30 years ago when I was new product manager at Warn Industries we ran extensive instrumented tests with and without tonneau covers and got pretty close to the same results as you did. This validates your "real world " testing methods. Good job. FYI we also got a similar improvement with a roof level bed cap.
Two things - first, a truck from 30 years ago had a lot less aero development so it would be interesting to do actual instrumented testing on modern trucks to see if this still holds true. Second, that cab height bed cap (topper, shell, canopy, whatever you want to call it) will only help/not hurt if it's one of the highly styled fiberglass units that perfectly matches the cab contours. On my '22 3.0 duramax 1500 I added an aluminum ARE DCU cap (work style) and it has much more vertical sides causing it to stick out significantly wider than the top part of the cab. It ended up costing me about 4 mpg on the highway, taking me from lower 30s to upper 20s. Unfortunately I haven't found anybody who makes a fairing that will smooth that transition so I may end up trying to build a custom fiberglass piece myself to see if I can get some of my aero back.
@@limprooster3253 not double, but significantly more at the moment than in the past with a much larger differential between gas and diesel than usual. Though historically it's been about the same as premium here in California where I am.
@working_country ___ I should note that on mine I removed the ladder rack and added an internal JET ladder rack to help with the aero a bit. And yeah, the economy of the baby-max is the ONLY reason I bought a GM truck (first time). Can't argue with it. I average about 25K/year so that was important. Sure beats the heck out of the 13 mpg my NV2500 does AND it tows/drives better (though it's far less practical for my work)
The tonneau saves about $9/tank, $20/mo, or about $240/yr. Over the course of your loan, you saved over $1,000. Minus the $200 for a cheap tonneau and you netted $800. That's nearly a free PS5 Pro Disc drive with stand.
@YoursInYeshua 20/month? Man idk i full up like 4-5 times a month. Gotta be closer to 50ish a month for me, which is over a half a tank in savings per month. I know I drive a lot lmao. Usually around 30k/year. Mostly commuting to work but I also gonna out for drives to enjoy myself on the weekends, or go to visit one of my friends, which half of them live 1 hour plus from me so like, yeah. This could definietly help me with all the highway driving I do
I remember my Dad doing this with his old 4x4 Silverado long bed with the 350. He picked up a folding hard tonneau cover, programmer, and even bought lighter wheels. But his result was about the same. He saw a couple more MPG with the cover and the wheels and computer maybe added 1mpg. Manufacturers really do have these things optimized out of the box pretty well.
It's all Government regulated they have to meet a certain fuel economy thresholds and it gets increased every so often. Plus it's a better selling point for them to brag about having a good fuel rating so yeah they're going to invest some money to make their vehicles fuel efficient.
The wheels probably did the most, those tonneau covers interrupt the airflow that were designed by the manufacturers. The bed of the truck actually creates a vortex effect that actually moves the air over the bed quicker than when you block it up with a tonneau cover I guarantee you those Wheels were the best things your dad did to make a difference in MPG
A difference of +2 MPG on a truck is much more significant than for a car or small CUV. Going from an average of 15 to 17 is an increase of 13%, while going from 30 to 32 is only 7%. Driving 15,000 miles, going from 15 to 17 MPG would use 118 gallons less fuel, while going from 30-32 would only save 31 gallons.
The fuel tycoons will not allow vehicles to be manufactured with their actual optimum fuel consumption. We burn so much more fuel than we actually need to
Same. I bought a similar tonneau cover that they used for my Tacoma and love it! So easy to take off and on, and my bed is covered when need be. Any Xtra mpg is just a plus and not why I got it.
Exactly, I would still get a cover for mine as I have done, that's lockable and hard material as the utility side of it is far outweighs the negatives of any MPG loss possible, it's essentially a huge trunk when I go on road trips for coolers, luggage, and anything else that I would not be able to do without extensive use of tarps and garbage bags to keep from the elements. I've heard so many people say they couldn't use a cover because they use their bed, I have no idea how they can see this.
I remember a similar test where they determined that replacing the tail gate with a net hurts fuel economy (when people buy them specifically to improve mpg). The takeaway was that with the lift gate, you get a pocket of air in the rear making a constant circle, and the airflow over the top of the truck is improved. That doesn't have anything to do with tonneau covers other than to illustrate that aerodynamics is not always what we think they are.
@@sonsofliberty3081 No it doesn't effect larger trucks more and 4wd doesn't matter as it doesn't change the aerodynamics of the truck.. I tested my full size long bed and it was about 1 mpg difference. That could easily just be me driving or wind etc. These covers can be great for storage or securing items in the bed but the efficiency thing has been debunked many times...
Replacing the tailgate with a net helped fuel economy in the Mythbusters test precisely because the net maintained the pocket of air while losing weight. It was removing the tailgate entirely that hurt fuel economy.
This is very overlooked and ignored by most people looking to improve fuel economy. People don’t want to change their habits and would rather pay lots of money for minimal gains when just changing driving habits would yield HUGE returns.
I found that coasting (not using the brake until roughly 30mph) saves a lot more fuel, than slow accelerating. Though long coasting isn't easy to predict or time correctly, while slow accelerating is extremely easy to control. (both will piss off the guy tailgating u, though.)
I work in transportation and this is our biggest coaching point to DOT drivers. It’s all about easing into the throttle and don’t get in a hurry. And coast to red lights so it might turn green before you come to a complete stop and lose all momentum
Installed a hard aluminum GMC option tonneau cover on my 04 GMC in 06. Never garaged and 12 miles from Atlantic shoreline. Keeps stuff in the bed somewhat safe from weather, and probably helps fuel consumption. At 50 plus mph, when I have a cartop carrier on the cab, the vortex coming off the cab lifts the tonneau up about six inches. Truck has 200k on it now.
When Andre was talking about which cover was best, the stiff one, I just knew Nathan was going to mention something about the stiff stubby. Yeah, my tonneau cover is worth it even if I lost a few MPGs just in the utility of being able to lock stuff in my bed mostly secure.
I remember seeing a video somewhere that actually explained the inverse. The cover actually hindered aerodynamics because the empty bed creates a vortex of wind that essentially pushes the air back up as it comes over the cab and reduces drag. I don’t know the physics behind it but the video I watched did explain it.
Myth busters was tailgate down vs tailgate up. They proved tailgate down was worse than up. Tonneau covers create better aerodynamics than air pocket vortex’s.
I saw Mythbusters did a segment on that once and I think they did something wrong and/or missed a variable somewhere (ambient wind speed, temperature, tire pressure, maybe misfire, etc). Easy way to tell is that, when you see a pickup with a cloth tailgate (not as common these days as it previously was), which way does the tailgate bow? It always bows towards the back, which means there's drag pulling the tailgate backwards. Therefore, if there's drag pulling the tailgate back, where would the 'forward push' come from? If there's a 'vortex' pushing the truck forward, wouldn't that be pushing forward on the tailgate instead of pulling backwards?
@Kcducttaper1 it's been wind tunnel smoke tested a small percentage of the air is caught by the tailgate and it creates a roller to push other air over the tailgate the tunnel cover creates a downforce effect because of the lack of a roll from the tailgate think about the design of supertrucks they don't use a wing because the shape of the truck does it for them
@@Kcducttaper1 There will always be forces pushing against the vehicle. Sometimes you see a spoiler on a car and wonder how that could increase mileage. You are trying to make a round bubble of air to go around the truck, so the force against the tailgate, makes a bubble that decreases the vacuum force against the back window, therefore creating a sloped back airflow that in turn decreases the rear vacuum on the tailgate. It is all pretty complicated and sometimes does not make sense. This is why there is extensive wind tunnel tests because just the look of it does not tell the whole story.
