you always get better mileage with the tailgate UP. With the tailgate down the wind or air moving over the gate pushes the back of the truck down and causes the engine to have to work harder to move the truck . Always leave your gate up if possible.

 

Old thread, already been covered but welcome aboard.

 

I remember Consumer Reports covering this in the 1980s. Yet their results DID support the tailgate down arguement-sort of. They compared Dodge-Chevy-Ford pickups with the same bed length and did an up/down comparison.

I think they said Dodge was unmeasurable, and there was a .5-1 mpg improvement in the Chevy-Ford [I don't remember which truck was .5 and which was 1] with the tailgate DOWN.

I wonder if the designs have really changed that much or if we should just ignore Consumer Reports due to flawed testing methodology?

I know this is an old thread, but I didn't see any mention of C.R. anywhere. I don't have a subscription, but I was in high school, so that would be between '84 and '88 [add a year either direction for my reading habits].

It appears some people MIGHT be following old Consumer Reports suggestions, not just 'wives tales'.