How many draft behind a big truck?

[Fencer]

Normally the air behind an 18 wheeler is pretty turbulent, But I got beind a flatbed loaded with PVC pipe and found a sweetspot. It was about 20 feet off the rear on either side just perfect so I could see traffic ahead of the truck and he could see me in the mirrors. I let him know I was there and got a cone of silence for about 25 miles on the superslab till he turned off. It was strange hearing the engine and no wind noise. We were doing about 85 to 90. Nice fellow, Honked when he took off.

I don't know if it was the hollow pipe 6-10 inch in dia that made a diff in the air flow, but it was nice.

Anyone else?

 

[Mike-H]

I've done it in rainstorms (with the driver knowing) & stayed relatively dry....also a few times when I've been way too low on fuel....& boy what a difference that can make to your mpg....

 

[twowheelnut]

Have you ever seen what a shredding truck tire can do to sheet metal at 60 mph? I have and I wouldn't wanna see the same results with leather/mesh/skin.

TWN's general rule of road safety #1: Semi's bad. Keep away.

TWN's general rule of road safety #2: Pick-ups bad. Keep away. Too much shit floating about the beds that can fly out and get you... Worst offenders are the HVAC contractors. :angry:

In either case, either pass 'em fast or hang way back.

Otherwise, have fun drafting!

 

[GalaxyBlue]

As a truck driver, I can say that it has happend to me several times. Sometimes i didnt want them there because of heavy traffic,Lane changes, Or if i threw a rock at them from the tires... Be careful doing this and like you said, Make sure the driver knows your there.

Adam

 

[JohnnySokkoFlyingFjr]

TWN beat me to it....20' off the six of a truck at 85-90, and you won't even have time to crap your drawers when that recap hits your front tire!!

 

[Mike-H]

But isn't that where the excitement begins .....

 

[red2kcbr]

I don't stay around any vehicle, if I can help it. And definitely not an 18-wheeler. I've seen a re-cap explode (from a car, about 50 yards away). Pretty impressive bang, rubber tread gator comes sailing from under the trailer, plus a lot of small fragments. Scared the crap out of me, and I wasn't even driving.

No, thanks. Keep the draft, I'll push along in clean air.

 

[Lester from Tampa]

Truckers call those retread tire fragments.."Gators" because they look like a alligator laying in the road, and what ever they touch gets "bit" badly.

 

[kulwen]

Not for me.

I took a hit from an exploding 18 wheeler tire under my dodge ram truck, it got caught up under my rear tire and tore out all the plastic in the wheel well. The trucker saw the rear of my truck take a leap and pulled over. While rear of my truck more then likely only jumped a foot or two high it felt like 6 or 7 feet.

I avoid trucks.

 

[vectervp1]

Good way to get killed.

I'll pass (literally).

 

[LSUBOY]

My rule of thumb is to stay Waaay back from a truck or get tha hell in front of them because I had a truck blow a tire about 25 yards in front of me on I-20 by Marshall, Tex. Them flying tires are like Willie Peter, they make a believer outta you. And yes, I did have to change my shorts.

 

[Inlaw1]

As a former professional driver with 20+ years and 2 million safe, accident / ticket free tractor / trailer miles, I can say that I (and I'm pretty sure most professionals also) wouldn't like you doing that behind me. Especially in the rain. I'd just be too nervous of something going wrong and you getting caught up in it. And most drivers don't care for headlights constantly in their mirrors.

Either pass or fade back to a safe distance please.

 

[cctxfjr]

Good way to get killed.
I'll pass (literally).

totally agree- quite a folks killed every year by something falling off a truck either the truck itself or something from the load-use to run a large fleet of oil field trucks-one of our units threw the short shaft between the drive axles bounced on road surface and blew out the windshield of an undercover marshal car quite the excitement he thought someone shot it out

 

[beeroux]

Uhh, he didn't honk to say "way to go compadre of the open road".

He was telling you to ****-off.

If he was appreciative of something you did you'd get a flash of the lights when you passed.

Even with him knowing you're there, he was fretting the whole time shredding a tire or having to break suddenly and have you perform a colonoscopy on the truck. A surgical procedure where you are a disposable instrument.

At 20' you are going to have an incredibly hard time maintaining a 2-second count for high speed "trailing" of another vehicle. 20' gives you zero opportunity to brake or swerve. And piling into pvc pipes? Holy, er, I mean HOLEY shit. There'd be nothing left of you.

You think I'm kidding? Get a CB and monitor channel 19 when you start drafting a truck. Not only will the truck who's ass your monitoring the humidity of his crack be pissed, but he/she will be on the horn to "Watch out for a drafting jack-ass". Then you'll hear the other drivers telling him to jam on his brakes and what not. When you pass and approach these other drivers THEY will give you shit. This kind of forward information can travel the continent in less then 1/2 hour. No joke.

Some truckers are muderous SOB's.

You think I'm kidding I'm sure. Too bad I'm not.

Good luck with your drafting.

GZ

 

[painman]

+1 on what TWN and some others said. As an old trucker, I know what damage a piece of tire can do. To be real don't stay anywhere near any truck any time period. And beware of what we call "alegator's" lying in the roadways. That is a section of truck tire tread that has escaped the tire. If you hit this in a 4 wheeler or on a bike, you're in for some damage. Another danger really is the material that these trucks carry. Drive safe, PM. <><

 

[cctxfjr]

Good way to get killed.
I'll pass (literally).

totally agree- quite a folks killed every year by something falling off a truck either the truck itself or something from the load-use to run a large fleet of oil field trucks-one of our units threw the short shaft between the drive axles bounced on road surface and blew out the windshield of an undercover marshal car quite the excitement he thought someone shot it out

we never killed anybody but I know in a 10 year period we damaged at least 20 vehicles one being a goldwing (man and wife) following at a safe distance when our unit dumped a large amount of hydraulic fluid when a line ruptued (driver left a wet system pto engaged while roading unit back to yard and overheated hydraulics)-I have extensive experience in heavy duty trucking don't follow close, get around as soon as possible-all kinds of bad things can and does happen-one of the competion killed two people when a complete dual came off (bearings failed on rear axle) and the dual landed in their front seat

 

[twodogs]

The bait dances on the water, sparkling in the wake. Suddenly, a swirl, a bill, the release snaps, the drag sings and it's FISH ON!!!!! Multiple hookups!!!!

 

[mjac]

Normally the air behind an 18 wheeler is pretty turbulent, But I got beind a flatbed loaded with PVC pipe and found a sweetspot. It was about 20 feet off the rear on either side just perfect so I could see traffic ahead of the truck and he could see me in the mirrors. I let him know I was there and got a cone of silence for about 25 miles on the superslab till he turned off. It was strange hearing the engine and no wind noise. We were doing about 85 to 90. Nice fellow, Honked when he took off.
I don't know if it was the hollow pipe 6-10 inch in dia that made a diff in the air flow, but it was nice.

Anyone else?

This seems pretty clear...........

https://www.legislature.state.al.us/CodeofA...75/32-5A-89.htm

 

[wheatonFJR]

Even though I've done in before, in my teens, on a cold (29 degree) night. There is no good reason to do it. Just blast past quickly to get out of the unstable air.

As has been mentioned, they carry a load that sometimes escapes the flatbed, tire debris, they are quite commonly overtired and exhausted and don't like to be tailgated anymore than you or me I bet.