I gained just over 1 mpg on my Tundra and its so nice being able to put items in the bed out of the elements. They definitely are worth the investment and will pay for themselves over time.
Same thing on my 2014 Tundra. Also, get an AFE air filter for the engine. I picked up close to 1mpg just using that as well. Don't use a brush guard or bull guard (whatever u want to call it). That negates the whole thing lol. I had one and my range dropped from about 387miles per tank to 340's-350's. Took it off and my mpg went back up.
@@Krunch2020 You think Tundra mileage is bad? Try a Tacoma with the 4.0 or 3.5 V6. Horrible mileage my 07 with the 4.0 gets 12mpg on a good day driving with a feather foot.
Mythbusters did a test with the tailgate up or down . They found the tailgate down to be less fuel efficient. They put models in a wind tunnel and actually found more drag with the tailgate down.
Good to see Nathan in this video, as I was starting to wonder when he would be featured again. Great video that demonstrated the aerodynamic effectiveness of the tonneau cover.
P.S. We also did a little testing with the tailgate up and down or removed. Leaving the tailgate up was measurably better. My only qualifier is that they pay a lot more attention to aerodynamic efficiency today than they did 30 years ago so your results may vary.
One of the X-planes NASA tested (X21) used a wing with small holes drilled into it. The holes were used to suck in air, delaying boundary layer separation and thus the onset of (drag-heavy) turbulent flow. They found the idea worked, and both drag was reduced and lift increased. But the extra fuel needed to carry the weight of the suction mechanism exceeded the fuel savings improved better laminar flow. That may have been the case for planes, but I've always wondered how the idea would fare on cars.
I did a real world (ie. unscientific) on a '94 Silverado with my 82 mile commute, tailgate up or down. A full tank either way, and the results were essential no difference. So I ran with the tailgate up cuz I did not like how the buffeting in the cab was with the rear slider window open with the tailgate down. And with the tailgate down the bed sides are unsupported.
@@paulwoodman5131 I’ve also done the same test on an over 1000 mile roadtrip. One way tailgate up, return tailgate down. The difference was something like 0.2mpg difference. Basically no difference.
This is my first year with a tonneau cover, an aluminum hard folding cover on a 2021 4WD Ford Ranger. I've used fiberglass caps on all my trucks for nearly 35 years and have always gained about 10%, over factory-estimated MPG, year round, driving 30K miles a year in summer and winter in New England driving. The new tonneau cover will have to wait for a full report. So far, so good, thus far.
8.2% increased range. Not bad, nice Tonneau you purchased assembled in Ann Arbor MI. During an SAE coast down test, we have seen that the HArd Tonneau performs slightly better, so you might see up to 10% improvement.
With that low of a sample size (miles), I would take the test with a big grain of salt. Add a sampling error to it and you’d end up with a spread of -10 to +20 probably at least.
@@HAHA.GoodMeme Weight would only make a difference during acceleration and climbing hills. And likely would not be able to off set the benefits of the MPG increases of the rigid cover. I personally seen a 2 MPG increase with a solid cover and a 1.6MPG increase with the original soft over none at all with my F150
@@josezapata8793 They did the same run twice, so even if GPS was off in terms of reporting the precise mileage covered, one run used more gas and one run used less meaning the comparison was still valid.
@@ralpheisenbath103 When the pickup craze first started I thought there were two reasons for it. First, in my state at that time, pickup license fees were FAR less than cars'. Second, all the cars had become wedge-shaped. You couldn't tell a Chevy from a Ford from a Honda. Pickups still had- and still have- distinctive styling.
I have a soft tonneau cover on my F-150 and I love it. It's nice to have things in the bed and know they won't get wet. It also keeps stuff out of sight as well. One of the nicest things is people won't use my bed as a dumpster.
Who remembers the episode on "Mythbusters" where they concluded that the tonneau cover actually works against you. Or was it removing the tailgate? I wish I could remember...
It was the tailgate down (or maybe removed completely). It did not help because modern trucks are designed so the air comes off the top of the cab, down into the bed [tailgate up] and creates a "vortex/air bubble" (it's been a long time I can't remember specifics) that makes the air pass over said "vortex/bubble." Without the tailgate up, that air just created downforce on the rear and hurt gas mileage.
Very nice test guys! Now please go run this test again with a crew cab truck! As these days most of us now run crew cab trucks, we want to see if this still holds up when you have that longer cab, and if that changes the air flow in a way that changes the outcome of your test!
You should always run the first test again at the end, as sort of an “error of measurement “ or repeatability validation. In this case, run the toneau cover again after the second test. If you again see 21 mpg , then you can confirm your test repeatability.
You know they don't really need to, manufacturers have these funny lil things called wind tunnels and they tend to test this stuff out and long long long time ago they determined that the beds of trucks actually create a vortex effect when going down the highway or down the road in general that moves the air over the bed quicker without a cover. Hell even MythBusters proved this 10 years ago
great video guys. you managed to answer one of the great mysteries of the universe.....good job. keeping your items dry and out of sight makes it well worth the money spent. I got mine in the factory order for my 22 Rebel Echo-diesel.
I put the Truxedo pro15x on my truck and it’s the best soft cover I’ve ever had. The material is like convertible top material. I didn’t think about the gas mileage it was to keep stuff dry and snow out of bed
I noticed a measurable difference in my gladiator when I added the tonneau cover, but I went with a $250 cheap cover. However, the biggest difference is when I just drive slower!
The cover I just installed on my truck today cost $228 off Amazon and install was easier than I thought it would be. Never installed one before. Took about an hour in no hurry and with an occasional pause to drink beer and think about things. We'll see how it holds up over time, but for now it looks beautiful, seems super solid, and I'm very happy with it. Shop around. You don't always need to spend a lot of money to get something good. And why would you drive slower, grandpa? WTH is wrong with you?! 🙂
People don't understand that aerodynamic drag increases with the square of the speed. My 2022 Ranger gets 30mpg at 60mph and 24mpg at 70mph. On backroad highways I get 33mpg. It's fun getting those numbers in 4500lb truck.
@Brian424 is it Tyger brand? I'm looking at their soft roll up for my Mojave. I had a bakflip hard tonneau on my Ram years back. It was a pain and limited the bed space on larger items.
I had a 2007 "Stubby," loved that truck. My Dodge had the 4.7l V8, though. I also got better fuel mileage with the tonneau cover on. I also noticed with the tonneau off or open, I could feel the crosswinds blowing me around a bit more. With an upgraded air intake, exhaust with new Y-pipe and the tonneau I gained about 2 mpg. It also pulled and sounded better.
So I'm weird and decided to break the cost of upgrades and mpg improvement. I'm using the cost number of $2,000 to do your upgrades and $3.00 per gallon of gas(my current cost). Using your 2mpg improvement and 500 mile intervals. I have calculated that it took you approximately 133,333 miles to break even. It's still worth it because more power and great sounding exhaust rules. I promise I'm fun at parties.
My last trip in my truck that is almost exactly like yours, speed made a huge difference. In one direction I wasn't in a hurry and pretty much went no more than 5 mph over the speed limit. The truck said I was getting close to 23 mpg. Returning I went faster, and the truck said I was getting around 20 mpg. Filling up I calculated 19.5 mpg.
