Your cap and mpg

How bad does your cap hurt mpgs?

I have a Softopper which I think is only 35lbs but mine must create some decent wind resistance because I lose about 2mpgs with mine on.

In the market for a new home with a bigger garage. When that happens I'm looking to go with a fiberglass top. How much Of a difference does yours make?

 

Didn't have any different from my shell, approx. 225 lb.

 

Haven't seen a difference. Got ~24 mpg with my 2.7L AC both before and after getting an ARE CX.

 

Mines been on since Day 1, so I have no other reference. I seem to be averaging what's the norm around here for the 4.0 V6.

 

No difference. Leer 100XL.

 

My ARE CX is about 150lbs and I haven't seen any difference in MPG

 

Same

 

Must be the long bed?

I'm shocked I have an mpg difference with my cap but its enough to notice since I track everything.

 

Hmm, I wouldn't expect a DCLB to see an impact where an ACLB wouldn't.

 

Yeah but the DC has all the weight of the second cab plus the long bed. Im wondering if all the extra weight makes a difference. My F250 gets the same milage until I put on a big ol trailer because the engine is so big. Maybe the Tacoma engine gets more weight sensitive at the heaviest configuration?? Same concept?? Idk

 

Well your long bed cap does weigh more than a short bed cap. I just wouldn't think it would effect gas mileage that much, more weight yes but less drag should cancel each other out.

 

I have a dclb and im picking up my leer 100xl in a week so i can let you know im averaging between 19 and 20 now.

 

No difference and my cap sticks out a little above the cab.

 

I didn't notice any difference when I added my ARE CX.

 

Century High-C, 160#, top is 3-4" above cab. I lost about 1 MPG.

 

Snugtop Rebel, lost about 1/2 mpg.

 

New member and I wanted to add that I just purchased the Z series with slider window swap out to my DCLB and I have a 1 mpg loss but more importantly the truck feels like its at a loss for power. I didn't think that 185lbs would make such a difference but it has.

 

I had a Z Series on my DCSB since I bought my truck. Seemed to get around 22 mpg. Added crossbars ... mileage seemed to drop a bit. Added a rooftop tent, mileage dropped some more, but put on enough miles to get a stable average of about 20.5 (all numbers US gallons) over about 15K miles. Then I removed the shell and tent, which should save about 300 pounds, maybe a bit more with the rack and the anti-comdensation mat in the tent, plus considerable frontal area. A few weeks later, I also got the trans TSB. Truck felt much pepper, even before I got the TSB. But mpg does seem to have dropped, though I've been driving more around town lately. Last two tanks have been about 19.5. Go figure.

 

I thought owners had been seeing (if anything) an increase in MPG after adding a cap....

 

^^^ What I was saying in my post just above is that my mileage seemed to drop after I removed the cap. Since I bought the truck with a cap, I never had a chance to see if it increased when it was added. But I'm putting it back on soon, so I'll update this thread. Based on my limited, unscientific data, the cap without rack was the best.