Alright let's settle this here and now!!

[Mandelon]

Pickups trucks on the freeway. For best mileage, is it........
Tailgate up or tailgate down??? :confused: :confused:

[framer1]

Probably down but you look so cheap when you do it:D

[Banshee]

I agree, down is best for mileage. A good alternative would be to get some sort of tonneau cover. Has the same effect and hides your cargo.

[Checkmate]

WRONG ANSWER...
There have been studies done and it has been proven that you get better gas mileage with the tailgate UP. It seems that the bed fills with air and creates some pressure to keep the incoming air out of the bed for the most part.
A tonneau cover was the best for fuel economy though.
Also, if you leave your gate down alot, your cables will break due to being jarred by bumps. Took my buddy a year and 5 cables to realize it.

[spectratoad]

I believe that the manufacturer puts their trucks in the wind tunnel and designs the aerodynamics with the tailgate up. I have heard that t-down affects the areo-d's and reduces mileage but who knows.

[hoolign]

down definitley down...425432 tailgates in the state of Montana yeah...I'm a very good driver yeah..,my dad used to let me drive with the tailgate up...yeah.....
:D

[Tom Brown]

I drove with a tailgate down for two years on two trucks. Someone told me it would help me get better fuel economy so I did it but never clocked it both ways.
Also, I understand that a driver wearing a white t-shirt with a pack of smokes stuffed in the shirt sleeve will get two MPG less than a driver wearing a cardigan.

[hoolign]

Hey Tom...how much for two??? one can fix the gelcoat the other can buff it out
(Free Havasu Barney...):D :D

[NorCal Gameshow]

Originally posted by Tom Brown
I drove with a tailgate down for two years on two trucks. Someone told me it would help me get better fuel economy so I did it but never clocked it both ways.
Also, I understand that a driver wearing a white t-shirt with a pack of smokes stuffed in the shirt sleeve will get two MPG less than a driver wearing a cardigan.
:D :D :D
tom, was that test done with the window up or down ?

[GlastronGuy]

Originally posted by Checkmate
WRONG ANSWER...
There have been studies done and it has been proven that you get better gas mileage with the tailgate UP. It seems that the bed fills with air and creates some pressure to keep the incoming air out of the bed for the most part.
A tonneau cover was the best for fuel economy though.
Also, if you leave your gate down alot, your cables will break due to being jarred by bumps. Took my buddy a year and 5 cables to realize it.
This is the correct answer.

[Mandelon]

Anybody over test it themselves? :D :D

[Checkmate]

It's somewhat ironic that one would post such a question on ***boat.
Seriously, let's try to save a few cents per mile in the truck and then go BURN through 20 gallons of fuel in a few in an hour or 2 at the lake / river.:D :D
Fuel---Burn it up, write it off.;) :p

[Tom Brown]

Originally posted by Mandelon
Anybody over test it themselves? :D :D
Hey... that's "Canatard" to you.

[Mandelon]

Good point. But if I save it on land I can blow it on water with a clear conscience. :D
--->Man----Drives with tailgate up----delon<----
A 460 in the truck and 454 in the boat...:rolleyes:

[Checkmate]

WOW, one minute you post says one thing, and the next thing it is different.:D

[Checkmate]

Originally posted by Tom Brown
Hey... that's "Canatard" to you.
Can a tard do what?

[spectratoad]

split personalities:D :D

[Kachina26]

Don't tell anyone, but I have gone both ways:D and the difference was tenths of an MPG. I don't even remember which way was better. But it seems to me that the manufacturers spent alot of time and $$ in the wind tunnels and have to meet strict fuel economy standards. If they could increase mileage with the tailgate down or by using the infamous net, that's what your pickup would come with (the net). Then you would have to buy a tailgate as an add on, like running boards.

[Checkmate]

Ohh yeah, they also tested those nets. They were worse than anything else. They did not hold the "air bubble" in, and they produced alot of drag.
It's all about the "he said, she said"
:cool:

[1RUMRUNNER]

My Ford addressed this in the manual and it said UP!:p

[460rogers]

Can't find it now but actually saw video of wind test on web.
They showed UP was better for air flow.

[Dusty Times]

Your boat should always be behind you when you are on the freeway (headed to the lake) so you should leave the tailgate up.

[HOSS]

Originally posted by Checkmate
WRONG ANSWER...
There have been studies done and it has been proven that you get better gas mileage with the tailgate UP. It seems that the bed fills with air and creates some pressure to keep the incoming air out of the bed for the most part.
A tonneau cover was the best for fuel economy though.
Also, if you leave your gate down alot, your cables will break due to being jarred by bumps. Took my buddy a year and 5 cables to realize it.
This is correct. Engineers and wind tunnel testing can not be wrong. But you still see ignorant ****s doing it. And there is a pressure bubble that forms and actually aids in aero dynamics. But you can explain this to people and they just can`t get past aero 101. So you leave them ignorant and in the dust. I use to run a Mazda SE-5 back in the late 80`s. I never saw any difference in mileage or speed. So I left the tailgate on because it looked so much better with it.

[Banshee]

Dam!
I hate to be wrong but i stand corrected!

[Freak]

Well
2002 F150 I have driven to PA. a 400 mile trip last month twice once with it up and once with it down and I have to say I get about 40miles extra per tank with that tail gate down with cruse set at 75. So......

[Freak]

Extra cab 6ft bed.

[Rexone]

I read also where you can actually gain up to 11 mph with the tailgate up. I think it was in "Educating Rural Kentuckians" Magazine some years back.

[OGShocker]

Originally posted by 1RUMRUNNER
My Ford addressed this in the manual and it said UP!:p
Your F.O.R.D manual also states somewhere...." Congratulations on our purchase of a new F.O.R.D product... Like they really mean that.:D j/k
______________________________________
Step up, fly high, now is the time for a BOWTIE!

[Freak]

Originally posted by OGShocker
Your F.O.R.D manual also states somewhere...." Congratulations on our purchase of a new F.O.R.D product... Like they really mean that.:D j/k
LOL...
______________________________________
Step up, fly high, now is the time for a BOWTIE!