Bed buffet
 

My great bed buffeting elimination effort is continuing after dubious results with my first mod, the plexiglas cab spoilers. The side skirts, front wheel well canards and redesigned front air dam are working better than I had hoped. Mileage even at 50 mph is up from 31 to 34. Coast down is ridiculously amazing. I'm having to brake at the end of coasting now which means I can start to coast before the crest of hills rather than at the peak. Quite a change. Gonna play with rear wheel well skirts Thursday on my way to the shack.

https://www.gassavers.org/showthread.php?t=3482

The cab spoilers didn't work (the second video) and I think I know why. At 60-70 mph (the speeds that I drive) I remembered that the windshield wipers don't get buffeted. Only over 70 will they "skate" across the windshield which indicates to me that the air stream goes right over the top of the truck before dipping into the bed area. Thus, the spoilers were useless if not causing more drag on the vehicle.

The perceived problem is that the buffet causes the bed cover to collapse below the edge of the tailgate which in my mind causes some aero resistance. This has also caused the tail edge of the bed cover to become tattered. Obviously I don't want to purchase a new cover until I get this solved.

So I decided to try to get the buffet to work for me. What I did was move the bed cover support (it's like a bowed piece of aluminum that supports the cover) to the very back of the bed a foot front of the tailgate. This firms up the cover and also adds a slight rise right about where the buffet has it's greatest effect. Then I took an old folding leg table top that just happens to be the same width as the bed and put that between the bed cover supports to prevent the cover from being bowed under the level of the tailgate. My intent, of course, is to not eliminate the buffet but redirect it over the top of the bed without as much resistance and hopefully in the process create a high pressure area behind the tailgate that I can use to work for me.

Video and photos tomorrow, same great thread, same great forum.

Well it was but we couldn't afford the gas to go the buffet so we had our buffet in the bed of the truck, hence the table top. See how that all ties in together?

...and what was the beer tally when you had this philosophical thought ? :p

Have to admit well thought out though :)

44. But 8 of them got tipped over, 9 went into the gas tank and I lost 3. They're around here somewhere. Probably on the tabletop which would account for the funny lumps. Crap. That's the dinner plates. Oh well. I'm thinking about using duct tape to attach them to strategic spots on the body which would also allow me to use them for gas money as needed.

I'll work that into a video somehow.

Well, off to find that can of good beer. It's somewhere in the system; I've been searching for 30 years and still haven't found it. But it's still the breakfast of champions.

:thumbup: Right on ! There is a good "can" of beer somewhere in a glass bottle ;)