I have a '97 F250 Light Duty 4x4 Supercab, 5.4L, auto. with 65,000 miles. I've been getting 14mpg, give or take a tenth or so, highway and some in town, but not much. I replaced the tailgate with a ProNet and my mileage has been 17+ over 2 fill-ups. I've never had any checks much over 15mpg before. Has anyone else seen anything comparable to this?

 

It's certainly within in the realm of possibility? Have you done anything else lately, like exhaust, or intake, or tune up related? I saw a nice increase with my hard tonneau, maybe the nets do work? Plus you have the added bonus of not having your tailgate stolen??,,,,98

 

I've done no mods whatsoever. The only thing done recently was replacement of coils on cylinders 6 & 7 due to failure, but I saw very little difference after that in the mileage.

 

Could be different fuel formula, my 99 Expy 5.4 will vary from 14.5 to 17 + highway, depending on where I buy fuel. Best mileage seems to come from fuel purchased in Nevada, worst in California, unfortunate since that’s where I live. Driving habits, of course weigh in heavily of course, they love running fast, but it sure increases their appetite.

 

Did yo get the net because you were going to freeway fly? I can get a 3-4 mpg jump on a tank that was used only for a trip at freeway speed with the cruse set.

 

A good way to verify would be to put the tailgate back on and go through 2 tanks and check the milage again...

 

pestco1, I haven't changed any driving habits. I thought it had to be a fluke after the first fill-up. After the second I was curious and made this post, because it didn't seem reasonable. B-man, good idea. I'll do a long term net test and put the tailgate on someday, I'm sure. I'll check it then to see if there is direct evidence to prove this much of a gain. The net is made like an American flag. Looks cool as heck on my bright red truck.

 

how long have you had your truck? my truck always loses 3 mpg in the fall and gains it back again in the spring. 2 factors; the outside temps and whether they're shoving the oxygenated gas down your throat . .

 

I don't think it's possible for the net alone to make that big a difference. Your mileage increased about 20%. No way the tailgate removal decreased your aerodynamic drag by 20%. Plus so many other things about the truck that effect mileage (tire rolling resistance, weight, engine friction, etc...) were unchanged.

IMO weather conditions, driving habits or fuel quality had a far bigger effect than the net.

For example, I recently did a long highway trip bucking a stiff headwind. Drove at about 77-80mph, and got 15.5 mpg. On the return trip the next day, no wind, different gas, drove about 75-77 mpg, and got almost 20 mpg.

 

Good points, guys. I bought the truck in October, so there may be a coincidence involved in this equation. I certainly couldn't believe the net would make so much difference. I'll keep track over a substantial period of time and see what happens. Thanks!

 

Here's an interesting link. Naturally this would vary some from one truck style to another, but overall it's probably fairly accurate.

Changing aero drag with accessories - Dodge truck

 

So, according to that study, if I read correctly, I should be getting worse mileage than before. It says tailgate replaced with mesh net creates more drag than baseline, which was with tailgate. Seems rather odd to me, but who am I to argue with science??????