I know pickups sometimes have the big spoilers on top for better stability/mileage when towing a large fifth wheel.

Does anybody have any experience, with doing this on an SUV like the Excursion, for towing a regular TT? I'm wondering if you cannot get a spoiler of some kind that would mount to the roof rack, that would help take some of the air off the trailer, and maybe even improve your mileage some? Anybody know of a company or might have a URL for such a thing? Or, does this sound like a really crazy and stupid idea with an SUV?

Just something I was thinking about, that might make towing a little easier on your truck. Any and all comments, experience, suggestions, etc. are welcome...

Will
2003 Ford Excursion V10 4x4
2003 Thor Citation 33M TT

 

Isn't the primary purpose of those is to move air off of the 'flat' trailer front and make it flow better over the top or around the side ?

You mean you have a trailer that's taller than the Ex ?!? J/K...


Maybe the manufacturers don't think there's a market for it since it is not so tall as to maybe warrant that ???

I would think you could take one and modify it to mount on your roof rack to help...
I wouldn't think one mounted closer to the front on an x would help... would leave too much gap between the wing and the trailer for the air to tumble around in ...

just my rambling $.02

 

Yes, its primary purpose is to move air off the flat trailer front. But, since the spoiler angle will (hopefully) be a little less flat than the trailer, it will "break" the air without creating as much resistance, so it could improve your mileage a little.

Ohhh, yeah, our trailer is higher than the Ex! Trailer is 10' 3" tall, to be exact.

You're right, in that it would not help much if mounted to the front, needs to be as far back as possible for best results.

I wouldn't think it would be the case, that there's no market for this, just because of the height of the Excursion. I've yet to find a TT, that is NOT taller than the Ex.

Yeah, it may be the only option, is to find one, and modify it to fit on your roof rack. Question then becomes, where to find "one" that would work good for this purpose?

 

You don't have a location in your profile, but try camping world - we have one right up the road and they can get ANYTHING for RVs !!! and the hings that pull them.. http://www.campingworld.com/

 

jdadams,
Thanks for the suggestion. Yes, we have bought a lot from Camping World over the years. Had already checked them, they didn't have anything.

In case anyone else is interested, here is the only product I've found, that I think would work:

http://www.nudo.com/WindDeflectors/default.htm

Will

 

Will I am looking for the same thing for my X, I have a local camper dealer looking for me, he has not found aything yet, are you going to try the one you linkedto and will it fit on the roof rack?

 

My only concern with that web site is that they have no pictures of the units, only drawings....
Wonder why is that given the ease of posting pictures ?
just something to consider that I found curious

 

From what I can tell about it, yes, it should fit on the roof rack. It has straps that attach to the roof rack, and suction cups to hold it onto the roof.

Haven't decided if we're going to do it or not. There are two different RV dealers close by here (Charlotte, NC), that carry this product in their catalog. I am going to call them later today, find out if either of them have it in stock. If they do, I was going to go down and look at it, and decide then, if we will do it or not. We get a discount at one of them, since we just bought our trailer from them. Thats probably the dealer I'll work with.

The question I need to answer about it is, will it fold flat enough, so that the Ex will still fit in the garage? If it does not, I doubt I'll be able to convince the wife to do it (Excursion is basically her vehicle, when we're not camping).

I'll post back here after I see it, with what I found about it.

Jdadams, I agree, and wonder why there is no pictures. Thats exactly why, I want to have a look closely at it, before we commit to it.

BTW, I know there is one other product like this called the "AeroShield" made by a company in Canada called Westman Plastics. However, I can find nothing on this company or that product on the web. There is a guy in PA that has an Excursion with this AeroShield, and he swears by it. Asked him (via Email) the other day where/how he got it, haven't got an answer yet. Perhaps Mr 'QuickFords' in PA reads this forum, sees this, and might tell us more about where we could see/get this AeroShield?

Will

 

BTW, in case anyone is curious, here is a little better picture of it, from the RV Dealer's online catalog:

http://www.go-rv.com/coast/do/catalo...38&pageNum=437

 

Much betta !!!

That's a neat idea to be spring loaded to tilt on the fly as needed1

and it does look like it may no stick up more than an inch or two when collapsed...

and thanks for the link...
always hard to find a gift for my sisters and bro-in-laws and the site saver will be perfect the next gift wave !!!

 

Glad the link was helpful.

You must have been looking at the one meant to fit on pickup trucks, on that page. Thats the one thats spring loaded. The one we're talking about, is not spring loaded. Would be nice, though.

Looks like we'd definitely have to paint it, if we get this. It comes in white, which would NOT look good on our Ex, which is maroon, with the tan stripe on the bottom.

I don't believe it would be possible, to retro-fit that one intended for pickups, to fit on the roof rack of the Excursion. Might could, but I'd just assume go with the one thats made for that purpose.

 

Be careful with any deflector you install on the roof.
There is a tremendous loading from these units.
Take a look at the ones the mount on SD and you will see they really brace them appropriately for the forces applied 75 MPH.