Your cap and mpg

Funny thing about that concept is, the batteries they use damages the environment more than oil mining. Something about the way lithium has to be extracted from the earth or something iirc. So prisus are worse for the environment lol.
Pretty ironic, but the left doesn't want to hear it.

 

Btw, I always buy the cheapest grade of gasoline. I've never noticed any benefit of using more expensive gas, if there was a benefit it was too small to notice, and even if there was a slight benefit, the higher cost of filling up a tank would offset any mileage increase.

 

The more expensive gas such as Chevron does make a difference because it keeps the engine cleaner inside. It's not noticeable until way down the road if you end up with problems due to dirty combustion chambers, rings, valve guides and such.

 

So far my CX has made ZERO difference.

 

What is the best topper for a Tacoma? I will be pulling a horse trailer with 1 horse and want a topper to sleep in. I have a 2011 v6 4x4 w 2 door with the small seats in the back. Maybe a 6 ft. Bed. Any suggestions?

 

I like my Snugtop Rebel, it has a reinforced roof to better handle loads if you put a rack up there for a gear pod. The front window has a slider and also hinges down so you can clean both it and the outside of the cab window.

 

ARE Z-Series, maybe 140-150lbs total? Had the cap on and off for a few weeks for a couple of trips and didnt notice any difference in MPG from when it was on vs off. Was getting 18 when it was on and am still getting 18 now that its off

 

Dont buy a leer im unimpressed and they have done nothing to correct their issues

 

Care to elaborate?
I've got an XR on order.

 

Well i ordered my shell then it came in with paint flaws. So it was returned. Then it finally came back. The paint was of good quality. The back glass wouldnt and still doesnt shut correctly. The dealer was incapable of the repair. And offered me money off till they found a solution. Never got an answer back from them or leer. I repaired the strut best as possible, only because i really need the shell is why i kept it. The shell is also a bit heavy for the taco.

 

When I got my '14 with a Snugtop earlier this year it wouldn't latch properly on the left side but some fiddling with the cable length fixed it.

 

No difference.

 

A friend of mine bought a Leer for a brand new Ram 2500 double cab long bed and within a few months the middle of the Shell was sagging and holding a ton of water. He has a new one now. Leer treated him good. I had a shell on my F150 and noticed no MPG loss. Made the truck ride better with some weight back there also. Looking for one for my Tacoma. IMO I wouldn't care to lose a MPG to keep all my stuff out of the weather.

 

No difference with my new Leer 180 love it. I went 5 years with a tonneau. Same exact mpg 80k on truck.

 

There have been multiple tests about this going back to the 1970's during the fuel shortage when people were trying every trick in the book to improve fuel mileage. Several Truck and 4X4 magazines did tests and reported the results including Field and Stream and Outdoor Life. The guys on the Myth Busters show did 2-3 different episodes testing different things.

The results have always been very similar. It doesn't matter much, tailgate up, down, with cap, tonneau cover, or without there was never any significant difference. Sometimes they'd get results showing 1/2 mpg better, sometimes 1/2 mpg worse or no difference at all. This mirrors my experience. I've driven trucks since the 70's, most with caps. On many of them I'd put them on and off as needed, but lately I just leave them on. My last 2 trucks I ordered new caps and it took 4-6 weeks for the cap to come in. Long enough to get a feel for fuel mileage before and after. No measurable difference for me. My guess is that if someone is seeing 1-2 mpg either way it is something else. My fuel mileage fluctuates 1-2 mpg depending on driving conditions, where I filled up and a lot of other factors.

 

I've noticed that things like load bars and lumber racks that generate turbulence have more of an effect. I think the slightly better aerodynamics of a clean cap is largely offset by the added weight, it might do better on flat ground but then worse on hills. Biggest hit I take
by far is time spent going nowhere in traffic. I can have a good tank blown up by a bad trip.

 

The Snugtop Rebel is reinforced with a 1/2" layer of honeycomb fiberglass under the roof so no sag here but I'd guess other brands like Leer have similar options.

 

I'm not sure if his has that reinforcement but his is a long bed so its quite a bit of fiberglass without support the way it looks. Snugtop would get my vote if they were on the east coast more.

 

After dialing in the latches I'm ok with the rebel. It just has the kinda ugly Alu frame around the side glass and leaks in a few places. I haven't spent any time tracking those down so I don't know if they are through the Thule rack holes, around a window frame, or under the cap seal.

 

Agreed. Mythbusters may have tested these ideas but they made several errors in their tests which make them an unreliable source of information...they use two different drivers to perform the tests...