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Old 07-16-2005, 04:07 PM   #23
Denny_A
Former TM Owner
 
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Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Greenville, WI
Posts: 517
Default One last iteration........

....regarding aerodynamic drag. Did a little normalized analysis on drag equivalents; re "slab, standard travel trailers" vs. a TM under tow.

Drag = Cd*q*A, where Cd = drag coeff, q = dynamic pressure and A = frontal parasite area.

Since Cd and q are fixed, when comparing any two objects, one needs only look at the ratio of drag to area. So, if D(TM) (Trailmanor) is compared to D(FT) (full size trailer), then the percent difference in drag is the ratio of frontal areas.

Long story, short result: Found frontal area of an 8.5'x7.6' (FT) and 5.9x7.6' (TM). Subtracted 1 foot of ground clearance from the height of each to account for limited drag there. Finally determined the frontal area of the MDX (approx., from specs) and reduced 20% to account for MDX sloping sides.

Subtracted the MDX area from each trailer. Finally divided A(FT) by A(TM).

RESULT: Drag of the full-size, slab front trailer was 3.5 times that of the TrailManor!

Allowing for approximations and other unknown factors, the drag of a full height trailer of identical width is at least 3 times greater than that of a TrailManor. I would even bet the TM's drag will be less than that experienced when towing a 4500 lb boat and trailer combo.

Happy TrailManoring

Denny_A
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