Air Tabs and mud flaps. Do they work or a waste of coin?

BobWolf · Apr 4, 2012

Ive seen the Air Tabs and the perforated mud flaps for a while now and want to know if they are worth putting on or a waste of money.
Cost vs real world savings.
Details International 4300 Strait truck, 24 foot box, liftgate 12' 6" high. standard dry box Guestimate 3 1/2 feet of box over the cab soon to be blocked by the dome.
I plan on installing a cab dome first they are proven work to decrease drag got a used one from my brother off a tractor for free a little nip tuck, some paint, and it looks like its going to fit fine. This will at least make for a good field test and let me know if the dome would be worth buying new if I needed to. Dont worry fellow E/Ors Ill let you know when I get some good data this isn't area 51. Question is, will the dome cancel out any benifit of the air tabs?
Also do the mud flaps reduce drag, are they DOT legal, and do they put the crap on the ground like theyre supposed to or spray it all over the road? I live and work primarily in the north east.
Prefer comments from those who actualy use them Let me know what your experiance with the air tabs and mud falps and do they work.

Thanks
Bob Wolf
Wolf Trucking

purgoose10 · Apr 4, 2012

Don't know about the mudflaps but the AirTabs do work.

BobWolf · Apr 4, 2012

What type of equipment are you running?
Any Idea of the numbers M.P.G. and dose it affect drivability?
I know realisticly I am still driving a barn down the road. But if it works and the numbers make sense its worth a shot.

LDB · Apr 4, 2012

A combination of those mudflaps, Airtabs and removing the visor above the windshield gave me an increase of .6-.7 mpg on a straight truck.

ebsprintin · Apr 4, 2012

Doing a forum search for "airtabs" brings up all the classic discussions on airtabs. I don't know anything about mudflaps.

eb

tknight · Apr 4, 2012

LDB said:
A combination of those mudflaps, Airtabs and removing the visor above the windshield gave me an increase of .6-.7 mpg on a straight truck.

I wonder if cutting slits in the visor will help shed some of the built up air under it, or maybe a few large holes drilled into it, I can see polka dots on the windshield now! I'm also thinking it might whistle a tune going down the road.

tk

LDB · Apr 4, 2012

The visor already had major slots in it. It has to be removed to make the full difference. It's 1/3mpg or so by itself. That adds up to a lot of money over time.

BobWolf · Apr 4, 2012

Dont have a visor they just look like a major wind drag but even that .6-.7 mpg is huge. So how many air tabs and how do you place them to get the most bang for the buck on a strait truck?

Steady Eddie · Apr 4, 2012

AirTabs work. Just ask anyone who has them.

I don't have them.

scottm4211 · Apr 4, 2012

Lol Steady.

ATeam · Apr 4, 2012

For a double benefit, put the air tabs on the mud flaps.

Dynamite 1 · Apr 5, 2012

If you search Google or go to letstruck.com you will find discussions and studies on the echo mudflaps. From what I have read, there is no proven gain in mpg from the echo flaps. Air tabs, a good investment.

zorry · Apr 5, 2012

Kevin Rutherford says "There is NO benefit to removing mudflaps,so how can there be a benefit to running slotted mudflaps ?" I wonder if he'd change his tune if they wanted to become a sponsor ?

TeamCaffee · Apr 7, 2012

Anything that flaps in the wind or blocks the wind affects fuel mileage.

One of the first things we put on our new truck was AirTabs as they work.

LisaLouHoo · Apr 7, 2012

Steady Eddie said:
AirTabs work. Just ask anyone who has them.

I don't have them.

I have heard people who have them say they work, don't work, maybe they do. I just wonder why the big trucking companies haven't gone hog wild over them and slapped them on all their fleet vehicles if they do work so well.

Sent from my ADR6300 using EO Forums

TeamCaffee · Apr 7, 2012

There are many trucking companies going to the AirTabs and I am constantly surprised when I see them on company trucks. The latests one I have seen are on Long Haul Trucking trucks and some I have started seeing are on tankers.

layoutshooter · Apr 7, 2012

We put Air Tabs on our truck. They did not make that big a difference in our mileage but they made a HUGE difference in stability. The 'flow through' mud flaps made a difference of about 1/2 mile to the gallon. We average between 10-10 1/2 for 3 years now.

zorry · Apr 7, 2012

The stability/reduced spray are enough to use the airtabs. If they do help fuel economy at today's prices even a minor improvement will result in a payback quickly,

LDB · Apr 7, 2012

Airtabs seem to be 1/10-1/8mpg improvement. Their benefit is at least as much in stability and cleaner/drier view to the back in the rain. The mudflaps seem to be about 1/3mpg improvement. Removing the visor seems to be about 1/3-1/2mpg improvement. YMMV