Airtabs are patented, wishbone-shaped vortex generators that improve a vehicle’s fuel economy by reducing drag.
You’ll find these on tractor trailers and other large vehicles, usually on the back of the cab and the back of the trailer.
The Airtab turns a smooth stream of air into two swirls, reducing drag caused by air suction at speeds greater than about 35 mph.
You’ll need three Airtabs for every linear foot that you want covered. You can buy single Airtabs ($2.75), or a kit ($220).
Watch a video review of the Airtabs system by a full-time RVer.
Original video by 2012escapee1
Transcript:
Okay, YouTube, here is my latest ModMyRV acquisition, Airtabs. Okay, now, the main thing about these Airtabs is that they are supposed to help cut down on wind resistance and make it easier to handle. And there is one of them. And you line them up down the side of your RV. Actually, they’re made for trucks. It’s supposed to go like this. See, there’s the back edge of the truck. They create some kind of swirling vortex of air that reduces drag, makes it easier to handle, and saves fuel.
Okay, so there we go. There’s going to be a few tricks. I already talked to the guy, the owner. If you call them, you’ll talk to the owner to getting this on the RV effectively. The first step is going to be watching the RV really, really good. So, okay here we go, another project.
So I am getting the RV prepped for putting on the Airtabs. I washed it. We’ll let it dry, and then I’ll rub it down with some alcohol to get any residue off. Now, I got to go up on the roof and wash that too.
So here is the next step on this Airtab installation. I’m going to rub down all the areas where I’m going to put them with this alcohol. It says, “Obviously, wash your RV thoroughly, but do not use Windex. No Ammonia-based products. Use isopropyl alcohol-based products.” So I’ll take a rag and rub it all down.
So I’m wiping it all down with isopropyl alcohol. I need a ladder to get up there.
Okay, so now the next step is to lay down a tape line so that they’ll all be even, except here on this window. I’m going to have to go on this side of the window and sit on that side of the window. Looking at the pictures, I’m going to have to put the wide end towards the front of the RV. It says to mark it every four inches.
So I taped just this first 2 there so that I can lay a second tape line. This is a straight edge. It’s like I can really measure that straight edge all the way up.
I did a double tape line, so I am now sticking them on for real. And you can mark that tape with marker pen to space them correctly. It says space them about three quarters of inch apart and that looks just about right on for the first to right there, so I shall continue. I spoke with a guy who invented this so he said this is okay, unless I wanted to put it on the glass window, which I kind of don’t, but… okay I have got that then I’m going to put them in front. So this is supposed to be space three quarters of an inch apart. Last one over there is along this line, so I’m going to have to go three quarters up this way to put the one in front and that’s what I’m figuring. There is side number one, there up there, there that’s the side two. Here is the installation of other side. I started up on this top and down here, storage hatch I got there, there is kind of a gap because three quarters of inch leave it kind of overlapping that molding a little bit. I am not sure if that’s a good thing.
And also too just the opening. This hook is not work anymore, so I can bungee that up but yeah that would also kind of impede something if there was another one there, so anyways, there we have to bungee it up and still have room to work in there, and I can come up with some little clipper thing to fine tune that too. So now up on the roof. Here is the issue with the roof. I need room obviously to step up here and do a step on it. It says, “No more than 14 inches behind the trailing edge”, so maybe I will see how far 14 inches is from here. Fourteen inches is just about the edge of a ladder. All right, okay there’s my knee. There is the edge of a foot, so maybe that’s a good place to do it.
The roof also have a slight little curve, so I probably have to start them about their off the edge. Here we go, we’re going on the roof. I just realized something. There’s also a big blob of this here, so I am going to have set them all maybe another inch forward. That’s the first one. Then I’ll start marking it this way and in this way. There we go on the roof having. Now we got to go on the air conditioner. On the air conditioner is just going to have to go like between the ribs, so there we have it. I have got air conditioner and I have nine left. And I was told like I can put them on the front, so maybe I’ll do that or I may put one or two here on the refrigerator vent too.
Now the roof is curve, so I can’t put on the front between the lights but I could maybe put it on the flap part here.
So there is so much line we cover, but I put them on the front like that. There’s a couple of them on the refrigerator vents. I have like seven left. I guess I could see about maybe putting but it would look pretty weird so maybe put some on there or in front of the…. except this is really a narrow space so let’s see. If I put like that then it is touching that molding. I think it has to got to be off the molding, so then I would might be able to put one like that and like that but putting it in front, you are going to get on that molding again. I know it might help a little bit, it’s not exactly where the mirror is sticking out there but there’s really no place unless I put it on the glass. I can put it on the glass. I think I am going to save the seven extra Airtabs for now just in case someone fall off or something but here let’s take a look at my handy work. It’s up on the side, front of the window. We have got them going up this way, all the way up to the roof and we’ll go up there because of the door flipping. Of course up on the roof and the air conditioner and everything, so there we have it, Airtabs. Let’s see if this thing is going to be a little easier for me to drive now.
There may be small errors in this transcript.