Does leaving a tailgate down on a truck save fuel?

Answer 1

I had heard this for years, so I did a test. We have 4 pickups in the family. Everyone kept track of mileage over a 5000 mile period with the tailgate up and again for 5000 miles with it down. 2 were up at the start of the test and 2 were down so weather would not come into play. The results were that the tailgate up produced better mileage. If you watch your truck bed you will notice that not a lot of air really flows through there. The gate down creates more wind in the bed for some reason. The best results overall were by the 2 people that put a soft cover on the bed of the truck. They increased mileage over either of the previous tests.

Answer 2

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Does leaving a tailgate down on a truck save fuel?

Answer 3

Mythbusters Tailgate

Answer 4

This has been an issue of debate for some time. The Car Talk guys answered this question on their radio show a while back. They said that there is no conclusive evidence that proves or even suggests that leaving the tailgate down increases gas mileage.

Answer 5

NO NO NO NO! The tailgate creates a counter-clockwise/front-to-back wind current in the bed of the truck. The air then flows over the hood of the truck and the current in the back. Tailgate down actually creates MORE DRAG! Remember, the designers of trucks make their trucks as efficient as possible. THEY know what they're doing!

I was before chocolaho..., I'm just a slow typer.

Answer 6

Certainly does. I've been driving pick ups since '75. When the air come down over the cab with the tailgate up, it cause a drag because the air has to rise up over the tailgate. My 91 S10 has a campershell on it and the 98 S10 has a tonneau cover on the back. The 91 gets 1 mpg better with the camper shell on it. The 98 has had the tonneau cover on it since it was new. It is a 4cyl. 5 speed manual and I get 30+mpg on a trip!!

Answer 7

NO.

Watch Mythbusters on Discovery channel. They tested identical trucks with tailgate up and down and found that tailgate "up" had measurably better gas milegae.

They later verified the result with electronic equipment that measured fuel consumption in gallons per hour.

It has to do with the dead space in the box formed by the trunk. Air there is trapped and forms a rotating "bubble". Air passing over the truck slide over the "bubble" instead of dropping down into the bed of the truck. The effect is a reduction of drag. If you lay the gate down, the air passing over the cab of the truck drops down into the bed, creating a suction force that increases drag and lowerd fuel efficiency.

Go to www.mythbusters.com and you can see the details for yourself.

Answer 8

Yeah, look the thing up on Mythbusters. By leaving the tailgate down you basically ruin the aerodynamics of the truck (too hard to explain). You actually increase drag and decrease gas mileage by leaving your tailgate down.

Answer 9

lol is the glass half empty or half full ????

the fuel ratings for your truck are with the tailgate up, putting it down doesnt change it much, you want to save fuel, get a bed cover

Answer 10

No it does not, that was a crackpot theory from a while ago and it isn't true. It may be true on some very old trucks but new trucks are so aerodynamically tuned that it will actually make you get worse gas mileage.