Ever heard of airtabs?

I think most of the trailers are not owned or attached to the semi in any permanent way. Owner/drivers wouldn't have any incentive to add the tabs to trailers they don't own and owners of the trailer aren't going to concern themselves with mileage.
That said, I think you'd have to own a wind-tunnel to figure out where to place them and if you were saving fuel.
 
The trick is that aerodynamics are complicated and often unintuitive. Tiny details matter a lot - it can be really hard to guess whether a car's aerodynamic or not based on the general shape. For example, Mythbusters found no improvement in MPG from tonneau covers, and driving with the tailgate down was worse than leaving it up. A current-gen Audi A4 has a slightly lower coefficient of drag than a Prius, and a lumpy/angular GT-R is more aerodynamic than the sleeker Toyota Supra. Without a wind tunnel or at least a lot of CFD simulation, it's basically sheer luck whether something like airtabs help or hurt in any given application.
 
here's the post by Ron in BC showing the rigid insulation/ Sheet metal install:

http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f8/adding-underfloor-insulation-7046.html

edit: upon re-reading your post, Ron, it appears that the painted-but-smooth insulation is exposed on the bottom of the trailer.
Do you have any update for us about temperature/comfort differences on the interior?

Funny you should mention that mod. I was going to comment on it when I posted photos of our Baja trip.

The first night, in Kalama WA, parked on 6" of snow :rolleyes:, convinced me that the mod. had been worth doing. I've only done the front half so far. I'm convinced, walking around in sock feet, that we could feel the difference in floor temperature. It stood up to all the rock and gravel roads just fine with barely a mark on it.

Ron
 
That's good news, Ron.
Having crawled under the trailer the other day, I found that there were several chunks of insulation coming loose, and the worse discovery, the foam was only ¼ to ½" thick in a few places. Most of the heavy application was around the water tank. So, I definitely will be adding insulation. I'm also thinking that I need to show Reace the very thin areas when we're at the Escape rally in May. He can maybe update the "Quality Control checklist" based on the observations.
Thanks for the report.
 
Sorry for the long delay. They are air tabs attached to the camper ok ill go 80% but not any lower. I see them on tractor trailers and a few high end rvs. some say they keep the rear of the rv cleaner by interupting the swirl of air at the rear therefor keeping the road grime away?
 

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