side skirts | AnnaLeah & Mary

The North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) issued a Confidence Report for Trailer Aerodynamic Devices in 2016. This report confirmed our talking point that when side guards are mass produced we can expect to see a decrease in manufacturing costs.

The cost of trailer side skirts have decreased substantially over the past 3-5 years. Current costs for trailer aerodynamic technologies – particularly side skirts – have decreased significantly in recent years, due to far more market entrants driving cost competition and much higher deployment volumes reducing cost per unit. From the interview responses, it is estimated that costs for side skirts have dropped roughly 70% compared to cost estimates that were compiled as part of the 2010 National Academy of Sciences study that investigated fuel efficiency technologies for commercial vehicles. CONFIDENCE REPORT: TRAILER AERODYNAMIC DEVICES

Also, see a more recent report from September 2020: NACFE updates two of its existing confidence reports

Current cost of an aftermarket side guard system, AngelWing, is approximately $2,895. If the cost were to drop 70%, that would bring the cost down to $869/side guard system.

Underride Protection Retrofit Cost_Trailer (1)

A recent article from Transport Topics caught my eye. It’s all about this & that concerning side skirts on trailers (for fuel savings). Lots for a trailer buyer to consider when making a decision.

Installing the complete system takes 2.5 man-hours, he said.

Wikipedia has to say this about cost: As of 2009, a set of trailer skirts cost between C$1500 and C$3000 (US$1300 to $2700). Standard trailer skirts have an estimated payback period of ten to eighteen months, while “advanced” skirts (those that improve fuel efficiency by over 7%) are estimated to pay for themselves in seven to fourteen months.

Seriously?! An AngelWing side guard can be installed in close to that amount of time. And if side guards were socially acceptable and widely embraced so that they readily available to purchase (you know how supply and demand works, right?), the price could quite likely be comparable. Plus side guards may enhance fuel savings when used with side skirts.

So why the fuss from the industry about the cost of LIFE-SAVING side guards!?

Read the whole article for yourself and tell me why there is such resistance to installing comprehensive and effective underride protection and outright opposition toward a mandate which would require it.