In fact, my wife even noticed I was considerably more relaxed driving “the team.” Except for occasional porpoising, which has nothing to do with the aerodynamics of the vehicle, the trailer had largely stabilized.
With the AEROplus installed, and at highway speed, I noticed quite a difference in the tow. All things considered, I’ve towed much worse, so I guess I figured it just couldn’t be improved. Not that it handled badly most of the time, mind you, but I always knew the trailer was there, and trucks could do a pretty good job of sucking the trailer around. Even with all this, towing this size trailer could be, at times, stressful. On I-90, however, we encountered relatively heavy traffic including many trucks, but the speed was maintained at 65 mph.Īs a side note, the F-350, which is pretty stout, is also equipped with Torklift upper overload bumpers and a Reese weight distributing hitch system attached to their class five hitch. We were pleasantly surprised by not only delightful weather but light traffic on I-495 headed down to Cape Cod. 29, the Friday leading into Labor Day weekend. The trip was mostly interstate travel between Springfield and the Cape, using I-90 and I-495, and the trip was Aug.
What we really wanted to see was if the truck and trailer handled differently on a long trip. To calculate the mileage we would simply use the truck’s computer as a guide from point to point, instead of using fueling points the old fashioned way. On the way to the Cape we would have the AEROplus unit installed the way home would be without. So we decided to do a round-trip in Massachusetts, from Springfield to Brewster, which is on Cape Cod. We wanted to see how this worked on a “real RV trip.” and the University of Johannesburg Technolab. In fact, Purple Line had the AEROplus tested extensively by the Motor Industry Research Association known now only as MIRA Ltd., a leading automotive design and test organization in the U.K. So, we wondered, how do we conduct the test? I have done fuel economy tests lots of times, but I didn’t want to just do a “controlled” test this time. Paul supplied the parts I needed, and I fabricated the rest. Well, we put our heads together and came up with a combination of all the above. So, we looked at a number of options, from fabricating a new rack, or re-engineering the existing one, to replacing the whole assembly. He wanted us to do a real world test here in the U.S. Well, Paul Liner, the managing director of Purple Line, wouldn’t settle for that. I thought this would be the end of the test, or I would have to find another SUV and trailer to test the unit on. The AEROplus, designed for SUV roof racks, would not fit this rack directly. I thought with this rack it would be easy to install, and I was wrong. The Leer DCC commercial cap is a toolbox that mounts to the bed of the pickup truck, and comes in various heights with custom storage cabinets on the sides, and an aluminum ladder rack on the roof.
This only needs to be done once, however, and the rest of the install is easy for most … but not all. A quick look at their online video before doing this is a help, and plan for a lot of wrench time tightening the nylock nut that holds the main brackets down. When I received the test unit, the first thing I did was assemble the brackets.