Gas mileage with bed covered
 

Has anyone noticed any difference in gas mileage by covering the bed with a tonneau cover etc.

I'm now driving 82 miles round trip to work and am looking for anything to improve my gas mileage. (I should have bought those pills I saw advertised years ago allowing you to run your vehicle on water!!)

My dad owns a "other" and he just put his hard cover on last summer, he noticed at least 2 mpgs with it.

Yes, absolutely, I now average approx 20 mpg with my A.R.E LS11 hard cover. Before the cover I would average approx 17.5 mpg.

Thanks for the info. It sounds like a cover would pay for itself and look good too.

I get 2 to 3 MPG better with my A.R.E Hard Cover than I did without it!!!Lariat#1 https://www.f150online.com/f150board/smile.gif

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1997 Red/Silver F150 Lariat Flareside 3 Dr. SC..... ORP & Tow Package, Complete Lariat Option Package ,{APPEARANCE} AVS Carbon Fiber Headlite Covers, Tail Lite Slots & Door Sill Protectors,Owens Fg. Step Boards, Tinted Windows,Ford 2-Piece Bra,20" Chrome Exhaust Tips,A.R.E Bed Cover Lid,Pendaliner Inner Tail Gate Protector,Zie-Bart Total Paint & Under Coating W/ Sounder Deadener Protection, #1 Ford Truck Plate under glass on Front Bumper,Custom made Ford Red Window Decals,Blue Tinted Rear Lic. Plate Protector,Blue Billet Valve Stem Caps, Ford Chrome Hitch Receiver Cover {PERFORMANCE} 4.6L WINDSOR Auto, 3.55LS, 4-Wheel ABS,Platinum 3 Spark Plugs,K&N Air Filter W/ modified stock MAF side air box,Custom Cold Air Chamber (Dam) to keep hot air from K&N Air Filter,Tornado Air Man.,WMS Velocity Tube,Dual Exhaust System W/Stock Muffler,Performance Fiction Carbon Metallic Z-Rated Disc Brake Pads,Goodyear Wrangler A/TS Tires,55 Watt Halogen(replacement) Reverse Lites, Pilot 55 watt Halogen (add-on) Reverse Lites on Hitch under truck,Driving Lamps upgraded to 55 Watt Cool Blue Halogen Bulbs,Driving Lamps(Foglites) work W/ High Beams On & Driving Lamps(Foglites) also work (ON or OFF) W/ Park Lamps On W/Switched Relay {AUDIO} Stock In-Dash Cass. W/6 Disc Changer & 4 Stock Speakers,Trenz Billet #3 Antenna {SECURITY} Ford Total Security System W/ Motion Alarm All on factory Key Fob,Ford Warning Decals on Windows,A.R.E Cover & Hood also wired to Alarm System This is LARIAT#1..... IN The Great State Of Indiana "Where more than corn grows in Indiana".........http://hometown.aol.com/terrylariat1...page/auto.html A Very Proud Member of ...www.f150online.com


[This message has been edited by LARIAT1 (edited 01-28-2000).]

[This message has been edited by LARIAT1 (edited 01-28-2000).]

Hello All,

I am getting 2-3 MPG better with my
Sportmaster cover.
It also seems to handle better in wind and it is quieter with the windows rolled down on the highway.
All this and they look great too!



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Roger In DFW. Home of the 1999 Stanley Cup Champion ****Dallas Stars****
99 F-150 Sport XL Bright Red, 50 Series Flowmaster, Lower front valance painted to match truck!
99.5 L Wheels And Michelin Pilots 285/55/18

I am having a real hard time understanding just how a hard cover could increase your mileage by 2-3 mpg, or roughly 10-20%! I would belive 0.2 to 0.3 mpg.

When you drive your truck, where does the engergy from the fuel go? Several places.

1) Engine & transmission friction. It takes power to spin the motor and gears, alternator, etc... Adding a cover does not change the amount of power required to spin the motor and the accessories.

2) Rolling resitance - Pushing four tires and 4,500 pounds down the road takes power. A hard cover does not reduce the tire friction (increasing tire pressure would), and adds weight to the truck.

3) Overcoming wind resistance - The total amount of Aerodynamic drag has two components - Frontal Area and Drag Coefficient. The hard cover does not reduce your frontal area at all.

I acknowledge that the hard cover will slighlty improve the drag coefficient. But enought to increase your gas mileage by 10% to 20%?

No way.

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1999 XLT S/C, 4.2 V-6, auto, 3.55 rear, dark torreador red/harvest gold, bed liner, Sony 10 disc CD, Edelbrock IAS, K&N filter, Superchip

You might be surprised at how much wind the tailgate grabs. Everyone I have ever talked to said that by simply putting the gate down will add at least 1 mpg (while weakening the sides of the bed).

A hard cover just might lessen the drag on the truck to give the truck 1-2 mpg easily.

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2000 F-150 XLT, 4x2, 5.4L Supercab, Styleside, Black with silver two-tone, 3.55, class III towing package with heavy duty cooling package, 4 wheel disk ABS, overhead console, sliding rear window, keyless entry, dark graphite interior, in dash CD, Pendaliner bedliner, K&N air filter, rubberized undercoating, cabin filtration system, Bugflector II, 5W-30 Mobil 1, engine build 10/4/99

I can justify the tailgate down for at least 2mpg on my F-150. Try it yourself, you'll notice it!

I have a cover (and love it), and the MPG has gone up a little. But if you do 12,000 miles per year, the difference between 18MPG and 20MPG is 66 gallons per year. Don't plan on paying off your cover that way anytime soon.

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99 F-150 5.4L 4WD S/C XLT, 3.55LS and Tow
Pace-Edwards Roll Top Cover



[This message has been edited by dave_f (edited 01-29-2000).]