Let’s face it, travel trailers are bulky, heavy, and unwieldy vehicles. It can be hard to drive them when you’re used to the speed and maneuverability of an unladen car. But once you’re hitched to a travel trailer, the weight of it, plus the additional drag, will slow you down and make you use more and more fuel.
Luckily there are a few ways to make this process easier on you and your tow vehicle. For starters, most trailers are designed to be as streamlined as possible. Their awnings and slide-outs are tucked away when you’re on the road, which keeps your vehicle from being too wide.
In addition, there is a range of products on the market that you can attach to parts of your travel trailer to make it more aerodynamic. These help smooth out any edges that can catch the wind, and give your trailer a more sleek and streamlined appearance.
For this article, I’ve picked out 7 different aerodynamic products that can be added onto travel trailers. These are all great items that can be used on a variety of different trailers. Keep your eyes open and you might find just the right thing for your needs!
ICON 01217 Black 56″ x 22″ Wind Deflector
- Price: Between $325 and $400 (depending on vendors)
- Rating: 3.8/5
This first product is a large plastic sheet that angles up from the back of a tow vehicle. While this might not sound like a good thing, it actually really helps reduce turbulence and drag when you’re out on the road!
Air usually flows over the top of a car and gets trapped between the space between the tow vehicle and trailer. This creates a pocket of turbulent air that creates a strain on the hitch, the car, and (worst of all) your fuel efficiency!
This wind deflector helps prevent those problems. It attaches to the roof of your tow vehicle and can be angled at almost any degree. This can help you personalize it to your specific car and trailer situation.
The ICON wind deflector is also easy to adjust and fold down when you don’t need it. After all, once you’ve detached from your trailer, you’re not going to want to drive around with a big fan sticking up!
This product has been known to improve gas mileage by up to 3 miles per gallon! That’s going to stack up over time, so this is an especially great product for people who are planning on traveling a lot.
The wind shield also deflects bugs, dirt, and debris that can sometimes get caught between the tow vehicle and trailer. Both if your vehicles will be kept in top condition if you choose to use this aerodynamic product.
To cap it all off, the ICON wind deflector also arrives fully assembled, so all you’ll need to do is attach it to your car. No drilling or car modifications are needed to install it either. This really is a win-win and a great product all around!
For more information on this aerodynamic trailer accessory, visit this link to see detailed product specifications, customer reviews, and online ordering options.
Smart Solutions 01696 Rock Solid Protective Guard – 2 Piece
- Price: $85 – $125
- Rating: 4/5
The Smart Solutions 2-Piece Protective Guard is a great product for streamlining your car and trailer, as well as preventing water, mud, and debris from splashing up when you drive through rougher conditions.
This product is basically a set of stiff skirting for your tow vehicle and trailer. They are designed to lay relatively flat to the sides, thus creating the most aerodynamic profile possible.
They are segmented into several sections to provide flexibility and protection. The segments also provide breathability for your trailers, ensuring that it doesn’t get too hot underneath as you drive around.
Installing these on your car and trailer will help keep the undersides of both vehicles protected from wind, dirt, and debris. It’s difficult to get turbulent air pockets forming beneath your cars when they have protection like this!
This trailer skirting is made from tough, yet lightweight materials. They will lay flat due to their own weight, yet they move well enough to create a breathable environment beneath your travel trailer.
You can also tailor the Smart Solutions protective skirting to fit your unique trailer’s needs. If you have one that is particularly low to the ground, you can trim the strips so that they don’t catch or drag along the ground. You can even cut away whole sections to accommodate wiring, hitches, mufflers, or other quirks of your vehicle.
This product provides protection to your trailer against the wear and tear of the road. But it also provides a smooth and streamlined base and is durable enough to hold up over time. The manufacturers of this product are so confident in its capabilities, that every purchase comes with a 1-year quality guarantee, and they are built to last far longer than this.
Keep the Smart Solutions Rock Solid Protective Guard in mind as you’re shopping around for products that protect the quality of your trailer, while also improving its aerodynamics. For more information on this aerodynamic trailer accessory, visit this link to see detailed product specifications, customer reviews, and online ordering options.
