Tonneau and MPG

[Hickesy]

Had the Truxedo low profile roll up for about 3 months now and have reluctantly come to the conclusion that it's made zero impact on my MPG, which is stubbornly stuck at 22.5. No complaints, that's pretty good, and must be a reflection of my amazingly precise and consistent driving style Just wondered if this is due to my tonneau being soft roll up rather than hard folding. Wondering what difference it made to your MPG if any?

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[Joeiconic]

I‘ve had a bunch of trucks and tonneaus make no difference in mpg, in my experience.

 

[JasonTremor]

I seem to recall mine picking up .6 to 1 mpg on long interstate runs after adding a hard fold tonneau, but I didn't do scientific testing. Didn't notice any around town or short trip improvements.

 

[got3fords]

I have a soft cover and didn't notice any measurable difference.

 

[IdahoRanger]

Similar experience to those above.

 

[RangerPNW]

I suspect the impacts of a tonneau cover depend a lot on the shape of the cab, guess the rangers are more aerodynamic than other, more boxy looking trucks. I'm planning on replacing my tonneau at some point with a canopy (i really don't like the limited storage of a tonneau), so curious to see if it makes any difference, but since highways around here are 80 mph plus, i'm not exactly going to be holding my breath.

 

[JimG_AZ]

I have had Access soft tonneau covers on both my Ranger and my previously owned Tacoma. I didn't notice any difference on mpg. As I recall, there was a Myth Busters episode on this topic. They found no mpg improvement either. I think the air swirls in the bed and creates an air dam that is basically the equivalent of the tonneau cover for aerodynamics. Now one interesting thing that Myth Busters did find was that with the tailgate down, you got worse mpg than with it up.

 

[Dr_Strangelove]

Good to know. I was still under the belief that they improved MPG as well.

 

[Ron L.]

A couple years ago I saw a wind tunnel test of Ford trucks where they used the smoke to show the wind flow over the vehicle. The wide, flat top to the tailgate is not just for looks. As the smoke/wind came off the top of the cab the top of the tailgate is where it touched the truck again bypassing the entire truck box. So going by that tonneaus and open tailgates will make very little difference in mpg's.

 

[gtyates]

Had the Truxedo low profile roll up for about 3 months now and have reluctantly come to the conclusion that it's made zero impact on my MPG, which is stubbornly stuck at 22.5. No complaints, that's pretty good, and must be a reflection of my amazingly precise and consistent driving style Just wondered if this is due to my tonneau being soft roll up rather than hard folding. Wondering what difference it made to your MPG if any?

Had the Truxedo low profile roll up for about 3 months now and have reluctantly come to the conclusion that it's made zero impact on my MPG, which is stubbornly stuck at 22.5. No complaints, that's pretty good, and must be a reflection of my amazingly precise and consistent driving style Just wondered if this is due to my tonneau being soft roll up rather than hard folding. Wondering what difference it made to your MPG if any?

Rumor has it that if you add a tailgate damper it will double fuel mileage.. But on a serious note, the tonneau cover made no difference for me either.

 

[moorejl57]

My Gator FX hard tonneau hasn't made any difference other my stuff is staying dry in rainy Oregon. I would guess other things like tires and tire pressure make a bigger difference.

 

[CB750F]

See above.

 

[Fordup]

Mine hasn't made a difference. Just 80 pounds less payload ?.

 

[RedDakooter05]

People still think these things affect mpg?



I've never noticed a difference in mine, but I don't care enough to go all mythbusters on it.

 

[Jamie Jack]

Saw a YouTube short of a fellow working on improved truck gas mileage. The research was leading to a long 6' to 8' downward tapering shell installed behind the tailgate. Didn't look aesthetically pleasing nor practical.

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