Tonneau covers really Save gas?

Anyone have noticed increased mpg benefits from their tonneau covers as they advertise?

 

NO!!!! It's just a BS sales pitch.

 

Negative ghost writer

 

I'm fairly certain that with my double cab short bed, i get better mileage with an empty bed and no cover than with the tonneau cover on.

 

Air trapped in the bed rotates in a vortex. The higher speed air off the top of the roof is directed by the vortex over the tailgate. Tailgate down=no vortex=more drag. Tonneau cover=no vortex=more drag. Same can be said for a cap.

 

RE: http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/m...atabase/driving-tailgate-fuel-consumption.htm

 

Myth Busters tested this a couple of years back. They got the best MPG with that stupid looking "Air Gate" net thing. Weird.

 

This article says that the nets increase drag, and tonneau covers decrease it: http://www.trucktestdigest.com/TTDfeatures/FeatureTailgateUporDown.htm

I still don't agree with their tonneau test. There's no vortex with a tonneau cover installed. The air coming over the cab hits the tonneau, which causes drag.

 

I dunno about no vortex with a cover. When my tonneau cover is wet it splashes onto my rear window indicating a vortex.

 

I don't know about tonneau covers, but I am pretty sure that I get better fuel economy with my camper shell.

The mythbuster experiment was done in ford trucks with 8 ft beds. I know for a fact that my 5 ft bed has completely different aerodynamics than a 8 ft bed.

 

I definitely had an increase in fuel mileage. I think I gained about 30 miles per tank after putting my tonneau cover on.

 

This.

 

This guy has a point... If a tonneau actually causes more drag why would NASCAR trucks have them? He also said he'd done real world tests.

 

this^

 

the new frontiers increased mpg by filling in the gap between the cab and the bed, I guess every little thing counts a little. My thoughts is...it benefits you the most when you're on the highway and negligible when driving slower.

 

I'd have to see it to believe it. I got absolutely no MPG gain after putting mine on (but of coarse that's not the reason I got one). The only way I've successfully gained MPG is by keeping my RPM's at 2000 or below, even on the interstate. This means I can travel at about 68 MPH. Traveling at 60MPH or below is even more ideal for MPG's though.

 

No MPG gain from a tonneau. That shit was solved years ago.

 

Well, I'm not lieing about it. But you believe what you like.

 

I was doing slightly better with a tonneau vs. without. It wasn't much to brag about though and definitely did not even come close to offsetting the cost of the tonneau. I'm doing a lot better with a shell though.

 

I just put mine on a month or so ago. When I do mostly highway, i've seen an improvement....not much though. Got my best ever MPG a couple weeks ago with it, a whopping 18.9. ;-) Best I saw before that was 18.5 when I drove with the tailgate down on my way back from Dallas.