Quote:
Originally Posted by schaf921
Mythbusters did a show on this - they compared two trucks, one with tailgate down and one with tailgate up. The up tailgate formed a circular wind current in the front of the bed that provided more aerodynamics and increased MPH over the tailgate down. I would assume having the cover in place kills the aerodynamics formed as well. From their findings, I would say you should lose mileage with one installed
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I completely disagree as I had personal experience with said scenario. Mythbusters used a "fairly aerodynamic" small dodge pickup and drove at or below the speed limit. Who drives below the speed limit on the freeway? I drove around those small utility trucks around campus and it had a measly 3 cyl engine. Any extra power was perceived by the seat of your pants. Any drag upon the vehicle was immediately perceived. When I had the tailgate up... the truck would slow like I had my foot on the brakes where if I had the tailgate down my rate of deceleration was significantly slower.
I think they should retest at 60, 70, and 80 MPH. Also they should use some measurement tools to check how much lift is acted on the truck bed as I recall having the tailgate down caused the back end to lift at high speeds.