I find it funny that only GM trucks underestimate fuel economy while Ford and Ram over estimate. Not an absolute, but it seems to pop up as true frequently
The MPG graphic bar pegs out on mine when going between 30-50mph (need to coerce the trans to go into 8th gear and stay there, though.) at 60 it'll dip below the 25 mpg range. At 75 it's somewhere at 22 mpg (hard to tell because the graphic bar isn't much of a visual aid). It's main MPG loss is sitting at red lights, and drivethrus, though (8 cylinders be hungry at idle and completely kills the average.) The average that is displayed in text form, seems to be based on about 40 miles... but that's only a guess on my part. Just basing it on how quickly the tenth place moves to the next number, either up or down. '19 crew, Warlock 5.7, with 3.2 gears,
This is a huge thing with trucks, anything over 65 and your mileage starts going down significantly. I’ve got a 2004 Silverado that gets 15mpg at 65, 14mpg at 70, 12-13 at 75, and 10-11 at 80
I wonder if I’m the only one who trusts the computer more than your fill up technique? I know I’ve had a lot of vehicles over the years that were not consistent at all on fill up. From a Mustang GT to a Honda Civic. They varied wildly at times using the exact same technique each time.
I had a 2019 Honda Insight EX hybrid before selling it to my son to buy my Nissan Frontier and the Honda's in car mpg was very accurate. My truck on the other hand is usually 1 to 1.5 mpg off.
I drove exactly the same kind of truck (same engine/trans/cab/bed, but 2018 model and it was blue) with a cover in May 2022 from NOLA - Little Rock - Austin - Alpine - Carlsbad - Bisbee - Phoenix - Joshua Tree - Bakersfield - Sacramento, at or slightly above posted speed limits, and got 21.84 mpg overall. Good validation of half of your data.
I know you guys mentioned the wind was the same. But if you play the beginning of video, you will notice there is almost no wind as opposed to the end where steady wind is a lot more evident. I have learned from 13 years of driving from Vegas to California and back that even a little steady wind eats a noticeable amount of mpg.
Great test, always good to circle back with this proven method. I always either used a bed cap or a bed cover with my pick ups and I tell ya, it makes them slippery as a popsicle!
Easy and fun test! I'll probably be carpenting my own to my old pickup😆 Don't think it's in the shelves anymore, at least in Norway. 20 year old low slow diesel HiLux/SR5.
If the improvement could be measured in actual mpg testing and there was a 1mpg improvement then every truck would come standard with one. Yet another flaw in the testing that allows the highway mpg test to average 48 mph... The best thing I did for mpg was I stopped driving 10 mph over the limit everywhere I went. Those 10 mph cost almost 4 mpg.
Back in the 70's the speed limit was lowered to 55 everywhere. My uncle said he lost mileage in his '69 Malibu. Then, I bought my brother's '70 Elcamino and the tail pipe was always black but, if I took it out and did 70 mph for only two miles the tailpipes were nice and gray. I mentioned to my uncle and he had the same thing with his car. They were made to run 70 mph and 55 mph kept the carbs in the "transition" stage, between the idle circuit and the cruise circuit. I'm sure it would've been a different story with FI and O2 sensors.
You're not kidding. My car doesn't lose as much MPG but my truck with the GM 3.0 diesel, I get easily 30MPG or more going 65. It drops under 30 going 70 and I'll see around 26 going 80.
This. I drive a truck for a living so I’m versed in get fuel mileage. I drive my pickup the same way and get better mileage than most people do in their cars. There’s a reason why.
I'm a car guy, but I can vouch for the MPG gain by decreasing speed. My last car did about 4-5 MPG better doing 60 in a 55 zone, to and from work opposed to 70mph. And the distance to and from work, only cost me about 2-4 mins of travel time. It made sense since I'm not in a hurry to get to work an extra 4 mins early to save what equaled about 1 gallon a week. I logged everything for a few months testing out both speeds, and feel pretty confident in the results I got. Got a new car last month, doing the same testing phase now to see where the sweet spot is with this one. Maybe there is no difference between 60 and 70mph but time will tell.
Good accurate vid. I thought their numbers would be BS, but ive had the exact same increase (1.5 to 2 mpg) in my 5.7 ram quad cab 4wd 6'4 bed. Its a slow ROI, but it legit helps and is practical regardless. With any front or side wind these really help! You could "feel" the air grabbing the truck and it dow shifting to keep speed before the cover. Its a smart buy, id do it again.
My primary purpose for purchasing my hard cover was to keep valuable items out of sight of people who don’t own them (thieves). I feel much better with the cover. I’m getting about the same mileage with or without it. Only downside is I lost a little payload.
I remember driving my 1996 GMC Sonoma from central Kansas to DIA for a flight several years ago. The kitchen floor of a house was being replaced, all of the plywood underlayment was being scrapped. I made a makeshift toneau cover using the discarded underlayment as a fuel economy experiment, since it wouldn't add any significant weight, I figured I could only gain efficiency. I don't remember if it was a significant improvement though.
Thank you so much for doing this test and validating the MPG increase one can experience when installing a tonneau on their pickup. And I bet the increase would be even more pronounced on a long bed pickup. I had pretty much the same results with a 2008 Toyota Tundra Crewmax 4x4 (5.7 engine) I bought new and had for 12 years...and wish I never sold BTW. On stock tires I would see approximately 16 MPG combined. Not bad considering the sticker was 13 city and 17 highway. 4 years into ownership I replaced the tires with BFG All-Terrian KO's. They were the stock size but Load Range E, so about 20 lbs. per tire heavier than stock. That instantly dropped my MPG by about 2. Months later I installed a soft roll-up tonneau and gained back 1.5 MPG. When I wore out the BFG's I replaced them with stock load range rated tires (again stock size) and got back the 2 MPG I lost with those heavy E rated tires that I didn't need anyway with a 1/2 ton truck. Over the years people have been skeptical of this story, but WE all know better. You guys are the best!
Good day Huntmachine I am from Ont. R u saying that LT tires even thought u can put more psi in gave u poor gas milage than regular tires. Interesting. Thanks
Buddy people much more official than these guys have tested tonneau covers including the very manufacturer of these vehicles. Tonneau covers do not increase your mile per gallon what they do is make you drive more carefully and slightly slower because you consciously put a device on your truck to try and save gas, it's literally the fact that you are now purposely trying to save gas that saves you the gas. Lighter tires did the most to save your MPG. Putting the tonneau cover on actually interrupts the air flow when moving down the highway or the road in general. When you have an open bed in a truck it creates a swirling vortex effect in the bed that actually moves the air over the back of the truck faster than if there is a cover there, so no it has been thoroughly proven that tonneau covers themselves only damage your MPG. But they may trick u into driving more carefully, thus making your mpg go up slightly. A great reference to look at this would be going to RUclips mythbusters tonneau cover.
So glad you guys did this test - thank you so much! Can't tell you how many people I've run into over the years that think that a Tonneau cover for a P/U bed doesn't actually do anything. The same simple aerodynamic forces that work against aircraft, also work against vehicles. Chief among which: Drag. I think some of the same people who still don't believe this are the same ones who think Super Unleaded is a waste of money. I've had about 9 cars in the last 36 years of driving. Used Super Unleaded in all of them. Fuel Injectors I've needed to replace: Zero.
I like the way you are being methodical with your testing. well thought out. I do have a real pet peeve, with anyone, that does not tie down the load in the back of their trucks. I have seen fatal accidents caused by things coming out of the beds that were not properly secured! Please think of others and TIE DOWN ALL OF YOUR LOADS!!!! The few minutes it takes to tie down, will save someone's life. Thank you!
Great video! Market it to be used by tonneau cover manufacturers for royalties. I think they work best on beds over 6' but are less impactful on beds shorter then 6'.
Unfortently the manufacturers already done the test. Real truck (owns extang, undercover, are, bak, and a ton more) has done the test quite a bit. That's why extang trifectas claim to save gas right in the box. I use to work for the company and seen the test and had done them before to get a free cover for my bed when I use to work for it.
