That quote wasn't mine..... that was someone else. And I want a smiley like the birdie smiley above where can I find that?

 

I stole it from another forum i visit...try savin it to your computer or somethin

 

The quote I quoted wasmis-quoted from above.... the computer saw the errant " [ / quote] and ended it there. I corrected it in my post now.... I was referencing the second part of your post.... sorry for the confusion.

-Joe

 

Hey, I think faster F 150 said he had never heard of a 30 gallon tank in a F150, guess what....I have a 97 F150 4x4 ext cab 4.6 5 speed, 8 foot box, 3.55 rear gears bone stock with a 30 gallon tank. I think the early F150's ext cab with 8 foot boxes came with a 30 gallon tank, maybe more I don't know...That's alot of gas!!!!!

 

A lot of the newer trucks have 30 gallon tanks and some with 37. I have tried the tailgate theory myself, and found out I do better with the tailgate up by about 2-3 gallons.

 

The 97-03 long-beds all came with 30. The short-beds and supercabs/supercrews came with a 25.

-Joe

 

I'm sure you are about to get some people saying that little bit of difference could be attributed to driving style and/or gas. But I'm not going to argue one way or the other because I think having your tailgate up is the way to go. Plus why would Ford put them there if it caused your fuel mileage to go down? Wouldn't they just put rails on them? They sure would save some money on fabrication and paint costs. Anyway, when it comes down to it riding around with your tailgate down makes you look like some idiot that buys into conspiracy theory's and garbage like that.

 

I wouldn't call it a conspiracy theory by any stretch. I just don't see how dragging a 24 x 60 board at a right angle to the airflow can DECREASE the drag on the vehicle. (Drag being the main factor the tailgate influences) Granted I've never had or seen a pickup in a wind tunnel either, but all I can go on is logic. I guess that's what it revolves around: What affect, if any, does the tailgate have on the drag forces on the vehicle? IMHO, THAT is what they should have looked at on Mythbusters.... but then again, by doing so, nobody runs out of gas and there's no theatrics involved in that type of test....

Just for the record, mine is up even with the tonneau cover off....

On a side note... remember the last wind tunnel they built? They were testing the whole bullet-hole through the plane window pressure difference.... (i.e. would the air blowing over the window generate a pressure differential).... was I the only person yelling at the screen that A) the window was oriented the wrong way with respect to the airflow, and B) The pressure differential varies with the square of the speed of the air, so the difference at 60 mph was not linear when extrapolated up to 300-500 that a plane flies at?!!? It seems like you should need to have at least TAKEN and PASSED an entry-level physics course to be on that show.... I always end up yelling at them at some point in the show..... do ANY of them even understand that you need to apply the force to the center of gravity to prevent the dummy from spinning out of control???? No concept of simple physics a lot of time....

[/rant off]

-Joe

 

My brother has a 2000 F-150, 4x4, regular cab, long bed, and it has a 30+gal. fuel tank.
I thought you knew everything about ford trucks? I guess not....

 

Just leave the dam tailgate up. If you are that worried about fuel economy then get a Geo Metro.

 

Thank you GIJoe, expy03, et al for putting the thread back on track. Me? I'm giving myself two demerits for "conduct unbecoming a senior member".

 

You know, when I mention to folks that I visit this message board, the stock response is, "Why? The members there are jerks."

Well, I guess that "Myth" has been CONFIRMED.

 

Well a lot of people are very short sighted. They don't have long and varied experiences and take uninformed positions and use no common sense let alone any technical sense.
These boards are open to the whole world so what you see is what you get.
It varies from such questions as "how can I cancel the CEL lamp and not fix anything" to people who spend tens of thousands on modified engines.
I have to wonder were these people are coming from in relation to the average.
One has no common sense, the other has more money to spend than brains.
Then again lots of post I don't even bother with.
Every board is like this.

 

For people that want to haul gravel maybe?

When I was younger and dumber, and still knew everything, I had no doubt that the tailgate created a drag effect. Besides, the thing weighed quite a bit, so removing it seemed like the only logical thing to do. I installed a net, and left my tailgate in the garage for a couple years. Once the net finally rotted through, I put the tailgate back on, and to my surprise, noticed better gas mileage. I didn't check to see exactly what the improvement was, but it was enough that I could tell by how long I could go between fill-ups.

In my truck, the way I drive it, and where I drive it, I get noticeably better gas mileage with the tailgate up. But that's just me.

 

Thats exactly why those that think the gas mileage will improve with the tailgate off should TAKE IT OFF and draw there own conclusions!

I'm sure that this in conjunction with a turbonator will improve MPG!