LEER topper weight? Mpg difference?

@DayTripper85 thanks for the story and the insight, really helpful to understand more about how the cap/shell affects/doesn’t affect the mpg side of things. I just did a quick calculation and it looks like I got 17.7 mpg on the my last tank of gas (which had a fair bit of city driving as my brother is visiting so showing him around the places I wouldn’t normally drive but would be on my fixie).

 

No decrease in mileage with my SnugTop. No decrease in mileage with my Toytec lift. No decrease in mileage with my slight oversize tires (265X70X17). No decrease in power or towing ability. I routinely tow a 20 foot Boston Whaler center console. Uh, well, the BW does decrease the MPG considerably.

 

I took my shell off this afternoon as I plan on moving a fridge and some things next weekend. I thought I’d give it a go running it with no shell and see how it goes mileage wise (if any change at all). Also seeing how I go with no shell in general, certainly feels very naked at first sight now!!

 

I have had four Toyota trucks, two with toppers and two without. Both have advantages and disadvantages, the extra weight is really insignificant save for the FACT that the OEM spring pack is worthless dog dookie. What does a Taco weigh, you think that the 200 pounds really matters? I have come to prefer the utility of having the topper.

 

Like many have said on here before, mileage sucked before and it sucks after. As far as it being worse, I can’t comment cuz I don’t keep track. But I wouldn’t expect it to be much different.

My wife and I can remove it pretty easily so I would guess the 200-250 lbs range. The fiberglass is light, the glass is the heavy part.

I took mine apart to paint it and the window units were the bulk of the weight.

I think it smooths out the ride pretty nicely though, and probably helped me out at the boat ramp once or twice with the weight over the back wheels.
Putting AALs in the back to compensate for it. We’ll see how they do.

 

I have had it off for about five days now and I can feel a difference in the weight without it. I’ll be driving from San Jose to Los Angeles this weekend so I’m going to compare the mpg on that compared to when I did the drive a few weeks ago with it on. I’m heading down there to help move a few things, being the whole reason I’ve removed it in the first place. I’ll continue to keep the shell off for the time being and see how things go over the next few weeks.

Around town driving has felt nicer in terms of less driving though.

 

After researching …They say camper tops will leave slightly less MPG….yes it helps withe aero dynamics…a bit…
A lift and bigger tires …will creates more drag and weight to the 4x4’s …hence less MPG

Note : one study show approx every pound you remove from your 4x4’s may increase you gas MPG’s from 1-2 percent….? A savings of approx 3 -5 cent per gallon or more ..…( depending on your gas prices..)
How much does your spouse weight? ….leaving them home will increase the MPG’S….lol
Aloha,

 

"one study show approx every pound you remove from your 4x4’s may increase you gas MPG’s from 1-2 percent" - Please don't trust this study. Or if I unloaded my camper I'd get at least 100 miles per gallon. And I don't.

 

The miniscule impacts to fuel mileage/power are FAR outweighed by the increase in utility. I wouldn't bat an eyelid.

 

I didn't like having mine on there. I felt the weight and it made the rear end seem bouncy (4x4 TRD Sport AC). Sold it after a few months. I don't recall if it had any impact on MPG.

 

The ARE on my off road 2015 crew cab weighs 205 pounds. Drove truck 1600 miles to Florida last winter and averaged 16.5 mpg for the trip. That was with no cargo in bed. Never went over 70. Return trip with 400 pounds of cargo in bed averaged 14.8 mpg. Hardly any rear suspension travel left, hit the bumpers a lot. Truck felt under powered in the hills. 4.0 V6.

 

Put a fibreglass cap on my S10 2wd every winter for extra weight and to keep snow out of box. Weighed about 160lb. No noticeable difference in fuel economy or power.

 

I've seen a lot of the BS about tests than this and that in the other. I can tell you from my own personal experience ~ with a tonneau cover there was an increase in MPG compared to configuration.
~ Tailgate removed there was an increase in MPG compared to configuration.
~ Running a gator net instead of a tailgate yep you guessed it there was an MPG increase compared to configuration.
Anyway you slice it, I had between 2 and 4 mpg increase over stock configuration......

Unfortunately never had a decent canopy to tell if it really made much difference in mpg...

And yeah MythBusters was fun to watch and all, but I've seen several of their tests proved to be inaccurate. Or when they say it's a myth busted next thing you know the proof shows up that shows that it wasn't a myth after all.

As for now I have a soft top that I've been using when I have to keep stuff slightly dry. They don't seal really well oh, so don't expect one to keep your stuff 100% dry. Not to mention the fact that they build up condensation on the inside.

 

So I had a Roll-n-Lock cover on and it was fantastic. But when we had our second kid I decided to hunt for a camper shell. Found a Leer100X on marketplace for $400 and swooped it up.

I got a hair better MPG's
Putting the Prinsu on I lost that hair I gained and went down a hair

The utility I get out of the camper shell eternally outweighs the minimal loss in MPG's. But I can tell you even if I lost 2-4MPG's I'd still run the shell. It is SO USEFUL. We camp out, evacuate for hurricanes and use it on the beach.

 

What kind of water port system is that in the left?

 

So I built my own powered shower system using a marine pump and I used the WaterPort as a storage device. I've upgraded to a 5 gallon Jerry can now. Water goes from storage to the pump then out the hose. It's awesome being in a parking lot cleaning off my kids after a day at the beach or trail. It gets a lot of questions

 

I have not checked by MPG but I do know that the weight of the camper will reduce your payload capacity. I was sagging pretty bad once I loaded up the family camping gear on the stock springs. It is worth the money to upgrade to aftermarket springs.

 

No mileage difference with a Leer 180 on my 2nd gen. That included a sleeping platform as well for over a 300lb addition.

 

Awesome. Sorry to hijack but you wouldn't happen to have any more detailed pics would you?

 

https://thewaterport.com/product/weekender/