Camping trip towing trailer (Braxton Bushwacker)

[FL370]

Towing an Airstream Bambi at 65mph I got 688 Wh/mi without wind deflector.
601.8 with the Wind Deflector.
In the Spring I will rent a longer Airstream, close the gap more between truck and trailer, and add Vortex Generators.
The drag generated between truck and trailer is a bid deal.

Bambi or Basecamp?

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[BornToFly]

Bambi or Basecamp?

Oops. Ment Basecamp. Thanks. I will also be curious to see what happens when the trailer has highway tires instead of the high rolling resistance RT tires on the Basecamp.

 

[65SoYoLO]

Towing an Airstream Basecamp 20 at 65mph I got 688 Wh/mi without wind deflector.

Woohoo going to have to look into making one myself. I have a casita which is a little bit rounded in the front if I can blend that shape from the truck to the trailer it would work better

 

[kpanda17]

Brief notes after camping trip on Coronado Island, towing a Braxton Creek Bushwacker trailer.

The trailer is 18', 3,500 lbs with about 8x8 frontal surface. The campground is about 40 miles from our house in Encinitas, most of it along the I5. Hilly, but total elevation gain is almost 0. I was driving at freeway speed, around 65 mph and saw just over 900 Wh/mile. Higher than I expected for what is described as a "teardrop" trailer.

Compared to my GL450, I hardly noticed the trailer behind the Cybertruck - other than the limited range really is a pleasure to tow with - no trouble maintaining speed on any of the hills and the rear wheel steering makes maneuvering super easy.

still a wall toward the wind, be it better than a u haul box

My other last vehicle 2023 model Y performance trailered an Airstream Basecamp 16 this summer and achieved avg 520 wh/mile vs rated 304 or plus 216

add 216 to our CT rated 385 equals 601 wh/mi

the basecamp is amazing, slices rhe air like a fin
Vs a teardrop pushing air over the top

It’s why airstream makes the best

 

[kpanda17]

Towing an Airstream Basecamp 20 at 65mph I got 688 Wh/mi without wind deflector.
601.8 with the Wind Deflector.
In the Spring I will rent a longer Airstream, close the gap more between truck and trailer, and add Vortex Generators.
The drag generated between truck and trailer is a bid deal.

Did not see rhis

 

[CyberTrk]

The drag generated between truck and trailer is a big deal.

Why not make an articulated deflector:

 

[BornToFly]

Why not make an articulated deflector:

I've thought about it. The problem is how. It has to not get ripped off/flutter at highway speeds, be easily removable, light weight, etc.

 

[RM Rilke]

Towing an Airstream Basecamp 20 at 65mph I got 688 Wh/mi without wind deflector.
601.8 with the Wind Deflector.
In the Spring I will rent a longer Airstream, close the gap more between truck and trailer, and add Vortex Generators.
The drag generated between truck and trailer is a bid deal.

Interested in what difference/penalty the wedge creates without the trailer. Did you test that?

 

[BornToFly]

Interested in what difference/penalty the wedge creates without the trailer. Did you test that?

448Wh/mi at 65mph. Much smaller penalty than I expected. My lifetime average was 385 (including winter with snow tires).
So the Airstream Basecamp trailer, at 65, added about another 150Wh/mi.

 

[RM Rilke]

448Wh/mi at 65mph. Much smaller penalty than I expected. My lifetime average was 385 (including winter with snow tires).
So the Airstream Basecamp trailer, at 65, added about another 150Wh/mi.

Thanks mate. It’s almost tall enough to stand up in there. That would make an interesting camper design in itself.

 

[kpanda17]

448Wh/mi at 65mph. Much smaller penalty than I expected. My lifetime average was 385 (including winter with snow tires).
So the Airstream Basecamp trailer, at 65, added about another 150Wh/mi.

I’ve rented the basecamp 16 and liked it
This summer renting rhe basecamp 20
Need the 4 person room
Long term going to rent and test the 40’ airstream
Watching these next gen trailers also

 

[BornToFly]

Thanks mate. It’s almost tall enough to stand up in there. That would make an interesting camper design in itself.

I've thought about that too. I would need to remake it using aluminum tubing so that it would be stronger and not require some of the cross beams I have now.

 

[btcrealm]

I've thought about it. The problem is how. It has to not get ripped off/flutter at highway speeds, be easily removable, light weight, etc.

Pond rubber would be tough enough for a material but what you would use under it I'm not sure. Springs/springing rope to maintain the general shape and connection between the two. 4x hooks on both vehicle and trailer to keep the general box shape of the CT.

 

[Rhino5]

You could try vortex generators to help improve aerodynamics. I used them on my big Class A motor home, but it gets such low mpg that an improvement might be fractions of a mpg. The ones I used were from a company called Airtab.

 

[CyberTrk]

You could try vortex generators to help improve aerodynamics. I used them on my big Class A motorhome, but it gets such low mpg that an improvement might be fractions of a mpg. The ones I used were from a company called Airtab.

I am a little skeptical and I would be curious to see some noticeable consumption improvements from using those Airtab vortex generators...

However I used Rhino Rack Vortex Strips to efficiently reduce whistle noises from my roof rack.

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