Mesilla Valley Transportation Solutions (MVTS) tested FlowBelow tractor and trailer wheel covers as well as the Tractor AeroKit and found that each of these technologies provided significant fuel savings.
Testing was conducted at 65 mph on 2018 Freightliner Cascadia day cab models with 48-ft. refrigerated trailers and a gross vehicle weight of 72,000 lbs. Testing showed significant fuel savings for each of the FlowBelow technologies. The FlowBelow tractor wheel covers showed a savings of 1.38 gallons/1000 miles, or 0.93%; the trailer wheel covers had a savings of 1.23 gallons/1000 miles, or 0.81%; and the Tractor AeroKit had a fuel savings of 3.16 gallons/1000 miles, or 2.13%.
“FlowBelow aerodynamic technologies are well proven in the industry. Our parent company fleet has acquired hundreds of millions of miles with the Tractor AeroKit and wheel covers,” said Daryl Bear, lead engineer and COO of MVTS. “This is the first time we at MVT Solutions have tested the wheel covers separately and the savings proved to be very appealing.”
MVTS calculated that the use of FlowBelow’s tractor wheel covers would result in 173 gallons of fuel saved annually, which would equal $529 in fuel savings each year. The fuel savings for the trailer wheel covers equated to 154 gallons annually, calculating to $470 saved in fuel costs. FlowBelow’s AeroKit showed even more significant fuel savings, resulting in 395 gallons and $1,207 saved annually. Calculations were based on 125,000 miles travelled annually and an average diesel fuel price of $3.056 per gallon.
“The trucking industry has traditionally underestimated the benefit of aerodynamic wheel covers due to their fuel savings being difficult to measure with other test methods or in-service testing,” said Bear. “However, the savings are very real, and the ROI is often quite fast ¾ especially on the tractor that is not affected by the trailer-to-tractor ratio.”
