build for most anybody ... Just another idea ... :thinking: :roll:
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Re: Ultra Light Foamie Weekender (sleep Platform)

Postby KennethW » Tue Mar 22, 2016 11:05 am

You are getting really close to a teardrop shape. Don't let the roof curve of a teardrop scare you. it is easy with some racket straps.
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Re: Ultra Light Foamie Weekender (sleep Platform)

Postby Ned B » Tue Mar 22, 2016 10:45 pm

GPW wrote:Here’s a simple V nose that would be easy to build to most any size ... Not the most efficient , , certainly not the prettiest , but real Easy to build for most anybody ... Just another idea ... :thinking: :roll:

Valid point GPW... But put me to sleep as far as design.

KennethW wrote:You are getting really close to a teardrop shape. Don't let the roof curve of a teardrop scare you. it is easy with some racket straps.


Ken, I do like the Benroy or kenskill for their lines. I don't want to build one on This Build. I want a quick light trailer for a very specific purpose. I'm going to go to school about building and make my 455 mile commute 'work.'

My 'next' trailer will be a foamie wild goose, to get my wife out camping with me. See my other thread for that design and plan. My third trailer will be my 'build it right and special' trailer, where it will hearken to classic teardrop lines and features. I'll continue to tweak and who knows. Three may become 2.
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Re: Ultra Light Foamie Weekender (sleep Platform)

Postby TheOtherSean » Tue Mar 22, 2016 11:28 pm

For those considering optimizing the aerodynamics, I suggest taking a look at the sites below. The optimum shape of a trailer is something like a Bowlus or early Airstream, but even a simple V front like GPW sketched above ("Flatstream") or a front rounded in one direction (vertical or horizontal) can help enormously. The shape of GPW's Foamstream is probably even better, though more complicated to construct.

However, one thing to keep in mind though is that the airflow is already perturbed by the tow vehicle, and all the equations are assuming a more-or-less independent body, so you likely can't calculate the actual drag force for your trailer using the equations on the sites below. OTOH, the shape and drag coefficient data should be useful.

https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/shaped.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_coefficient
http://content.whiteboxlearning.com/app ... l0305.html
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/drag- ... d_627.html
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Re: Ultra Light Foamie Weekender (sleep Platform)

Postby GPW » Wed Mar 23, 2016 5:14 am

We’ve always been one for empirical data ... how does it tow , how does it “feel” with the Tow vehicle ... Although the tow vehicle does disturb the air, it really doesn’t help anything putting a big draggy box behind it ... :roll:
Air , acting like a Fluid mass ( thin fluid ) affects our trailers like a boat going through water ... Sure the boat disturbs the waters , but if you tow another streamline boat behind it , it won’t have much affect , but if you tow something draggy like a barge or a net , then you can really FEEL the effect ... We’ve towed several types of trailers and many many boats , and you can really feel when everything is going right .... or wrong ... :o

Ned ... yes , practical can be sometimes very boring .... I think that's why fancy paint jobs were invented ... :lol:
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Re: Ultra Light Foamie Weekender (sleep Platform)

Postby GPW » Wed Mar 23, 2016 10:53 am

OK Ned ... Better ? More interesting ...??? :thinking:
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Re: Ultra Light Foamie Weekender (sleep Platform)

Postby Ned B » Wed Mar 23, 2016 12:41 pm

Interesting for a pure sleeper...
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Re: Ultra Light Foamie Weekender (sleep Platform)

Postby GPW » Thu Mar 24, 2016 5:51 am

Just drawing for Fun !!! :D
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Re: Ultra Light Foamie Weekender (sleep Platform)

Postby Ned B » Thu Mar 24, 2016 2:20 pm

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1458847093.259180.jpg
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Ok there's a new nose cone and a far too wide fender (sketch in progress; Lori needed the computer just as I realized that)
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Ultra Light Foamie Weekender (sleep Platform)

Postby Ned B » Thu Mar 24, 2016 2:20 pm

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Looking from the nose.

I like the nose, the fenders are a first attempt, which I'll be fixing tonight
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Re: Ultra Light Foamie Weekender (sleep Platform)

Postby GPW » Thu Mar 24, 2016 4:12 pm

That nose should work well !!! :thinking:
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