Tailgate Up (closed) or Tail gate Down (open)

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Sep 23, 2006 | 01:10 PM

#46

monsterbaby

Hotshot

Joined: Dec 2003

Posts: 18,423

Likes: 9

From: iowa

You did a darn good job of stretching that, looks good.

Sep 23, 2006 | 06:32 PM

#47

fp_5

Laughing Gas

Joined: Sep 2004

Posts: 1,169

Likes: 4

From: Whitby, Ontario, Canada

Great thread, I would have thought Tailgate down would decrease drag, shows what I know! I guess the aerodynamics of a brick like our trucks is not as obvious.
When I made a tonneau-ish cover for my truck I was expecting great things for mpg. There was an improvement but nothing dramatic, just a slight increase in mpg, maybe 2mpg if that. What I have found to be the single greatest factor in mpg,.....is the way I drive hands down (or maybe footdown would be more accurate!).
Very interested in hearing how this experiment works out!

Frank

Sep 23, 2006 | 07:37 PM

#48

Bdox

Fleet Owner

Joined: Sep 2005

Posts: 28,609

Likes: 18

From: Lake Tahoe, Nevada

Quote:

Originally Posted by fp_5

When I made a tonneau-ish cover for my truck I was expecting great things for mpg. There was an improvement but nothing dramatic, just a slight increase in mpg, maybe 2mpg if that. What I have found to be the single greatest factor in mpg,.....is the way I drive hands down (or maybe footdown would be more accurate!).
Very interested in hearing how this experiment works out!

Frank

Two mpg IS a dramatic increase. Most improvements you can make are usually measured in fractions of mpgs.

Sep 23, 2006 | 09:34 PM

#49

derherr65

Elder User

Joined: Jul 2005

Posts: 969

Likes: 1

From: North Texas

Depends on the setup. 2mpg on a fullsize with bigblock is a huge amount, but on a ranger not so much. Think percentages.
11+2=13 2/11=18%
23+2=25 2/23=8.7%
I'm hoping to see a 1mpg improvement, or about 8%. I'll take more naturally, I just don't expect it.

Oct 2, 2006 | 08:41 PM

#50

Bdox

Fleet Owner

Joined: Sep 2005

Posts: 28,609

Likes: 18

From: Lake Tahoe, Nevada

derherr65

What was your final result with the bed cover in place? Any milage numbers?

Oct 3, 2006 | 03:26 PM

#51

ken selvy

Senior User

Joined: Jan 2006

Posts: 493

Likes: 0

Beleive it , mythbusters busted the tailgate down theory. The truck with the gate up went further than the truck with the gate down.

Oct 3, 2006 | 07:20 PM

#52

derherr65

Elder User

Joined: Jul 2005

Posts: 969

Likes: 1

From: North Texas

Just got the first number today. 11.63mpg with bed cover. So either it droppped 1/10th of 1 mpg or it made no difference and the wind lately affected the mpg. I'll do another run to see.

Oct 4, 2006 | 03:20 PM

#53

77f150xlt429cid

New User

Joined: Mar 2006

Posts: 18

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I did a milage test on a truck that I had for a while. It was an 83 f-150 xlt, with a 351w, a c4, and a 8.8 diff with 3.90 gear ratio. When I got the truck it was so rusted out the mounts for the tailgate were gone. I drove it 2hours to work and 2hours home twice a week. The truck averaged 12.5 mpg with the old box. I bought another truck with a better box and swapped it onto the 83. I drove the truck on the same roads at the same speed with the tailgate up and the trucks milage went up to 16.5 mpg. If that doesnt prove a point, nothing will.