Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 09-16-2015, 03:01 PM   #1
Gold Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Utah
Posts: 77
Default A Wind Fairing for the Travato Roof Rack

Built one last weekend. More details on our site. Probably about $80 in parts. Making the pattern fit properly to the roof was the hardest part.

So far, so good - no weird noise, fewer bugs stuck up there. Too soon to tell on the gas mileage, but I really doubt it's going to be worse.

Cheers!
Attached Images
File Type: jpg Travato Fairing.jpg (209.8 KB, 32 views)
__________________
James and Stef
Follow us on our blog
https://www.thefitrv.com
thefitrv is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-16-2015, 04:55 PM   #2
Platinum Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 307
Default

Very nice...
With engineering skills like that, you should just design your own RV....
...erhh... wait... you kinda did.
Sumo Springs article on your site also very helpful.
Thanks.
Scottbaldassari is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-16-2015, 09:43 PM   #3
Platinum Member
 
wincrasher's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Greer, South Carolina
Posts: 2,611
Default

From my experience the roof rack costs you 1 mpg. I think it is not so much the drag, but that it creates alot of turbulence. This should help alot.
__________________
2019 Winnebago Travato GL
Follow my blog: https://www.wincrasher.blogspot.com
Our Facebook group is: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ClassBCamperVans/
wincrasher is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-16-2015, 09:45 PM   #4
Platinum Member
 
wincrasher's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Greer, South Carolina
Posts: 2,611
Default

James, I wonder if some kind of spoiler on the rear leading edge would do any good. You know, like the ones you see on minivans like the Odyssey or Sienna. They extend the roofline a little and direct the air at the back of the van. Could make a big difference.
__________________
2019 Winnebago Travato GL
Follow my blog: https://www.wincrasher.blogspot.com
Our Facebook group is: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ClassBCamperVans/
wincrasher is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-16-2015, 10:10 PM   #5
Platinum Member
 
eric1514's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: ID AZ
Posts: 867
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by wincrasher View Post
James, I wonder if some kind of spoiler on the rear leading edge would do any good. You know, like the ones you see on minivans like the Odyssey or Sienna. They extend the roofline a little and direct the air at the back of the van. Could make a big difference.
I thought those were just to keep the rear windows clean.

Eric
__________________
2006 Dynamax Isata 250 Touring Sedan

"Il Travato Rosso"
2015 Travato 59g
eric1514 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-16-2015, 10:12 PM   #6
Platinum Member
 
wincrasher's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Greer, South Carolina
Posts: 2,611
Default

The slab back end on the Promaster is making huge drag. Anything that could break that up could show some real mileage improvements. Look what they are doing on the big trucks. I'm not suggesting anything anywhere near that radical. But obviously it has some effect.
__________________
2019 Winnebago Travato GL
Follow my blog: https://www.wincrasher.blogspot.com
Our Facebook group is: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ClassBCamperVans/
wincrasher is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-16-2015, 10:31 PM   #7
Gold Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Utah
Posts: 77
Default

Well, the big slab back end does create an area of negative pressure. Even the start, or the "suggestion" of an airfoil shape will have a positive effect. They're doing this sort of thing with bicycle frames these days. The tubes on my Time Trial bike are an abbreviated airfoil shape.

A lot of the spoilers we see on cars are purely decorative. Some of them are somewhat functional, and some of them are downright ridiculous. It always cracks me up when I see a front wheel drive car with a giant spoiler on the rear wheels (a-la formula 1 cars). But I'm getting off-topic...

I honestly hadn't looked at doing anything to the back end of the Travato, but maybe I will. I don't think there's a nice, convenient way to attach anything like there is up front. And any spoiler would have to clear the ladder, the vent stack, and potentially mounted (mountain) bikes. Still, it's worth a look.

I once toyed with the idea of adding those "airtabs" to our Sprinter. (Different from a solid spoiler though.) I don't think I'd want them on the sides, but maybe on the roof? I'll put it in my "things to think about" doc.
__________________
James and Stef
Follow us on our blog
https://www.thefitrv.com
thefitrv is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-16-2015, 10:36 PM   #8
Platinum Member
 
wincrasher's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Greer, South Carolina
Posts: 2,611
Default

Sounds like a great reason to get a 3d printer....
__________________
2019 Winnebago Travato GL
Follow my blog: https://www.wincrasher.blogspot.com
Our Facebook group is: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ClassBCamperVans/
wincrasher is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-17-2015, 11:11 PM   #9
Platinum Member
 
eric1514's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: ID AZ
Posts: 867
Default

James,

Can you elaborate on which fairings you tried and why they didn't work for you?

Eric
__________________
2006 Dynamax Isata 250 Touring Sedan

"Il Travato Rosso"
2015 Travato 59g
eric1514 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-17-2015, 11:22 PM   #10
Gold Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Utah
Posts: 77
Default

I have a Yakima rack on my Subaru, with a pretty extensive collection of mounting hardware. I couldn't get any of the mounting hardware to play nice with the Fiamma rack, so I didn't pursue Yakima any further.

Thule was the only manufacturer I found with a stock fairing greater than 50 inches. The space between the uprights is about 54 inches, and Thule makes a 52 inch rack. I ordered the 870XT. It didn't quite fit the Fiamma bar either, but I thought about trying to make some adapter. Eventually I realized that the Thule rack was going to cover up the gps/Sirius antenna, and so I just sent it back.

I even had some of the Thule reps come over to the Travato on display at the Outdoor Retailer show. We climbed on the roof and they eventually concluded it just wouldn't work.

Didn't try any fairings from smaller companies - but I also didn't see any that were greater than 50 inches wide.

Eventually, I realized it would be just as easy to make a fairing myself as adapting a commercial one to work. Once I had all the stuff, I pretty much got it done in a day.
__________________
James and Stef
Follow us on our blog
https://www.thefitrv.com
thefitrv is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

All times are GMT. The time now is 08:24 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.