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Wind on the Barn Doors

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JC2:15
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Courtney My Dad And Bird
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my new hull
cowboy

cowboy

Moderator
Question for any of you Sensenich Superwide Blade swingers out there:

Y'all notice any extra load on the tow vehicle, or significant decrease in towing milage?

Those props look awesome, 'cept for when I think about dragging one down the interstate. Don't mean I don't want one.

Just wondering.

I notice trailering my stuff at high speeds, having the prop stowed vertical helps my fuel efficincy by getting the blades out of the airstream.
 
Cowboy.............you need a beer! Try a full grass rake down the road with a tripple seat and 2 side by side seats and a 3 blade prop then we can talk..Ooh yeah, and my Beverage cooler.
 
Yeah Dude, I'll take a cold one, no matter the brand.

I saw that picture of your rig posted the other day.

Nice boat man. Real nice!

I hear ya on that full rake, and those luxio-lounger seats.
I know that's gotta add up too.
The little boats I'm usually dragging are a big enough parachute!

I just wondered if people noticed a big difference with those wide blades, cause they do look like barn doors.

I would'nt mind having some myself one day.
 
You know them little spoilers nascar puts on the cars ... well just imagine those 18" wide blades and those triple wide seats and that solid grass rake... yep its a nightmare. I have trouble with trailer tires because of the down force generated and down force is weight and you gotta pull it. I got rid of my gmc sierra gas truck because it couldn't hold cruise control at 77 mph without hitting passing gear quite often. I get the same mileage with my camper on my truck as I do with my airboat behind it. If the camper is there the airboat rides for free, no mileage difference then.
 
Cowboy,
I have a full grass rake side by side front seats and a triple on the rear with a Sensnich 3 blade Super Wide. Trailering it at 75 mph does kill the fuel mileage, but I have towed it both with and without the blades and saw no difference in the mileage. Dropping the speed down to 55- 60 mph and the fuel mileage greatly improves.
Cntry141,
thanks for the post. I'm also having problems with my trailer tires.. Never gave any thought to the down force being generated by those big blades...
 
Yeah, those good ole cheap trailer tires they sell you on those expensive trailers aint worth a crap IMO. I put on some regular SBRadials and feel a whole lot better towing with those.
Cowboy, that boat only cost me my old thurman and a 91 springer soft tail..plus a little cash to build...wish I had the ole thurman back. But, sure was nice the other night with 4 people and a 500lb gator on the Bow coming home. A guy really needs 2 or 3 boats in his arsenal, just wish I could convince my other half.
 
Rich-if or when you figuer out how to convince the your other hafe that you need more than one boat PLEASE let me know I could use few more toys. :toothy8:
 
boy, and all the while i thought i was crazy. Talk about gas mileage in the sh.. can. The hummer really shines there!!! and about that tranny shift dance boy what a treat lol
 
I pull a 18 ft enclosed trailer loaded to the hilt (5,000# easyplus the trailer weight) all day in stop and go traffic. What I spend on gas would pay the mortgage payment on another house :roll: :roll: :roll:
 
OK, I agree. My poor little old GMC spends most of it's time on the torque converter when I'm towin. You can imagine there's no gas mileage.

Cntry, Cowboy, Safari, Rich ..... one of y'all start a new thread on towing. Let's talk about it. There's got to be some ways to haul easier than we're doin it.

olf
 
1.) buy a newer model diesel truck

2.) inflate your tires to 10% over the pressure for which the tires rating is stated

3.) don't run car tires on trailers .. the reason is the car tires have a different type sidewall and flex too much

4.) don't ever vary the air pressure by more than 10% up or down when using radial tires, the sidewalls get all screwed up and will fail

5.) place life jackets and other stuff under the seat rain covers to keep them from flattening out , keep them in the wedge shape.

6.) don't fill up the gas tank on the boat till you get almost to where you are going.

7.) take as much junk out of the boat and haul it in the truck

8.) drive 55 or 65 instead of 75( big difference in mileage, plus folks get longer to admire your boat.

9.) turn your prop sideways if you are running a two blade or put one up if your running a three blade or four blade

10.) sounds silly but use the cruise control if you got it and avoid quick takeoffs and stops.

I have tried all this stuff and it seems to help but the only major one is the tire stuff, the new radial tires are not very forgiving. the old bias plys you adjusted the air pressure depending on the wear patterns but do that on a radial and your asking for trouble according to the tire manufacturers. I just bought some bias ply tires for my trailer ... yep they still make them.
 
Cntry, I'm runnin bias plys too .... the Swallow 205.75/14's.
They say they're a 4 ply with a 6 ply rating. That sounds like BS ...... does any major manufacturer (Goodyear, Firestone) make a full 6 ply trailer tire anymore ?

olf
 
With my truck and trailer I get 10 MPG at 55 to 60 mph. Go up to 65 and it drops down to 7 to 7.5 MPG. I'm not in that big a rush.
Tim
 
Here you go old fart all you gotta do is find a dealer that sells TOWMASTER tires.

