Sep 14,2023
Nothing in this world is useless. From a screw to a skirt of a trailer, every component is essential. Some minor details are overlooked, and skirts are one of them. You might have seen them on the sides of some Semi trailers and trucks, and you have thought that they are just for some adornment.
It is not about the adornment of the trailer but to increase the performance. Now, you would be thinking, how could some skirts be essential for a trailer? Well, it is about the aerodynamic drag or air drag, which is the biggest challenge for every vehicle. There are four reasons why they are installed, and you can read them below.
Before we go to our main point, you need to know a little bit about aerodynamic drag. The aerodynamic drag is a primary challenge every vehicle has to face. This problem is the biggest challenge for the aviation and aerospace industries.
The pressure of air on the moving vehicle coming from the opposite direction resists the speed of the vehicle. To deal with this aerodynamic or air drag, side skirts are installed.
These side skirts block the air from the sides of the Semi trailer and trucks. Then the wheels and trailer get better functioning. Skirts of a Semi trailer cause high blockade to air pressure, which gives the driver better control on the road.
It is said that a little but consistent saving can make up for a huge benefit. This happens with the Semi trailers’ fuel economy. When you block the air drag for the trailer, it moves at a faster speed. That means you will feel an improvement in fuel economy.
Although it increases fuel efficiency levels by hardly around 4% or 5%, it is a lot in accumulated form. If you have a fleet service or you run a trucking business, you can save thousands of liters of gasoline/diesel a year.
This fuel economy upgrade makes a huge difference in financial terms because each unit makes a sum of a huge amount. Now, imagine how much money you can save in terms of fuel economy. The load on the vehicle will be reduced since much of the pressure comes from the air.
Whether it is a truck, Semi trailer, or any large vehicle, you can have a massive impact at the end of a year with the help of skirts. This monetary value can be useful for some other stuff like repair works, savings, or anything related to your Semi trailers.
When a vehicle is moving on an empty road, especially on a highway, the air pressure is extremely high. That air pressure or air drag can cause serious problems for some vehicles. In the case of Semi trailers, you will need to install skirts to have stability in movement.
A truck or Semi trailer driver will face an inclination on the road to the opposite direction of the wind. That can be fatal for other vehicles also. To bring stability by blocking the air pressure, they install skirts on the side of the trailer and truck.
Then, the air fails to get under the trailer from the middle, which becomes safe for the drivers. That is the biggest challenge for the drivers on the highway in stormy weather.
The storm can impose lots of air pressure on the trailer, which can push it toward other lanes. That is not a drive a driver would like to face in that challenging weather. This stability is very crucial on the road, and skirts are one of the ways to maintain that.
Driving past a huge trailer is a risky thing, which can pose a high risk. That risk is about getting sucked under a trailer because of air pressure. Bikers, cyclists, sedan drivers, and other small motorists have to be cautious about that.
High pressure of air can push them under the trailer, which can be fatal. To make the safety high, they install skirts. These skirts block not only the air but also the motorists and bikers. If any of them get pulled by the air pressure near the trailer, the skirts will prevent them from sliding under the trailer.
You might have seen in the movies that bikes slide under the trailers when they come in a perpendicular position. That can be fatal because rear wheels can drive over the biker since the trailers are in motion.
The right way to block such scenarios is to apply skirts on the sides of trailers. That will be less harmful in case any biker is approaching a trailer and can not stop the bike.
Finally, you are now aware of skirts and how important they are for drivers, trucks and trailers, and other motorists.
