Equipment

FlowBelow Tractor AeroKit displayed at GATS

Aug. 26, 2013

FlowBelow Aero, Inc. displayed its patent-pending aerodynamic system for tractors at the recent Great American Truck Show in Dallas that ended on Saturday. The system, which includes four wheel covers, a mid-chassis fairing and mudflap fairing plus installation hardware, can save up to $1,850 in fuel costs per truck, per year, according to Josh Butler, FlowBelow president.

Savings are based on fleet pricing, SAE J1321 fuel economy testing, $3.90 per gallon fuel price, 125,000 tractor miles per year and a tractor to trailers ration of 1:2.5. Installation of the system requires no drilling or welding, Butler noted, and takes one technician only about an hour to complete.

The system is made of polyethylene to increase flexibility and durability and comes with a one-year standard warranty. It is designed to fit on tractors with dual rears or super singles and is available in black or with a chrome-look finish. It adds about 75 pounds additional weight to a tractor.

The entire kit was just launched in March, but Butler told Fleet Owner that “some of the largest fleets in the nation are starting to spec their trucks with FlowBelow.”

Fuel economy testing was done in November of 2012 by Texas A&M Transportation Institute according to SAE J1321 test procedures as well as the EPA Smartway modifications outlined in the EPA 420-F-09-046 document, according to the company. The vehicles used for the test were International ProStar+ 122 6x4 models pulling 53-foot Utility Vs2DX trailers.

About the Author

Wendy Leavitt

Wendy Leavitt joined Fleet Owner in 1998 after serving as editor-in-chief of Trucking Technology magazine for four years.

She began her career in the trucking industry at Kenworth Truck Company in Kirkland, WA where she spent 16 years—the first five years as safety and compliance manager in the engineering department and more than a decade as the company’s manager of advertising and public relations. She has also worked as a book editor, guided authors through the self-publishing process and operated her own marketing and public relations business.

Wendy has a Masters Degree in English and Art History from Western Washington University, where, as a graduate student, she also taught writing.