I agree, but they did get a positive result with a shorter bed! Proof, that covering a truck bed helps. The problem with an un-covered bed, is that it offers another surface with pressure on the forward side, and vacuum on the back side. (The tail gate) In a regular car, you only have the front of the car and the back of the car. Putting a cover over the bed makes the truck more like a car, by denying airflow to the inside of the tailgate.
In 88 when GM came out with new aero pickups, showed data that a short bed cover filling in just the forward 1/3 of the cabin broke up the air resistance and improved gas mileage the most followed by a full cover. Then next on the line was taking off the tailgate and lastly doing nothing.
When GMC took their then new Syclone pickup to Salt Lake for speed records they put the intercooler where the tailgate was and put a bed cover on the rear 2/3 of the bed leaving the front 1/3 of the bed open for cooling air to enter the box under the rear cover and out the coolers at the back of the box. This helps fill in the low pressure area directly behind the box, reducing the suction acting on the truck that increases drag. I always wondered I this would work in real life truck.
It's probably the same reason as when the tailgate is down it's slightly worse. When the gate is up or the tonneau cover is off there's a vortex of air horizontally circulating in the box keeping the air flow moving over it making the truck more aerodynamic. Theres a video somewhere else explaining it in full.
i wonder if the bed length (short) makes a distinct difference. that said, some aerodynamic studies have shown that the bed doesnt make a significant impact as these things are bricks on the road in front and that's the main aerodynamic issue. that said, I have had fabric and wood covers on my truck bed and I can see wind pushing down on them at highway speeds, so there must be some benefit to having them. at least i want the think so, like Nathan and Andre do. MORE NATHAN!
Myth Busters tried this several years ago. cover on and off, gate up, gate down. No cover with only the gator net. I believe the best mileage was recorded with the gator net.
I towed a couple of different trailers with my cover both open and closed. The fuel economy was noticeable for sure but the turbalance even more so when towing and open. With a flat faced U-Haul trailer, that much more turnalance as one would expect from a flat faced trailer.
I've not owned a pickup without a tonneau cover since my '89 S10. Well worth the investment- well, except the Peragon cover I had on a '08 Dodge Ram- the design negated use of the front 1/3 of the bed, unless you crawled under the cover to reach cargo stored there. Watching these videos really makes me miss my '15 Ram Black Express single cab. What a great truck that was.
i can see a slight difference in my 17 with the cover on. i just bought it for storage though. i can lock the truck and my stuff is dry and secure. mine is a trifold hard cover weight about 60 lbs. i have had trucks it didnt affect at all. the two long beds i saw no change. so it just depends on the truck. my dads short bed 01 chevy drives like a different truck when you close his. like you took weight out of it. i guess its how the air beats down on it.
Good job! I was happy to see that you ran your test at real highway speeds. Many years ago, when Mythbusters was a big thing on TV, they ran pretty much the same test. But, and this is a big difference, they held the truck speed to something like 40 mph. They saw no difference in mpg. However, what they didn't account for, was that aerodynamics doesn't begin to really produce significant aerodynamic drag until vehicle speed exceeds 45 mph. So Mythbusters' test was totally invalid. I recall that Mythbusters also ran a similar test to determine if it was more economical to run the air conditioner vs. just rolling the windows down. Of course at 40 mph it was more economical to roll the windows down, as the engine no longer had to put out extra power to run the air conditioner compressor. But at 50 mph or so, and higher, the air conditional saved you money - all you have to do is run at high speeds with the windows down and you can feel the wind buffeting slow the vehicle down. Mythbusters was usually pretty lame. The only thing that made that show worth watching was Kari Byron.
Good video. Would also be useful to see more of this kind of thing on the EV channel how to make EV trucks more efficient. For example, what about tonneau versus bed cap, with and w/out towing? Also I think a bed cap the height of the trailer improves efficiency, would be interesting to see this tested.
With my current gas truck, the cap is worse economy than the open bed. Weight is bad, plus the big square back is a problem (why you see 18 wheelers with a cone on the back doors).
I've had tonneau covers and/and or canopies on every truck I've had since the mid 80's. I've never noticed much (if any) mileage difference on any of them, and I keep detailed records of fuel fill-ups and mileage. I would like to see a longer term test with both for better results, as even just one full tank of gas isn't much of a test to me.
Mythbusters did this test with and without a tonneau cover and with just the tailgate down. They concluded tailgate up and no cover was the best. The high pressure air flowed over the low pressure air 'in the bed' more efficiently.
Added a RETRAX bed cover to my RAM Limited. Didn't notice a significant difference either way. I suppose I may have gotten the same results as them were I actually measuring before and after.
Well, the thing is if you're spending $2,000 on a tonneau cover to save 28 cents a gallon, it's not worth it. Of course the tonneau cover has extra features like securing your items in the bed, which allows you to keep more stuff in the bed, which decreases your miles per gallon anyway. It's a vicious cycle.
@@randobot6814 yep I didn't spend the money to save on fuel. The best thing you can do to save fuel is to change your driving habits. That will have the biggest impact. I spent the $2K because it's the bed cover I wanted and I could afford it. The covers like they used are just fine and I have had them as well. Point is that under most circumstances a bed cover will have little impact on performance.
@@JHuffPhoto yeah I'm shopping for them also. They're great for keeping things dry and secure. This video would like people to believe they're gonna save a lot of money though. Have a Merry Christmas!
The only reason i got a tonneau cover for my TrailBoss is because when i open my back slide window, all the dirt and stuff fly inside. if the truck bed is open
Mythbusters did a similar test, but used an open tailgate versus a closed tailgate. Surprisingly, a closed tailgate is more efficient; it creates a swirling high speed , low pressure vortex that acts similarly to a solid barrier against the passing air. It was similar to them having a camper shell on the back kinda, but it only worked with the tailgate up, and at highway speeds.
I think it only somewhat works if you have a light weight already somewhat fuel efficient truck that has a certain power to weight ratio already. So if you remove a little bit of drag at a certain rpm depending on your gearing and transmission size it could squeeze by a couple more mpgs. I personally have a 2018 GMC Sierra 3500 crew cab long bed sle 4x4 6.0l gasser, 4.10 rear end 6 speed transmission truck is pushing 7k pounds and basically is a brick of a truck. When I put my tonneau cover on I really didn't notice any difference. But with a gas guzzling 6 litre v8 that weights 7k pounds I don't think saving a small coefficient in wind drag really matters. At highway speeds it's going to stay in 6th gear at whatever rpm anyway because it needs to. In a lightweight single cab truck like this ram with 8 speed transmission (I think) and a small v6 motor I could understand that making it a little slipperier could improve fuel economy. My truck would need a very large diet to make a difference in the power to weight ratio. A lot of the comments I see here are half tons and 1/4 ton trucks saying they noticed a difference which makes sense. HD trucks don't have enough play in their numbers to matter.
Pretty much everything that you just wrote there is nonsense you're not taking away drag with a tonneau cover, you're increasing drag. The bed creates a vortex effect with the air when moving, it actually moves the air over the bed quicker without a tonneau cover. The people that put a tonneau cover on their truck specifically to get better gas mileage are only receiving better gas mileage cuz they are now consciously driving better safer slower which does in fact net them better MPG no matter the size of truck. And if you have your HD truck lowered and a skirt put on the front you will notice an increase in mile per gallon I don't care if it's an HD or super duty.
