How to improve fuel economy with a tonneau cover
It's an old wives' tale that pickup truck owners can get better gas mileage by lowering the tailgate. Remember the SCCA truck racing series in the late '80s and early '90s? The Archer Brothers team conducted numerous tests with their Jeep Commanches and never found extra speed or better fuel economy.
There have been wind-tunnel tests that show tonneau covers can improve aerodynamic flow and reduce drag. But no one in recent memory had ever attempted a real-world test of a tonneau cover's ability to improve fuel economy.
Now Snugtop, a company that makes tonneau covers and bedcaps for pickups, has an answer. The company conducted a very intensive test this month at Irwindale Raceway in
By the way, wondering which truck got the best mileage? The Chevy. Check out the full report on Snugtop's Web site.
[Source: Snugtop]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
palaboy 2:39AM (3/13/2008)
Another way to improve fuel economy of your truck is to improve its diesel performance like the ones that are being sold here - http://www.4wheelonline.com/Categories.aspx?Categoryid=15
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Tim Russell 11:41AM (8/24/2006)
Myth Busters took on the tail gate up/down test and found that tail gate up was better. In a test they found that a bubble of air formed behind the cab in the bed with the gate up. Gate down the air spills out of the bed and no bubble. They used a model in a liquid filled tunnel and some small objects in the liquid so the effect could be seen. They didn't test tonneau covers or any other bed cover.
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otis 1:05AM (3/09/2007)
Why in the world would they only test at 45 mph??? Nobody goes that speed in the first place; and secondly when road testing an aerodynamic device greater speed shows differences with greater clarity. When testing something that has such a minor effect in the first place you need all the accuracy you can get or the results can get lost in the "noise". I wonder, if they did an A-B-A test, if the "A's" would be less than 1.3 mpg apart???
That said, it is generally acknowledged that tonneau covers can slightly improve fuel efficiency.
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