Leave the tailgate up!
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New User
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 8
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Leave the tailgate up!
Hello everyone! I see way too many trucks drive down the road with their tailgates down. Maybe they think that they're getting better fuel economy or maybe their tailgates are broken...I don't know, but I want to look out for anyone out there that just doesn't know the real deal.
"Driving with the tailgate down actually increased drag on the pick-up and caused it to consume fuel faster than the identical truck driven with the tailgate up. It was later revealed that the closed tailgate creates a locked vortex flow that created a smoother flow of air over the truck. With the tailgate down, the trapped vortex was dissipated and the drag increased." That was a quote from MythBusters. If it helps even one truck owner...my job is done! ...just looking out for you guys!
"Driving with the tailgate down actually increased drag on the pick-up and caused it to consume fuel faster than the identical truck driven with the tailgate up. It was later revealed that the closed tailgate creates a locked vortex flow that created a smoother flow of air over the truck. With the tailgate down, the trapped vortex was dissipated and the drag increased." That was a quote from MythBusters. If it helps even one truck owner...my job is done! ...just looking out for you guys!
Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 6,521
Likes: 11
From: Greenwood, SC
Yeah, I wish everyone had seen that episode of MythBusters.
Easy way to test it if you're skeptical. Put a bunch of leaves in your bed, drive with your gate up, very few of them blow out, most of them sort of circulate inside the bed. Then lower your gate, they all blow up to the front of the bed against the cab, a lot of them get away too.
Easy way to test it if you're skeptical. Put a bunch of leaves in your bed, drive with your gate up, very few of them blow out, most of them sort of circulate inside the bed. Then lower your gate, they all blow up to the front of the bed against the cab, a lot of them get away too.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 6,521
Likes: 11
From: Greenwood, SC
Good question on the 5th wheel. I pull one a lot too and the airflow in my bed is enough to blow out a pair of shoes. It's very turbulent back there in that situation and I do wonder if taking the gate off would be better.
On my travel trailer, there is enough down force right at the propane tanks that it forces the plastic cover down very firmly. The top of that cover is pressed down hard enough to make the threaded rod holding the tanks poke through the seam of the cover. I always have to wrestle with it to open the propane valves after I drive.
BTW, I have searched and found that the consensus here on FTE is that those wings/airfoils you install on your roof don't help any either.
On my travel trailer, there is enough down force right at the propane tanks that it forces the plastic cover down very firmly. The top of that cover is pressed down hard enough to make the threaded rod holding the tanks poke through the seam of the cover. I always have to wrestle with it to open the propane valves after I drive.
BTW, I have searched and found that the consensus here on FTE is that those wings/airfoils you install on your roof don't help any either.
Senior User
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 217
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My first fifth wheel I had a massive tornado effect in the bed of my truck. It would blow everything out. My new fifth wheel advertised a very aerodynamic front end and there is very little circulation back there. My boat that weighs half as much as my fifth wheel has more aero drag than my fifth wheel (14,000 lbs.).