@seanbutler2291 I mean that's probably true about the tonneau cover not actually helping I think that's what Mythbusters already proved. But I still stand by my idea that a little bit of drag isn't really going to do much on a heavy v8 truck. I've had my truck a 2018 GMC Sierra 3500 crew cab long bed sle 4x4 with the 6.0l gasser and the fuel economy is basically the same as my other 2018 2500 crew cab long bed 4x4 work truck and I've driven a 6.0l work van chevy 2004 granted with 300k miles on it back when I was a kid we had a 2001 Yukon XL 2500 6.0l 4x4 they all get basically the same fuel economy about 12 to 16 mpg highway with all different body styles of truck or suv or van. Even the camaros with the 6.0l I don't think got much over 20 on the highway. Unfortunately when you start talking about my truck basically 7k pounds biggest gas truck you can basically buy I don't think there's much that could help the fuel economy, maybe lower it like you said but I've never tried that. There's only so much that physics can allow with a larger v8. I've gotten as low as like 3.8 mpg pulling my 36' 14k pound fifth wheel but that was doing 80 to 90 mph down the highway lol
@@seanbutler2291The creation and maintenance of that vortex requires energy so if adding a cover creates a similar effect (smoothes the airflow) then it could be a win. I think the OP's point that a small improvement can turn into a big one if it happens to allow you to run in a taller gear is valid.
I have a 5.7 Hemi in a Ram 1500. Drove 1000 miles to Florida from New Jersey with the Mopar tonneau cover on my truck. On the way back, I drove without the tonneau cover. Nothing in the bed either trip. The gas mileage was the same.
I’ve got a 2022 Ram 1500 quad cab HEMI with 3.21 gears and have been averaging right at 20 mpg on the highway while doing the speed limit. If I just slow down and don’t use cruise control then 23 mpg is not hard to get.
@@rowerwet it all depends on your driving style. I’ve been hypermiling cars for many many years so I’ve learned how to strategically vary my speed to maximize fuel economy.
Since you're testing aerodynamics, windy conditions are actually desirable, as long as the wind is consistent. It would be interesting, to try a truck bed topper, where the top of the shell is level with the roof of the cab, rather than just covering the bed. (If you've tried this in another video, I haven't seen it)
Normally, you'll only see a 2% to 3% difference with with a Tonneau Cover. I wonder whether the direction of the wind could also have had an impact (i.e., a Tonneau Cover might help more during crosswinds).
Actually it's been determined through many rigorous testing far more complex and better suited than this. That the only benefit in mile per gallon from a tonneau cover is the fact that you are now consciously driving slightly better to try to save gas it's literally the fact that you are consciously trying to save gas.
@@seanbutler2291 Not according to the studies I've seen. The bigger issue is that the gains are typically small enough that they are barely perceptible for less efficient gas trucks. Ford included the Tonneau cover on their Ranger Electric for a reason. Gaining a couple of miles of range when you start with less than 100 miles of range is a big deal.
I remember Mythbusters did a episode about this, tonneau cover on tonneau cover off tailgate up tailgate down and one of those mesh net tailgates and they explained a scale wind tunnel why they got some of the results they did were
I installed a tonneau cover on my EV Lightning. I thought it would help. Still traded for a half ton Duramax. Fuel sipper. Thanks for the scientific reviews. You guys are good!
@Lower Michigan yeah! I had a 2021 gmc slt 1500 duramax. 23k trouble free miles. Towed every weekend almost. Watched too much youtube and bought a Lightning....oops. Luckily, found a beautiful blue Trail Boss Lt Duramax. 💙 Back to towing!
@@montanamountainutv that's cool but bragging about 23k trouble free miles is almost the same as saying there were no issues driving it home from the dealership. If that's worthy of praise then our standards are absurdly skewed.
@Diesel Mountain hahaha I love you high mileage guys! New trucks are scary! 2022 F350 Tremor in my shop with 14k miles. Auto 4x4 not working, crazy knocking in the bed over light bumps....poor guy. I know, 500k on a Cummins is something to talk about.
It's going to depend on shape, anything taller than the cab will hurt, fiberglass with the sweeping edges will be slightly better than the hard edges of aluminum. Ladder or canoe racks will reduce more than an open bed
Personal experience with a cab height fiberglass truck cap is imperceptible change - aero gains if any are offset by the added weight when driving the truck alone. Never did any testing of towing(popup camper, or travel trailer) w/o the cap so no idea of any effect there but I doubt it helped any.
Adding bed cover to my Tacoma gained me about 1 mpg driving around at city speeds. The tune and Oil filtered s&b cai gave me another 2. The 265/70s stole those 2 back, so now I'm rite about where I started, just with slighter bigger than stock Wildpeak AT's.
The funny thing about TFL videos is that the editors are, well, inconsistent in their designs. Each video has its own theme, music, font, and even subject. Never saw this "let's find out" topic and I'm sure if/when we see this again, the logo and music will be totally different. This is fun, really no complaints, just pointing it out. Also, a colab with Donut media will be great.
watched Mythbusters and they did a series on covers and mpg. I want to say the surprise was open flow tailgat vs tailgate down came up on top. I will say I have a hard tonneau and was able to get 19-20 mpg driving from tx to CO in a 14 Ram. Never got that on hwy before in that truck
I had a Daily Driver 1998 C1500 W/T 4.3 V6 5-Speed and 3.42:1 Open Axle (Bare Bones - No A/C - RCLB)....I drove 48.0 Miles "one way" to work for 5 years, I kept very good records of fuel and had it in several configurations over the Years... Open Box end gate UP, Open Box end gate OFF (not allowed by law to leave it down past bumper), Roll Up Tonneau Cover, Aluminum Topper that was same height as cab, without ladder racks, and a Home made Aluminum Slant Back that Started at cab height and went all the way to the bed floor, (The Bed sides stuck up like 1950's Fins).... The Home-Made Slant-Back was best 23.1MPG, the Tonneau cover was 2nd place 21.6MPG, the Open Box with end gate OFF was 3rd best 20.5MPG ...The Open Box with end gate UP and Cab Height Aluminum Topper were BOTH TIED for LAST PLACE = 19.4MPG - Its amazing that the aerodynamics of a pickup BOX affect MPG by that much! - In the winter I liked the topper for storage of winter gear and in case of break-down....So the the MPG tests were done in summer over 3 month periods, over several years....
Really makes no difference wether or no you use one. 1mpg is within margin of error. Wind directions could have changed ect. Still, rather have a cover on my trucks
One test sure, but it does support the many studies done which show tonneaus can measurably increase fuel economy. " They took their experiment to the AeroDyn Wind Tunnel in Mooresville, North Carolina, which is often used by NASCAR. The tunnel let them test how the trucks performed both with and without tonneau covers. Their goal was to measure whether the tonneau covers reduced drag. The wind study tunnel found that each truck had less drag when using a tonneau. The results weren’t huge, but they were measurable. On average, using a tonneau cover led to a 5.7% reduction in drag. That reduced drag meant about a 1.8% increase in fuel efficiency. Even though 1.8% better gas mileage isn’t massive, it definitely makes a difference over a year of fueling up your truck. The verdict of the Wind Tunnel Study? Using a tonneau cover could give you a modest increase in savings on gas."
the bed forms an air pocket and essentially creates a pressure barrier that air flows over. Thats why if you ever have leaves in your bed they will swirl around and stay in your bed.
Excellent video as always guys, your the best in the business. That is surprising that the trucks computer average was off like that, do you guys fill up at the same pump # when you do these mpg loops? I always wonder if the different pump would matter on results.
