Does a tonneau cover help with gas mileage?

Yes since they look so dorky one has fewer dates thus less driving. Saves gas.

 

By the way, to show somewhat the aerodynamics and what actually goes on with the wind in your truck bed area, if you live where leaves fall in the back of your truck, leave them in there, and drive around, especially on a freeway for a while. When you stop, you will notice the leaves are mostly piled up in the FRONT of your truck bed, just behind the rear window! This shows the movement of the wind, and it actually blows the leaves towards the FRONT, thereby showing the wind resistance on the truck. Now again, this is something that will not be noticed as far as gas mileage on short runs or a short run on the freeway, but it does show the effect aerodynamics has regarding the bed area of the truck.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3aqHbD-O9E
various configurations tested for fuel efficiency.
best: mesh instead of tailgate.
worst: tailgate down.
cover: same as no cover.

 

Anyone remember this?


https://youtu.be/r3aqHbD-O9E

 

Maybe someone will come out with fins for passenger trucks like semi trailers. I would think a hard top cap on a truck would be the most drag.





"These fins are not keeping the flow from transitioning to turbulence. The flow is very turbulent. (Check the Reynold's number you scientists!) In fact, laminar flows are often associated with higher form drag (see: why golf balls are dimpled), which wouldn't be desirable. More drag = higher fuel costs.

The flaps are aerodynamically easing the flow around the blunt rear end of the truck. This reduces the size of the recirculated air pocket behind the truck, which is low pressure and effectively "sucking" the truck backwards from its direction of motion."

 

I wonder if the fuel burnt at idle while the driver unfolds and packs that contraption away, will nullify any fuel savings gained while on the road?

 

Not sure, but some truckers are driving 100k+ miles a year so saving a fraction of a mpg adds up pretty quick.

 

Working for a large transportation company we moved away from these because the cost of continuing to have the repair them and the down time related to that and the time around setting up and taking apart the system at each load/unload negated the minimal fuel gains we received.

Frankly our time is better served around driver coaching on fuel usage/idle time when the truck is not in motion.

 

Damn so you have to take them off everytime they dock?

 

I see zero difference with and without a cover.

 

Yes I'm sure those things add mpgs along the way.

Conserving fuel would probably be more efficient, more environmentally friendly, and cost effective. Than some of these environmentally friendly green energy initiatives.

Reduce speeds, on average most drivers are driving above the speed limit. Traffic is usually moving pretty fast on the interstate. Reduce the distance a person has to drive on a daily basis. Dosen't the average person spend more time commuting, than they do sleeping in their lifetime. The biggest thing to conserve fuel would be to eliminate congestion on the roadways.

If you can implement tactics that save on fuel consumption. Those same tactics would conserve battery life, increase battery range, and reduce electricity consumption on your electric vehicle.

 

Yes. All the flaps need to fold back. The door is also two swing doors so those swing to each side as well. Needs to be removed before you swing the doors and bump the dock and then put back up before the driver leaves out.

Needless to say with how much those pieces are taken apart and put back together they pick up a lot of damage. And when there is a broken part of it, it’s just further time wasted that they are waiting for a service to come repair that they otherwise wouldn’t have to deal with.

 

I was pretty clear in my response, clarifying that it only works for long distance highway driving. There will be no notable difference in gas mileage saving in around town driving or short hops on the freeway.

 

On the previous Taco, owned it for about six months before I bought a hard tonneau cover. Fuelly noted no discernible difference in gas mileage…

 

I could be wrong, but I think I saw one with and without a tailgate, and without a tailgate actually made it worse. The air trapped in the box makes the rest of the air flow over it. So yeah, either way, it doesn't change much of anything.

 

I just drove from Chicago to Tampa, I saw zero difference. This was the 1st long trip with the cover and I got the same mileage without a cover.

 

The short answer is: No.

The long answer is: Nope.

 

I’ve had them on two trucks, my current Tacoma and a Ram 1500 Ecodiesel.

The simple answer is…. Nope.

 

I saw that episode some years ago where they tested a pickup with the tailgate up, down, a bed hard cover on/off, and with a cargo net strung across. Seemed the cargo net was best.

 

No they do not and just for arguments sake any gas savings would be offset by the weight of the tonneau cover.