TOW-MASTER BIAS PLY TRAILER TIRES - BLACK SIDEWALL
PART# SIZE LOAD RANGE METRIC SIZE TREAD DEPTH 32NDS IN. O.D. S.W. RIM WIDTH PSI MAX LOAD
T0852 4.80-8 A 7 16.3 4.9 3.75 30 390
T0854 4.80-8 B 7 16.3 4.9 3.75 60 590
T0856 4.80-8 C 7 16.3 4.9 3.75 90 745
* T0914 6.00-9 C 11 18.3 5.6 4.5 60 1,120
T0862 5.70-8 B 9 18.3 5.6 4.5 75 715
T0864 5.70-8 C 9 18.3 5.6 4.5 100 910
T0865 5.70-8 D 9 21.1 4.8 3.75 100 1,075
T1212 4.80-12 B 9 21.1 4.8 3.75 90 780
T1214 4.80-12 C 9 21.9 5.3 4.25 55 990
T1226 5.30-12 B 9 21.9 5.3 4.25 80 1,045
T1228 5.30-12 C 9 21 6.3 4 60 1,120

T0889 16.5 X 6.50-8 B 7 16.7 6.6 5.38 45 620
T0890 16.5 X 6.50-8 C 7 16.7 6.6 5.38 70 795
T0872 18.5 X 8.50-8 B 8 18.2 8.4 7 35 770
T0874 18.5 X 8.50-8 C 8 18.2 8.4 7 50 940
T1024 20.5 X 8.00-10 B 10 20.5 7.8 6 35 905
T1026 20.5 X 8.00-10 C 10 20.5 7.8 6 50 1,105
T1028 20.5 X 8.00-10 D 10 20.5 7.8 6 70 1,330
T1030 20.5 X 8.00-10 E 10 20.5 7.8 6 90 1,535
T1032 20.5 X 8.00-10 F 10 20.5 7.8 6 110 1,765
T1222S 22.5 X 8.00-12 F 10 22.5 8.7 6 110 1,980

T1304 A78-13 ST B ST 165/80D13 11 22.9 6.1 4.5 35 985
T1314 B78-13 ST B ST 175/80D13 11 24.2 6.8 5 35 1,100
T1316 B78-13 ST C ST 175/80D13 11 24.2 6.8 5 50 1,360
T1318 B78-13 ST D ST 175/80D13 11 24.2 6.8 5 65 1,660
T1338 C78-13 ST D ST 185/80D13 11 25.8 6.8 5 65 1,660
T1464 E78-14 ST B ST 195/75D14 11 26.4 7.5 5.5 35 1,300
T1466 E78-14 ST C ST 195/75D14 11 26.4 7.5 5.5 50 1,600
T1468 E78-14 ST D ST 195/75D14 11 26.4 7.5 5.5 65 1,865
T1415 F65-14 ST C ST 205/65D14 11 24.6 7.4 5 50 1,760
T1422 F78-14 ST B ST 205/75D14 11 26.9 7.9 5.5 35 1,430
T1424 F78-14 ST C ST 205/75D14 11 26.9 7.9 5.5 50 1,760
T1434 G78-14 ST C ST 215/75D14 12 27.2 8.2 6 50 1,870
T1506 F65-15 ST C ST 205/65D15 9 25.4 7.5 6 50 1,820
T1514 F78-15 ST B ST 205/75D15 12 27.6 7.4 5.5 35 1,480
T1516 F78-15 ST C ST 205/75D15 12 27.6 7.4 5.5 50 1,820
T1524 H78-15 ST B ST 225/75D15 13 28.6 8.5 6 35 1,760
T1526 H78-15 ST C ST 225/75D15 13 28.6 8.5 6 50 2,150
T1528 H78-15 ST D ST 225/75D15 13 28.6 8.5 6 65 2,540
*Rib Tread Design
 
Bravo, that's about my experience. I've got a baby V-8 (4.8L) in my pickup so the boat pulls it hard.

You know those 'bra' tops they make for Jeeps? What if you had something made with about 8 / 10 snaps acrosss the bow of the boat, that went up to the prop cage, with 10 / 12 snaps up there ?

I'd think it would have to cut down on wind resistance a bunch.

olf
 
I have a solid grass rake and a three persom bench seat up front and two bucket seats in the back side by side and the new ultra wide prop my Dodge with the cummins Diesel pullsit it just fine but it is like draging a parachute behind you :lol:
 
Right on Sniper. My Dodge with the Cummins diesel pulls any of our three boats just fine. We don't have but two seats on the two smaller boats but our Dad's boat has the double seat in back so it's a bit different. Pulling that big Klien with the 3/4 solid rake and double wide back seat feels like hooking up to my house and dragging it to the woods.

Along with the tire pressure suggestions that Country had the best way to save fuel is to slow down.
 
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