Better MPG With Bed Cover

I'd love to see numbers like this for the claimed 23-24mpg. I'm averaging 19 so far and that's with easy "errand" driving and one long road trip. Highway driving was 76mph or below and majority of my driving is in the 35-55 range. Disappointed in that respect so far, but at least it's not below my old vehicle.

 

Yeah good luck seeing the numbers. I swear I think some people just have a different engine in their truck. Go to the MPG thread and try having a convo with the guys claiming to get 31 mpg on a tank. I call BS but hey they claim they are getting it. I have tried to “hyper mile” the best I can as an experiment. Full tank, eco mode, drive like I have raw eggs in my seat, don’t go over 70 on the interstate and for the entire tank I get 2 mpg better then my trucks lifetime avg of 18.3. I don’t really care as I love the truck and didn’t buy it for the MPG but allegedly in the same truck one person can get 20 while another gets 31 blows my mind. Also if MPG was that good then why not have Toyota advertise it. EPA ratings aren’t while driving like normal people. They are a small sample of VERY conservative driving and conditions.

 

I’ve gotten as high as 25 on an all highway trip, relatively flat 75 mph in my SR5 long bed 4x4. All city, I’m hanging between 19 and 20.

 

while my overall average since new is 20.1 or so, here’s my Los Angeles freeway drive to work:

 

A few mpgs difference here an there dont make much difference. What does is the cost of a gallon of gas. We now have 4 more years to enjoy cheap gas. Enjoy it now, because it wont last. One of these days the price of fuel in this country will be like the cost of fuel in Europe and most other countries.

 

Please don’t make this about political nonsense

 

The point is: enjoy the cheap gas while you can and quit complaining about 3,4,5 or whatever mpg differences

 

The point is, keep the political nonsense out of this forum. It’s everywhere already

 

It’s not political, it’s facts. For the next 4 years gas will be cheaper.

 

If we're being entirely fair, a 3, 4, or 5mpg difference is a 15, 20, or 25% increase over the roughly 20mpg average many people are seeing. That's a lot if you can actually get it.

If do 10k a year at 20mpg, you burn 500gal of fuel. If you can get it up to 23, you only burn 435gal. That's a savings of $206 in a year (based on the average US gas price Google fed me just now). If a tonneau cover, which can be had for less than $200 if you get it on sale, can get me that, it pays for itself in only a year.

People seem to be reporting that they might get 1mpg out of a tonneau cover. I paid $160 for mine. If gas prices don't change, it'll pay for itself in 29mo. A tonneau cover has utility beyond any fuel savings in that it keeps the stuff in the bed dry, better corralled, and away from prying eyes. I'd say it's a win either way.

Though, I will accept the argument that anybody trying to hypermile a pickup truck has probably lost the plot anyway.

 

Oil price prediction based on four year political terms is not fact, but nonsense.

National average gas prices in the Summer of 2016 were under 2 dollars. In the Summer of 2019 they were over 2.70.

The United states is importing less crude oil in 2024 and producing more domestically than they ever did in any year between 2017 and the pandemic.

Oil prices are high for several reasons. Wars in Europe and the Middle East are causing instability, cutting production and hampering distribution. Despite global demand for oil being higher this year than it ever has been thanks to large increases in demand by many countries around the world using more oil(huge increase in India), OPEC has cut production by more than 10% below it's 2019 production levels to artificially inflate prices.

National gas prices are not a political certainty, but based on global events and outside forces. Stating they are for some political pot-shot is both disingenuous and should not be posted on non-political message boards, especially when it is so easy to look up the actual factual numbers to see the statement is false.

 

@TheGrayNorthWest you present zero facts but a typical rhetoric write up defending one’s false beliefs. I could continue and post the facts of US retail gas prices that Americans actually pay at the pump but then it would be a political post and be taken down. Actually google it. You will see the actual facts of yearly average retail gas prices at the pump for the last 20 something years.

 

Now head on over to the US EIA website and look at production numbers. If you do, you’ll find that what greynorthwest said is correct. Oil is a fungible commodity, and globally-priced.

 

The prices also get impacted by the unforeseen and matter such as distribution & refineries that can be on and offline for several reasons.

You are missing some important points there. 50 different states plus territories alone create differences in pricing in addition to what I stated. Also, EIA data and stats operations on that data - not searching Google - is is how you can be credible with what you're trying to say. Oil and natural gas are in a realm where the world-wide market has much impact. The US automotive market is not as much of the world as many think. It also gets impacted by demand outside of the US. All those tanker trains are flexible pipelines of sorts. They travel right by US markets and the oil is sold to highest bidder when it makes sense.

We also get problems or wrinkles from the cost of handling and distilling when output is too high.

This is just not so simple. Demand and other costs always have to be considered.

Getting back to topic, my Fas-Top does tonneau, soft topper and open bed. The bed covered in tonneau and topper mode seems to improve fuel economy more with higher speeds and headwinds. Especially with odd shaped loads, towing or a hitch rack.

 

To slightly change the subject away from gas prices, I gained MPG by putting a cap on my long LB-OR, despite its ~200 lb weight. I also added an air dam because, why not? I can easily average 21-22 MPG per tank from March to October on relatively flat terrain and a mixture of HWY and city driving. I struggle to get 19.5 in winter.

That said, I want better efficiency for my daily driver. I dont necessarily like the electrified truck options currently available in the mid-size space (Rivian R1T has a 4.5 ft bed, unfortunately) so I am thinking to get an EV daily driver and just use the Tacoma as needed for at least another five years. Thinking either a Ford MachE or a Hyundai Ioniq5. I'm ready to make the switch if I can afford it.

 

I've heard that the extra lip on the rear of the roof helps to channel wind over the tail gate so it doesn't act as an air-brake. BTW..........I was getting 20-22 mpg during the warm months, but now it's a struggle to get 18.

 

That's a cool innovation if true. Right now we are driving through some dense air up here in MN/WI and mileage getting killed.