Did camper shell increase OR decrease your gas mileage?

Hey guys!

Did camper shell increase OR decrease your gas mileage?

Are and Leer promote their camper shells by claiming that they camper shells increase gas mileage because putting them on pick up trucks decreases air drag. Do you have any first hand experience?
What was you highway gas mileage before and after putting on your camper shell?

Thanks so much!

 

Decreased when my shell was on,I sold the shell as I always seemed too need an open bed.

 

I think myth busters did an episode on this exact topic.

 

Mine decreased slightly when I had the topper on. I don't recall the exact numbers though, it's been a few years. Any savings of drag coefficient (if there are any) are quickly negated by having a couple extra hundred pounds on the truck, in my opinion.

 

Before I got my shell I liked to think that it may help out. But it's so useful I can't help but throwing a couple hundred pounds of junk in the bed. I've seen a pretty noticeable decrease in MPG just from the added weight.

 

Did they do a topper? I know they did a bunch of tonneaus and tailgate variations.

 

Now that I think of it it was tonneaus and tailgates. There was no difference in mileage if I remember correctly

 

They will tell you anything too sell their product.

 

Thanks so much!!!

 

I imagine a topper would increase drag

 

I don't know about mileage with the topper alone, but my Leer noticeably increased my mileage towing my car trailer with an ATV and UTV on it. Thought it was a fluke the first trip after getting my canopy and driving from Seattle to Moses Lake to go riding, but have repeated it 3 more times since then, and I see the difference in both directions.

 

I was checking my MPG pretty regularly and MPG seemed to increase from around 17 to 18 after I added my Leer.

 

Around town, it dropped it 1-2mpg (extra weight, so not surprising)
Cruising along, no difference that I've noticed.
Towing, it improved by about 1-2mpg (maybe because the trailer isn't catching as much wind thanks to the shell?)

 

decrease

 

Had a snug top she'll on my last taco and it got a little better gas milage. But it was also a manual 6spd and that had something to do with it too.

 

As others have mentioned, mine went down a bit (a couple tenths of an mpg) mostly due to having a couple hundred extra pounds to haul around.

 

Dropped ~1mpg in town, no difference in mpg on highway.

 

Adding 200 lbs too you truck is not getting you better mpg.

 

I didn't notice much of a difference when I had mine installed

 

I have a Softopper that weighs 35-40lbs total I believe.

My mpgs drop by 2 when it’s on.

Leer is full of you know what.

Drag increaes a lot with a topper.