Trucktail - 2015
Trucktail is an inflatable PVC bag that can quickly be mounted to the rear of any container truck and through its shape, greatly reduce aerodynamic drag.
By improving the airflowTrucktail increases the fuel economy, and thus decreases the emission of CO2.
The inflated bag is attached to two steel hooks which can be attached to the corner castings of an ISO-container. At the bottom, the rods are fixed to the container by a chain and a trigger hook or padlock.
When not in use, the system can be kept in regular stow boxes for container trailers. The bag is inflated through the secondary air pressure circuit and can be quickly attached and deattached by a single worker.
The cell keeps its shape through internal ropes (left). In the case of pressure loss, seperate elastic ropes tie the inflatable cell to the container to prevent traffic disturbances (right).
A replaceable lid serves as a predetermined breaking point in case of shunting mistakes. It can also be used for a quick deflation of the system.
Similar but rigid systems are installed permanently to the trailer and can’t be used with container trucks, although the latter often travels the longest distances. Testing of these systems has shown that the mileage can be improved by 10%.
