Jost cuts air drag with fifth wheel
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By Ian Tonkin
ENGINEERING FIRM Jost is working on a unique adjustable fifth wheel design that, it claims, will help reduce air resistance from an articulated vehicle.
Jost has filed a European patent application for the fifth-wheel design that can be adjusted up, down, forwards or backwards from a control panel located inside the cab while the truck is moving.
Currently, operators have to position their trailers according to the type of trailer being pulled, and the type of journey being made, because urban journeys require larger gaps between the tractor until and the trailer, while the gap is closed up for motorway work.
Jost believes that having an adjustable fifth wheel will help hauliers to close this gap while on the motorway as per normal, but the trailer can then be pushed back to provide sufficient space for tighter turns in urban centres To cut air resistance further, an adjustable wind deflector above the cab can be raised or lowered to match the correct height of the trailer, which will help to reduce air drag and fuel consumption.
The fifth wheel would also be fitted with sensors to ensure the gap between the truck and trailer is always at the optimum distance.
Jost says that to avoid any accidental damage. the fifth wheel would adjust automatically in relation to the truck's speed.