Does anyone use/have a wing on the cab of their Dodge when towing, like the Taylor wing or something?

I tow a 30ft 5th whl camper and thought about getting one but wondered if it's worth the money. I kinda like the way they look too.

If so, what kind do you have? Price? And do you have any pics?

Thanks in advance.

 

Drop a note to Casey (balvert). He has one. You have to look at the front of the fiver and determine how streamlined it is. The general consensus is it doesn't do much for mileage, but does a great job moving the bug line higher on the fiver front end. The negative is it becomes hinderence when running solo, even in the down position. And, it's something else to mess with when hooking up and setting up.
Bob

 

Yes I tow with one all the time. I dont believe it adds much to the mileage, maybe one MPG, but I know the rig handles better. I dont feel any wind buffeting the trailer with it on. The angle is adjustable and it uses two small shocks to allow it to stand straight up out of the way when there is no resistance on it. It also folds flat when your not towing. Its not an expensive aluminum. It is a metal frame that bolts to the side rails of the truck. The wing itselfe is fiberglass. Camping world sells them. The model name is (Trail Eze 11 Wind Deflector. It was about $400.

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gccappy, thanks for including the picture. Have you tried placing the wing further forward on the roof of the truck near the cab running lights and tipping the wing backwards to allow the air stream to flow up the windshield and then continuing up the slope of the wing towards the roof line of the trailer. The steep angle on your wing just acts like a blunt wall for the air the same way the trailer front does. The hood of the Dodge and winshield start the airfoil and the wing has to be a continuation of that foil to direct the air stream with as little interference as possible up toward the top of the trailer as smoothly as possible. Have you tried to slope the wing backward in the position that it is attached to the truck roof at present?

 

That picture was taken at rest. The wing has returned to it's upright position that is allowed by the shock absorbers mounted in the back. The wing will always return to the upright position when there is no resistance against it. This alows complete 90 degre turns without hitting the trailer. Also, the forward/aft position of the wing cannot be altered. The frame is bolted to the side rails of the bed and the arms that hold the wing to the frame are bolted in a fixed location. I have the shock absorber position preset so the wing position when in tow equals the slope of the windshield. It takes some trial and error to get the right preset to get the maximum benefit.

 

What other kinds are there?

 

There are some cheaper ones that bolt on to the roof of your truck, and some more expensive that have a similar mounting sytem to mine, but are either stainless steele or aluminum ($$$$). You can get them with running lights mounted on the frame and/or on the wing, (Taylor Wings). They are in all the Trailer Life magazines. I chose the intermediate priced wing. It seems to do the job. Not so much better fuel economy, but it saves a lot of wear and tear on the trailer. And there is no wind buffeting the trailer.

 

Check out this Cummins White Paper on MPG Secrets. Its directed at OTR rigs but it does have some good info that pertains to what we do. Look at page 9, where it discusses Tractor-Trailer Air Gap.

http://www.everytime.cummins.com/eve...Whitepaper.pdf