I know you use the octane the manufacture recommends, but have you ever done "loop testing" comparing higher octanes and costs per mile. I know that is a lot but you guys love comparing. thanks for the video
That would only have any affect with a car that actually recommends premium. For a car that takes 87 putting 93 in it will have not significant impact on MPG since it isn't tuned to take advantage of that. In vehicles tuned for 93 but can run 87 the ECU will pull back timing but it will cost some MPG. I did this all the time in my Camaro. Never really saw a difference in MPG so if they were to do this test they should do it in something like a Corvette or Camaro where the V8s in those vehicles are 93 "recommended." Some people really are against doing that but unless the manufacturer says "required" you're fine. That said if the manufacturer does say "required" you definitely should NOT put anything other than premium in it.
@@kabloosh699 all very valid points and I do agree it should not make a difference. In mph. That being said I own a 2020 Silverado with a 5.3 and have driven Silverados since 04 all with 5.3 engines. Admittedly apples versus oranges. One thing they have had is a tonneau soft cover on every truck. I have always used 89 octane. I have also always gotten about 1.5 to 2 MPGs higher than what stated on the window sticker for highway driving. City driving has always been the same. I have nothing to compare it to because I have never used 87. Was curious if my increase in MPGs had to do to the cover or the octane. My opinion is a little bit of both but I have no testing to hold behind that. Thank you.
My brother crashed his motorbike and we had to go interstate to bring him home. We towed a box trailer behind my Santa Fe. The bike was totaled so we laid it down in the trailer. We had a tail wind going and a head wind coming back. With an extra person, all his gear, a motorcycle and a head wind I still used less fuel on the trip home. I've since bought a cover for the trailer because of this trip and the mpg savings it gives me.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
30 years ago when I was new product manager at Warn Industries we ran extensive instrumented tests with and without tonneau covers and got pretty close to the same results as you did. This validates your "real world " testing methods. Good job. FYI we also got a similar improvement with a roof level bed cap.
Two things - first, a truck from 30 years ago had a lot less aero development so it would be interesting to do actual instrumented testing on modern trucks to see if this still holds true. Second, that cab height bed cap (topper, shell, canopy, whatever you want to call it) will only help/not hurt if it's one of the highly styled fiberglass units that perfectly matches the cab contours. On my '22 3.0 duramax 1500 I added an aluminum ARE DCU cap (work style) and it has much more vertical sides causing it to stick out significantly wider than the top part of the cab. It ended up costing me about 4 mpg on the highway, taking me from lower 30s to upper 20s. Unfortunately I haven't found anybody who makes a fairing that will smooth that transition so I may end up trying to build a custom fiberglass piece myself to see if I can get some of my aero back.
How many mpg did he get improvement with the tonneau cover closed?
@@RossMalagarie Also paying double for the fuel compared to a gas truck
@@limprooster3253 not double, but significantly more at the moment than in the past with a much larger differential between gas and diesel than usual. Though historically it's been about the same as premium here in California where I am.
@working_country ___ I should note that on mine I removed the ladder rack and added an internal JET ladder rack to help with the aero a bit. And yeah, the economy of the baby-max is the ONLY reason I bought a GM truck (first time). Can't argue with it. I average about 25K/year so that was important. Sure beats the heck out of the 13 mpg my NV2500 does AND it tows/drives better (though it's far less practical for my work)
The tonneau saves about $9/tank, $20/mo, or about $240/yr. Over the course of your loan, you saved over $1,000. Minus the $200 for a cheap tonneau and you netted $800. That's nearly a free PS5 Pro Disc drive with stand.
@YoursInYeshua 20/month? Man idk i full up like 4-5 times a month. Gotta be closer to 50ish a month for me, which is over a half a tank in savings per month. I know I drive a lot lmao. Usually around 30k/year. Mostly commuting to work but I also gonna out for drives to enjoy myself on the weekends, or go to visit one of my friends, which half of them live 1 hour plus from me so like, yeah. This could definietly help me with all the highway driving I do
I remember my Dad doing this with his old 4x4 Silverado long bed with the 350. He picked up a folding hard tonneau cover, programmer, and even bought lighter wheels. But his result was about the same. He saw a couple more MPG with the cover and the wheels and computer maybe added 1mpg. Manufacturers really do have these things optimized out of the box pretty well.
It's all Government regulated they have to meet a certain fuel economy thresholds and it gets increased every so often. Plus it's a better selling point for them to brag about having a good fuel rating so yeah they're going to invest some money to make their vehicles fuel efficient.
The wheels probably did the most, those tonneau covers interrupt the airflow that were designed by the manufacturers. The bed of the truck actually creates a vortex effect that actually moves the air over the bed quicker than when you block it up with a tonneau cover I guarantee you those Wheels were the best things your dad did to make a difference in MPG
@@seanbutler2291 did you not just watch the video? The cover increased the MPGs by over 1 mpg.
A difference of +2 MPG on a truck is much more significant than for a car or small CUV. Going from an average of 15 to 17 is an increase of 13%, while going from 30 to 32 is only 7%. Driving 15,000 miles, going from 15 to 17 MPG would use 118 gallons less fuel, while going from 30-32 would only save 31 gallons.
The fuel tycoons will not allow vehicles to be manufactured with their actual optimum fuel consumption. We burn so much more fuel than we actually need to
My tonneau made my truck much more usable for my family. Not sure about the MPG gain, but worth the investment for sure.
Same. I bought a similar tonneau cover that they used for my Tacoma and love it! So easy to take off and on, and my bed is covered when need be. Any Xtra mpg is just a plus and not why I got it.
They definitely make the bed more useful and usable. The weather protection alone helps so much.
Exactly, I would still get a cover for mine as I have done, that's lockable and hard material as the utility side of it is far outweighs the negatives of any MPG loss possible, it's essentially a huge trunk when I go on road trips for coolers, luggage, and anything else that I would not be able to do without extensive use of tarps and garbage bags to keep from the elements. I've heard so many people say they couldn't use a cover because they use their bed, I have no idea how they can see this.
Same. No difference in mileage, but the ability to lock things in the bed and keep things dry makes it worth the cost.
I agree! I feel like I get worse mpg with it on
I remember a similar test where they determined that replacing the tail gate with a net hurts fuel economy (when people buy them specifically to improve mpg). The takeaway was that with the lift gate, you get a pocket of air in the rear making a constant circle, and the airflow over the top of the truck is improved.
That doesn't have anything to do with tonneau covers other than to illustrate that aerodynamics is not always what we think they are.
@@sonsofliberty3081 No it doesn't effect larger trucks more and 4wd doesn't matter as it doesn't change the aerodynamics of the truck.. I tested my full size long bed and it was about 1 mpg difference. That could easily just be me driving or wind etc. These covers can be great for storage or securing items in the bed but the efficiency thing has been debunked many times...
Depends on the truck and cover speed etc there's more to it than a blatant yes and no
That was mythbusters. I don’t have an episode number, but I commented below
Replacing the tailgate with a net helped fuel economy in the Mythbusters test precisely because the net maintained the pocket of air while losing weight. It was removing the tailgate entirely that hurt fuel economy.
1.6mpg is significant, but you could gain 3-5mpg minimum on pretty much any vehicle just by slow starting and driving 5mph slower.
This is very overlooked and ignored by most people looking to improve fuel economy. People don’t want to change their habits and would rather pay lots of money for minimal gains when just changing driving habits would yield HUGE returns.
So I save even more by doing both! 🙂
I found that coasting (not using the brake until roughly 30mph) saves a lot more fuel, than slow accelerating. Though long coasting isn't easy to predict or time correctly, while slow accelerating is extremely easy to control. (both will piss off the guy tailgating u, though.)
@@Hydra360ci agreed. Great for country driving when you can see the stop sign from a mile away.
