Patent ID: 8857893

Claim:
A chassis or trailer comprising: one or more generally longitudinal structural beams and bogie wheels attached thereto, via a bogie wheel mounting assembly, the longitudinal beam(s) generally oriented in the direction of travel, and the chassis or trailer when placed on a road surface defining a spatial gap forward of the wheel mounting assembly between the road surface and the bottom of the trailer or an intermodal container to be carried by the chassis; and a side fairing system comprising a side fairing panel secured to the trailer or chassis proximate to the gap, the side fairing panel comprising an upper region having an edge and a lower region, the edge of the upper region proximate to the bottom of the trailer or the plane defined by the bottom of an intermodal container when mounted on the chassis, wherein the lower region of the side fairing panel is relatively rigid and is secured to the trailer or chassis by one or more strut(s) having an inner portion and an outer portion, the inner portion of the strut(s) rigidly secured to the trailer or chassis, the outer portion of the strut(s) secured to the side fairing panel, and wherein the upper region of the fairing is rotatably or flexibly mounted to the lower region such that the upper region will move from a pre-impact position down toward the road surface upon impact to the upper region from a force component in a direction toward the road surface by the trailer or the intermodal container to be carried by the chassis.