who here drives with their tailgate off?how much mpg's do you think you are gaining?

 

I used to, and will again after I buy a new net. I couldn't say what the gas mileage improvements were, but there were some. It was also "snappier", especially on the freeway.

Take care,
-Chris

 

Actually, in my owner's manual, it suggests always having the tailgate up at all times. First reason is aerodynamics. I know it doesn't sound right, but when the tailgate is down there is an increase in drag. This is because the air will go through the bed and swirl around the open tailgate causing a negative draft. The truck is designed to operate better with the tailgate closed.
Second reason is box stability. When the gate is open, the structural integrity of the bed is compromised. On backroads or highways, the bed walls will flex without the tailgate there. That will lead to unwanted stress to the sheetmetal as well as the support underneath. For example, my first truck was a 1979 F150 4x4. The bed was in great shape after 14 yrs of abuse but, the support boxes were severely destroyed underneath and the bed walls were actually falling away by 1 or 2 inches from where they originally were. This was partially due to the fact that the truck was driven a lot without the tailgate closed.
As for the sport nets, I've seen them but never thought they looked trustworthy. What people have done in some cases is weld a piece of angle iron from the top corner of the bed wall to the bed floor at the reaer of the bed. This would reinssure proper scructual strength. Not so sure about aerodynamics either. But I would have to agree with PKRWUD (coolname) that it would help on the highway beacause there is an open bed for a free flow and without the drag caused by an open tailgate.
The other option is a tonneau cover. They will get you the most efficiency and the way they are made now is very painless.
Hope this helped.......Good luck

 

Correct, thewhiteford!
There have been many posts on this, and all of them came to the same conclusion, leave 'er up, too much drag behind the cab when it is down. Makes the truck a little squirrely at speed, too, if you ask me.

 

Here is the answer to your question.

http://mars.acnet.wnec.edu/~ehaffner/did.htm

It is a scientific study of drag in a pickup truck. Very informative.