TAMPA, Fla. — ATDynamics has introduced a trailer tail for roll door trailers, which the company says will save 4-5% in fuel at 60-65 mph. The new RollTail’s fuel savings were validated through SAE Type II testing, Andrew Smith, CEO and founder of ATDynamics said.

“A lot of fleets have been asking for a roll door solution,” he told Trucknews.com during a demonstration at the Technology & Maintenance Council meetings. “This involves zero driver interaction. You back right into the loading bay, it moves out of the way, you unload your cargo and when you pull away from the loading bay it goes back into shape. We have looked at different ways of doing this and it turns out we have an incredibly simple design.”

Smith estimates there are about 100,000 trailers with roll-up doors in Canada and another 500,000 or so in the US. If the entire population of trailers with roll-up doors were to be fitted with RollTail’s, Smith estimated the trucking industry would save US$3 billion in fuel over the next decade.

Smith told Trucknews.com that work continues in Canada to have full-sized trailer tails approved for use. ATDynamics has a shorter system that complies with Canadian regulations, however the fuel savings aren’t as significant as with its standard size TrailerTail. As a result, Smith said most Canadian companies interested in running the system are opting for the full-sized version – which can deliver 5-6% fuel savings – while in the US and then folding in the system while in Canada.

The RollTail is available as a retrofit device or for factory installation. Smith said two people can install the system in 45 minutes. He noted the device does not affect trailer loading or cube capacity and will be certified by the EPA SmartWay program as well as CARB.

You can see the RollTail in action in this video, produced by ATDynamics: http://atdynamics.com/trailertail.htm#roll