I work in transportation and this is our biggest coaching point to DOT drivers. It’s all about easing into the throttle and don’t get in a hurry. And coast to red lights so it might turn green before you come to a complete stop and lose all momentum
Installed a hard aluminum GMC option tonneau cover on my 04 GMC in 06. Never garaged and 12 miles from Atlantic shoreline. Keeps stuff in the bed somewhat safe from weather, and probably helps fuel consumption. At 50 plus mph, when I have a cartop carrier on the cab, the vortex coming off the cab lifts the tonneau up about six inches. Truck has 200k on it now.
I do a 146 mile loop to/from work. I see a 1.7 mpg increase on my 2021 Colorado extended cab with the soft roll up tonneau cover.
If I were doing that many miles id move closer or get something more efficient if possible.
@@Jtwizzle he probably likes his truck or need it for work ifk
@alphamalestudmcmuffin4230 Possibly. It was just a suggestion. I like mine too and if I didn't need it would be in something more efficient for sure.
@@Jtwizzle what kind of truck do you drive mate
My 2018 Colorado v6 . 22 -24 local. 500 mile highway trip 26-28 . With tonneau. And a K N air filter.
So happy to see Nathan back in these videos. So much talent in that Stubby truck…
I like my hard shell cover because it is lockable and you can carry things on top. Thanks for sharing.
If it's a soft cover people can just cut it and steal your stuff. So what good is it? A hard cover is the only way to go.
@@jimbeam2705 For getting groceries 🤔
When Andre was talking about which cover was best, the stiff one, I just knew Nathan was going to mention something about the stiff stubby. Yeah, my tonneau cover is worth it even if I lost a few MPGs just in the utility of being able to lock stuff in my bed mostly secure.
Nothing in a vehicle is secure. Don’t fool yourself. Keep what you’re willing to risk in there.
I remember seeing a video somewhere that actually explained the inverse. The cover actually hindered aerodynamics because the empty bed creates a vortex of wind that essentially pushes the air back up as it comes over the cab and reduces drag. I don’t know the physics behind it but the video I watched did explain it.
i think on mythbusters, they did a similar test. it was tailgate down vs tailgate up. emphasis on the "i think" part.
Myth busters was tailgate down vs tailgate up. They proved tailgate down was worse than up. Tonneau covers create better aerodynamics than air pocket vortex’s.
I saw Mythbusters did a segment on that once and I think they did something wrong and/or missed a variable somewhere (ambient wind speed, temperature, tire pressure, maybe misfire, etc). Easy way to tell is that, when you see a pickup with a cloth tailgate (not as common these days as it previously was), which way does the tailgate bow? It always bows towards the back, which means there's drag pulling the tailgate backwards. Therefore, if there's drag pulling the tailgate back, where would the 'forward push' come from? If there's a 'vortex' pushing the truck forward, wouldn't that be pushing forward on the tailgate instead of pulling backwards?
@Kcducttaper1 it's been wind tunnel smoke tested a small percentage of the air is caught by the tailgate and it creates a roller to push other air over the tailgate the tunnel cover creates a downforce effect because of the lack of a roll from the tailgate think about the design of supertrucks they don't use a wing because the shape of the truck does it for them
@@Kcducttaper1 There will always be forces pushing against the vehicle. Sometimes you see a spoiler on a car and wonder how that could increase mileage. You are trying to make a round bubble of air to go around the truck, so the force against the tailgate, makes a bubble that decreases the vacuum force against the back window, therefore creating a sloped back airflow that in turn decreases the rear vacuum on the tailgate. It is all pretty complicated and sometimes does not make sense. This is why there is extensive wind tunnel tests because just the look of it does not tell the whole story.
I applaud Nathan for holding back after Andre mentioned stiff and soft covers lol
Dude!! LOL
Every man watching did the same😂😂😂
I gained just over 1 mpg on my Tundra and its so nice being able to put items in the bed out of the elements.
They definitely are worth the investment and will pay for themselves over time.
Same thing on my 2014 Tundra. Also, get an AFE air filter for the engine. I picked up close to 1mpg just using that as well. Don't use a brush guard or bull guard (whatever u want to call it). That negates the whole thing lol. I had one and my range dropped from about 387miles per tank to 340's-350's. Took it off and my mpg went back up.
I never saw a change in my 2018 Tundra with the cover. But I’ll never have a truck without one. Comes in handy having one.
1 mpg on a tundra is like a 10% improvement! 🤣
@@Krunch2020 You think Tundra mileage is bad? Try a Tacoma with the 4.0 or 3.5 V6. Horrible mileage my 07 with the 4.0 gets 12mpg on a good day driving with a feather foot.
@@lawnboy8401 something is wrong with your setup. I have a 4.0 and get 19 mpg.
Mythbusters did a test with the tailgate up or down . They found the tailgate down to be less fuel efficient. They put models in a wind tunnel and actually found more drag with the tailgate down.
Yes. The air bubble in the bed helps with airflow over the tailgate.
Wow
Unless you’re in an 85’ ford 😅. Then no tailgate increases fuel economy by 6mpg.
As with any truck I suppose there can be exceptions.
They also used something like a cargo net on the tailgate and that increased the miles per gallon gained
Good to see Nathan in this video, as I was starting to wonder when he would be featured again. Great video that demonstrated the aerodynamic effectiveness of the tonneau cover.
P.S. We also did a little testing with the tailgate up and down or removed. Leaving the tailgate up was measurably better. My only qualifier is that they pay a lot more attention to aerodynamic efficiency today than they did 30 years ago so your results may vary.
One of the X-planes NASA tested (X21) used a wing with small holes drilled into it. The holes were used to suck in air, delaying boundary layer separation and thus the onset of (drag-heavy) turbulent flow. They found the idea worked, and both drag was reduced and lift increased. But the extra fuel needed to carry the weight of the suction mechanism exceeded the fuel savings improved better laminar flow. That may have been the case for planes, but I've always wondered how the idea would fare on cars.
They did this test on Mythbusters years ago.
I did a real world (ie. unscientific) on a '94 Silverado with my 82 mile commute, tailgate up or down. A full tank either way, and the results were essential no difference. So I ran with the tailgate up cuz I did not like how the buffeting in the cab was with the rear slider window open with the tailgate down. And with the tailgate down the bed sides are unsupported.
@@paulwoodman5131 I’ve also done the same test on an over 1000 mile roadtrip. One way tailgate up, return tailgate down. The difference was something like 0.2mpg difference. Basically no difference.
Just checked and it was actually a 2000 mile trip one way. Been over ten years ago so forgot some details
I stand like a proud dad watching what you gents have taken TFLT from and turned it into. Congrats.
This is my first year with a tonneau cover, an aluminum hard folding cover on a 2021 4WD Ford Ranger. I've used fiberglass caps on all my trucks for nearly 35 years and have always gained about 10%, over factory-estimated MPG, year round, driving 30K miles a year in summer and winter in New England driving. The new tonneau cover will have to wait for a full report. So far, so good, thus far.
All in your head bud
That's great news. I've always run with a tonneau cover on myF150 and it's great highway mpg shames many lesser vehicles.
8.2% increased range. Not bad, nice Tonneau you purchased assembled in Ann Arbor MI. During an SAE coast down test, we have seen that the HArd Tonneau performs slightly better, so you might see up to 10% improvement.
weight difference between the two probably counters any benefit gained from being stiffer
With that low of a sample size (miles), I would take the test with a big grain of salt. Add a sampling error to it and you’d end up with a spread of -10 to +20 probably at least.