Maxxair 00-933075 II Vent Cover
- Price: $45 – $55
- Rating: 4.5/5
All travel trailers have (or at least should have) exterior vents. These help to blow out excess moisture from the interior and also help create a good ventilation system. These vents are necessary and useful additions to every trailer, but they also create clunky protrusions on the roofs!
That’s where products like the Maxxair II Vent Cover come into play!
This is a streamlined vent cover that attaches to the top of a travel trailer vent. It smooths out the profile of your trailer’s roof and creates an easier path for the wind to flow over.
It’s got a simple hinged design that snaps easily over standard vents. This product can be used on a wide variety of travel trailers, which makes it great for a lot of different people. Adaptability is a big factor in products like this.
The Maxxair Vent Cover is also a solid piece of equipment with no complicated latches, panels, or protrusions. It creates a smooth, clean cover for your vents. Speaking of clean, this product is also easy to remove and clean!
Vents clear out a lot of crap from the trailers that attach to. They filter out all the moisture, steam, cooking residue, and smoke (if you’re a really bad cook). This can create a gross vent. These can sometimes be hard to clean, but this vent cover is easy to take on and off. This makes it easy to access and clean when you need to.
And finally, this vent cover doesn’t stick up very far. It’s designed to fit snugly over a vent and not add too much additional height to the roof of a trailer. It’s less than a foot tall, which makes it great for the open road!
For more information on this aerodynamic trailer accessory, visit this link to see detailed product specifications, customer reviews, and online ordering options.
Leisure Coachworks 14 Inch RV Roof Vent Lid (Universal Replacement) for Camper
- Price: $35 – $45
- Rating: 3.6/5
This next recommendation is similar to the previous one, but it’s meant for a slightly different purpose. While the Maxxair is designed to fit over protruding vents and streamline them, the Leisure Coachworks Vent Lid is designed to work with open air vents.
These are openings that lead directly from the trailer interior to the outside. They’re a great way to get fresh air and sunlight into your trailer and sometimes they even work as little sunroofs! However, they also need good covers to keep them closed off and streamlined when you’re on the road.
Most travel trailers will come with lids pre-installed, but these aren’t always high-quality and can break or weaken over time. This vent cover provides strong protection and a low-profile design that allows air to pass over it without catching or dragging.
The Leisure Coachworks RV Roof Lid comes in a pack of two. This is great if you have multiple vents so you can match them. If you only have one, it’s great too because you have a spare if one breaks or wears out. Breakage isn’t likely with this design though!
These sport a single long hinge along one edge, making them strong and easy to open. They’re also made of a high-density material that’s resistant to rust and UV damage. It comes with a Zero-Leak mounting system that presses close against the roof and saves you from drilling into the roof of your trailer!
The Leisure Coachworks RV Roof Lid is easy to install, lays flat against the roof, and is designed to provide years of high-quality protection. It’s definitely worth looking into if you’re in the market for any of these attributes.
For more information on this aerodynamic trailer accessory, visit this link to see detailed product specifications, customer reviews, and online ordering options.
JR Products 50015 Endura Range Vent with 5/8″ Flange
- Price: $30 – $40
- Rating: 4.8/5
We all love travel trailers for the comfortable living space they create while we’re away from home. Built-in kitchens, grills, and stoves are a great part of the deal. But that heat needs somewhere to go and that’s where the Endura Range Vent comes to the rescue!
This product fits over the exterior range vent and streamlines the notches and openings. It locks over the vent and has a set of large and sturdy hinges that will keep it secure. It also comes with a lock that will keep it from expanding or unlatching when you’re out driving.
Of course, this one also sports a smooth, streamlines design that keeps the profile as flat as possible. I mean, it wouldn’t be on the list if it didn’t improve your aerodynamics!
This vent cover is made from a material that has been treated against UV damage. It won’t become bleached or washed out, even after years of use! This might not be a top priority, but you still don’t want parts of your trailer to change color with sun damage. That would ruin any color matching that you’ve set up after all.
The Endura Range Vent has also been tested against the toughest conditions and has proved that it can hold its ground. It’s held up to wind testing of up to 190 mph. Now hopefully you won’t be driving that fast, but just know that this vent can handle it if you have to make a fast getaway.
