Improve your gas mileage with a boat tail on your 18 wheeler

Improving gas mileage and lowering emissions on long haul trucks is important for the Platform for Aerodynamic Road Transport (PART), an European organization charged with doing just that.  With the emphasis within the European Union to reduce greenhouse gases, PART set reducing emissions and gas usage by 20 percent by 2020 as its goal.  In order to meet that goal implementing aerodynamic modifications on 18 wheelers is essential.

PART has been researching methods of improving gas mileage which reduces emissions.  By using wind tunnels and modeling, it has come up with a number of modifications that will streamline truck lines improving gas mileage.  The latest modification that has been tested is to add a boat tail to the back of the truck. 

A boat tail is a tapering addition added to the backend of the truck.  Various different lengths were tested in real world trials and the optimum length turned out to be two meters or six and a half feet.  This one modification reduces fuel usage by 7.5 percent. 

The boat tail idea was tested in computer simulations and wind tunnel tests.  Then it was tested using small scale models, again proving the concept.  Finally, road testing was conducted.  An 18 wheeler was driven for one year testing various different lengths of boat tails.  Then the truck was driven for another year without a boat tail.  After all of the figures were in, it was clear that the boat tail improved gas mileage while cutting down on emissions. 

As with any aerodynamic modification, adding a boat tail changes the feel of the truck.  Truck drivers are going to have to learn how to drive a truck with a boat tail because it won’t be the same as driving a regular 18 wheeler.  For this reason, PART recommends special training for drivers.

The other issue that may pose problems is that the boat tail adds more length to the truck.  Obvious though it may be, this additional length could cause these modified trucks to run into trouble with various state and country regulations.

Seven and a half percent reduction in  gas usage doesn’t seem like a lot, but when multiplied by all of the long haul trucks on the roads, it is more significant than it appears.