Patent ID: 8177286

Claim:
A side skirt system for reducing drag on a trailer or other ground vehicle, comprising: a side skirt wall configured to be coupled to one side of the trailer to extend below a side wall of the trailer at least partially along a length of the trailer; and a mounting bracket assembly coupled to the side skirt wall and configured to be coupled to a floor assembly of the trailer, wherein the mounting bracket assembly is configured to tilt laterally inwardly with respect to a generally vertical axis parallel to the side wall of the trailer, and wherein the mounting bracket assembly includes a coiled spring configured to bias the side skirt wall to a generally vertical position parallel with the vertical axis, wherein the mounting bracket assembly includes a channel mount defining a longitudinally-extending channel, and wherein at least a portion of the spring is located within the channel of the channel mount, and wherein the channel mount includes a front wall spaced-apart from and generally parallel with the side skirt wall, first and second side walls coupled to the front wall, and first and second flanges coupled to the respective first and second side walls, wherein the first and second flanges are coupled to the side skirt wall.