..in the Tailgate section :innocentwhistle:
Fuel Economy Tip â€" Keep Your Tailgate Up
by Brian Carr
Today’s tip will probably come as a surprise to most of you, but will be especially useful for those of you who drive trucks.
Driving with your tailgate down doesn’t help you save gas.
I’ll be the first to admit, I bought into the notion that by having your truck’s tailgate down while you’re driving down the road (especially the highway) you would greatly increase your truck’s fuel economy. Apparently that just isn’t true.
According to several sites (Ask Yahoo! for example) state that you get roughly the same gas mileage driving with your tailgate up as you do when your tailgate is down.
According to the Ask Yahoo! article, this is the reason why:
“When the tailgate is raised, a “separated bubble†of stagnant air is formed in the bed of the pickup. Wind tends to swoosh over this bubble as though it were part of the truck. Lower the tailgate, and the bubble disappears, which leads to increased wind resistance.â€
So, get rid of that net you used to replace your tailgate and go ahead and drive around with your tailgate up!
Thanks, but I always try to keep my tailgate up. I feel so exposed when it is down. ;yes;
Jerry
http://www.scangauge.com/support/tailgate.shtml
Didn't mythbusters do a TV episode on the tailgate up vs tailgate down?
Brian
They sure did thats what got me interested n the subject :yoyo:
How did it pan out on MythBusters?
I still drop my gate when I have to drive across the states to get my daughters. I may just stop doing that :doh2: :laf:
'Anybody see MythBusters tailgate down v.s tailgate up episode? They drove two identicle F-150's the same way over the same stretch of road at the same time and found that the F150 with the tailgate down ran out of gas thirty miles before the one with the tailgate up.'
:eyebrow: Interesting
Perhaps you should forward this to Public Service of New Hampshire Nastyguns.
They run a fleet of small GMC Pick Up Trucks that have all had their tailgates removed and a cargo net installed in their place.
Obviously there was a cost involved in doing this, and the added fuel cost to run their fleet are both added into our electric bills, which are among the highest in the country.