Customers have enjoyed this product as well as the protection and streamlining it provides. It makes traveling with a range vent much easier and holds up great against tough conditions.
For more information on this aerodynamic trailer accessory, visit this link to see detailed product specifications, customer reviews, and online ordering options.
Winegard RZ-6000 Rayzar z1 RV TV Antenna (HD, Digital, 4K Ready, ATSC 3.0 Ready)
- Price: $100 – $110
- Rating: 4/5
We all love watching our favorite TV shows and movies in the comfort of our homes and travel trailers. But sometimes it can be hard to find an antenna that can get the job done well. Plus, who wants to add one more thing to the roof of your trailer?
Well the Winegard Rayzar RV TV Antenna is here to solve all your problems and worries on this topic. It provides high-quality streaming and also has a design that keeps it from catching the wind and slowing down your travels.
This product comes with optimal UHF reception as well as high-band VHF that lets you keep up with all the channels that you love. You can watch everything in high definition without draining your phone hotspots or relying on patchy wi-fi from camps you stay at.
Antennas don’t have to be tall and wide to provide great streaming of your favorite channels. This product proves that by using a short, squat attachment on the top of the roof. It has a streamlined design with a small footprint. It can also rotate without issue, allowing you to position it any way you want.
It also works for just about every RV out there! It’s widely adaptable and can bring streaming services to everyone who wants it on the road. Mounting equipment comes included with your purchase as well, creating a simple installation process.
This low-profile design, variety of streaming capabilities, universal application, and easy installation make this a top pick for TV lovers with trailers.
For more information on this aerodynamic trailer accessory, visit this link to see detailed product specifications, customer reviews, and online ordering options.
Fit System 81850 Snap and Zap Tow Mirror Pair
- Price: $45 – $55
- Rating: 4.6/5
One thing that every car needs is a set of good side mirrors. These are critical to road safety and one of the biggest ways that you can prevent accidents. You need to see the dangers to avoid them!
One of the best products to help you out with this is the Fit System Snap and Zap Tow Mirror. This is great for people who tow trailers and fifth wheels. Because of the additional length of your rigs, you need mirrors that can show you more of the road beside and behind you.
These mirror extensions help you see further and also help prevent accidents! These aren’t additions for the trailer itself, but for the tow vehicle. They simply snap over the existing mirrors and create a larger visual range for you.
Despite the additional length, these don’t contribute to drag while you’re driving. Their back sides are smooth and curved to enable air to flow over and around them. You can enjoy the benefits of extra long mirrors without worrying about your aerodynamics.
When you’re unhitched from your trailer, it’s also easy to remove these mirrors. Despite their uses on the road, you don’t want your mirrors to be longer than necessary when you’re driving through tight spaces or opening your doors in small parking spaces. Just unhook these when you’re done to avoid any accidents!
For more information on this aerodynamic trailer accessory, visit this link to see detailed product specifications, customer reviews, and online ordering options.
One thing in common with all these products. Lack of testing data. Face it, often we invest in such things and then change our own habits. More coasting. slower acceleration, lower speed or simply wind direction on a given day. I look forward to some actual results.
So the article claims these things help. Where’s the actual data from an independent testing? Intuition and customer testimonials aren’t data and are mostly unreliable. Testing where the same rig is driven the same way, same route, same weather etc before and after installation of a product is data. Plenty of folks claim that removing a truck tailgate improves mileage yet wind tunnel testing showed the tailgate being on forms a back eddy that actually pushes the truck, the tailgate being off reduces mileage. Lets see the data.
Wanting to save the earth from carbon dioxide burnup, I checked the mileage on my 2011 Tacoma with tailgate up and tailgate down over thousands of miles of high speed driving. Actual data showed that the tailgate made no difference at all. Not seeing any difference, I gave up on the experiment and now drive with the tailgate up.
Aerodynamic calculations on my radio antenna reveal about 8 pounds of drag at 80 mph. However, this is a very fat monopole that covers a very wide frequency range for my 2 meter radio and other electronic defense measures.
How about vortex generators?
Done a lot of online research and haven’t found any convincing evidence that they provide any improvement.