R&T article, taligate up or down

[SupraTitan]

In the new issue of R&T they had an article on the coeficient of drag of pickup trucks and how the tail gate effects it. Test truck was an 02 F-150 that i'm sure someone donated hehe, anyways the findings were suprising. The truck is had a coefiecient of drag of .53 with the tail gate up, .54 with it down and .55 with it removed. Also with a bed cover had a coe. of .52. So if you don't have a tonueou(sp) cover your best off just leaving the tail gate up. They also said that things such as "pro nets" and such produce the worst results. So there really is no need to drive around with the tail gate down.

[GETSOMZ28]

Interesting, however I dont know if this applies to all trucks across the board. For instance, I had a Ranger that got 18mpg all the city/hwy it didnt matter (over 3 years of constant 18mpg). On one trip I put the tailgate down for one leg and "BAM" 21mpg.

[PHOEBISIS]

I wondered about those Tonneau covers,guess they work.The .52 vs .54 should be worth about .2 to .3 mpg hy if you get between 12 and 18 mpg.This was a rigid cover,right?I wonder what they weigh.You might give the mpg back in city driving if it weighs 50-100 lbs. 1/4" or 1/8" plywood might work ok.Thanks,Charlie

[y t-ty t]

just got thru putting my tailgate back on after 2 tanks of gas i gained.2 that is 2 tenths of a differance from 14.8 to 15 even with 4,000 miles on the truck

not worth the effort

also i have read over and over that the manufacters of automobiles get a tax break for getting the most gas milage out of a vechicle they can. in other words it is what it is, sure you will gain 1 or 2 miles possibly in most cases thats it.

they are right in line with all the other gas motors that are the same size.

you buy a truck for every other reason except for gas milage, hell my wifes murano(nissan) little 6 cylender only gets 19.2 faithfully so we arnt doing to bad

later fellas i am going out on the lake

[Bayou Titan]

Originally Posted by y t-ty t

later fellas i am going out on the lake

Your "online" light is still lit. Hurry! Go! HAVE FUN!