They also used gps data instead of the distance recorded from the vehicle. There is much more error in the gps calculation
@@HAHA.GoodMeme Weight would only make a difference during acceleration and climbing hills. And likely would not be able to off set the benefits of the MPG increases of the rigid cover. I personally seen a 2 MPG increase with a solid cover and a 1.6MPG increase
with the original soft over none at all with my F150
@@josezapata8793 They did the same run twice, so even if GPS was off in terms of reporting the precise mileage covered, one run used more gas and one run used less meaning the comparison was still valid.
I live a mile above sea level and we only have 87,no 85 here in ABQ. 3rd test, tailgate removed.
Nice to see you guys doing things in affordable trucks again! At 59 I feel like an old fart since I am the only one with cap on my truck!
No, you're not!
I have a cap on one of my trucks, you're not the only fart.
TOO MANY PICKUP OWNERS DON'T REALLY NEED A PICKUP TRUCK. Most of them drive down the highway EMPTY. I have a aluminum shell on mine !!!
@@ralpheisenbath103 When the pickup craze first started I thought there were two reasons for it. First, in my state at that time, pickup license fees were FAR less than cars'. Second, all the cars had become wedge-shaped. You couldn't tell a Chevy from a Ford from a Honda. Pickups still had- and still have- distinctive styling.
@@scarhart53 so you are the kind of person to acquire a vehicle for style? and cars look like "wedges" ...?
I have a soft tonneau cover on my F-150 and I love it. It's nice to have things in the bed and know they won't get wet. It also keeps stuff out of sight as well. One of the nicest things is people won't use my bed as a dumpster.
Who remembers the episode on "Mythbusters" where they concluded that the tonneau cover actually works against you. Or was it removing the tailgate? I wish I could remember...
I thought it was better to remove the tailgate
I know removing/lowering the tailgate definitely did not help. Can't remember about a tonneau cover either 🤣
Tailgate off per mythbusters better
It was the tailgate down (or maybe removed completely). It did not help because modern trucks are designed so the air comes off the top of the cab, down into the bed [tailgate up] and creates a "vortex/air bubble" (it's been a long time I can't remember specifics) that makes the air pass over said "vortex/bubble." Without the tailgate up, that air just created downforce on the rear and hurt gas mileage.
@@jasonbennett2383 that's what I remember as well. Thanks!
Love this type of content. I'm always trying to figure out open vs. tonneau vs. canopy.
Very nice test guys!
Now please go run this test again with a crew cab truck!
As these days most of us now run crew cab trucks, we want to see if this still holds up when you have that longer cab, and if that changes the air flow in a way that changes the outcome of your test!
😂😂😂
Why you running 85 octane? Isn't that truck supposed to run on 87?
Love my tonneau..especially in the winter as I can just brush the snow off
You should always run the first test again at the end, as sort of an “error of measurement “ or repeatability validation. In this case, run the toneau cover again after the second test. If you again see 21 mpg , then you can confirm your test repeatability.
You know they don't really need to, manufacturers have these funny lil things called wind tunnels and they tend to test this stuff out and long long long time ago they determined that the beds of trucks actually create a vortex effect when going down the highway or down the road in general that moves the air over the bed quicker without a cover. Hell even MythBusters proved this 10 years ago
@@seanbutler2291 Yeahhhhh....... no.
I bought my cover to keep the weather out than better MPG.
Also to prevent theft
A friend of mine would sleep under it overnight at the lake instead of buying a tent.
@@918Mitchellseems claustrophobic
great video guys. you managed to answer one of the great mysteries of the universe.....good job. keeping your items dry and out of sight makes it well worth the money spent. I got mine in the factory order for my 22 Rebel Echo-diesel.
I put the Truxedo pro15x on my truck and it’s the best soft cover I’ve ever had. The material is like convertible top material. I didn’t think about the gas mileage it was to keep stuff dry and snow out of bed
I noticed a measurable difference in my gladiator when I added the tonneau cover, but I went with a $250 cheap cover. However, the biggest difference is when I just drive slower!
Maybe but that's not the point of the test.
The cover I just installed on my truck today cost $228 off Amazon and install was easier than I thought it would be. Never installed one before. Took about an hour in no hurry and with an occasional pause to drink beer and think about things. We'll see how it holds up over time, but for now it looks beautiful, seems super solid, and I'm very happy with it. Shop around. You don't always need to spend a lot of money to get something good. And why would you drive slower, grandpa? WTH is wrong with you?! 🙂
People don't understand that aerodynamic drag increases with the square of the speed. My 2022 Ranger gets 30mpg at 60mph and 24mpg at 70mph. On backroad highways I get 33mpg. It's fun getting those numbers in 4500lb truck.
@Brian424 is it Tyger brand? I'm looking at their soft roll up for my Mojave. I had a bakflip hard tonneau on my Ram years back. It was a pain and limited the bed space on larger items.
Great video as always guy’s!! And major kudos to Nathan for that marvelous Yoyodine propultion shirt!! Because, no matter where you go, There you are.
I had a 2007 "Stubby," loved that truck. My Dodge had the 4.7l V8, though. I also got better fuel mileage with the tonneau cover on. I also noticed with the tonneau off or open, I could feel the crosswinds blowing me around a bit more.
With an upgraded air intake, exhaust with new Y-pipe and the tonneau I gained about 2 mpg. It also pulled and sounded better.
So I'm weird and decided to break the cost of upgrades and mpg improvement. I'm using the cost number of $2,000 to do your upgrades and $3.00 per gallon of gas(my current cost). Using your 2mpg improvement and 500 mile intervals. I have calculated that it took you approximately 133,333 miles to break even. It's still worth it because more power and great sounding exhaust rules. I promise I'm fun at parties.
Hahaha that was awesome
thank you guys I really appreciate all you do and the crap you have to put up with for us couch critics!
My last trip in my truck that is almost exactly like yours, speed made a huge difference. In one direction I wasn't in a hurry and pretty much went no more than 5 mph over the speed limit. The truck said I was getting close to 23 mpg. Returning I went faster, and the truck said I was getting around 20 mpg. Filling up I calculated 19.5 mpg.
I find it funny that only GM trucks underestimate fuel economy while Ford and Ram over estimate. Not an absolute, but it seems to pop up as true frequently
The MPG graphic bar pegs out on mine when going between 30-50mph (need to coerce the trans to go into 8th gear and stay there, though.) at 60 it'll dip below the 25 mpg range. At 75 it's somewhere at 22 mpg (hard to tell because the graphic bar isn't much of a visual aid). It's main MPG loss is sitting at red lights, and drivethrus, though (8 cylinders be hungry at idle and completely kills the average.)
The average that is displayed in text form, seems to be based on about 40 miles... but that's only a guess on my part. Just basing it on how quickly the tenth place moves to the next number, either up or down.
'19 crew, Warlock 5.7, with 3.2 gears,
This is a huge thing with trucks, anything over 65 and your mileage starts going down significantly. I’ve got a 2004 Silverado that gets 15mpg at 65, 14mpg at 70, 12-13 at 75, and 10-11 at 80
Well done TFL putting science into your video. Worth the watch.
I wonder if I’m the only one who trusts the computer more than your fill up technique? I know I’ve had a lot of vehicles over the years that were not consistent at all on fill up. From a Mustang GT to a Honda Civic. They varied wildly at times using the exact same technique each time.
I had a 2019 Honda Insight EX hybrid before selling it to my son to buy my Nissan Frontier and the Honda's in car mpg was very accurate. My truck on the other hand is usually 1 to 1.5 mpg off.
I drove exactly the same kind of truck (same engine/trans/cab/bed, but 2018 model and it was blue) with a cover in May 2022 from NOLA - Little Rock - Austin - Alpine - Carlsbad - Bisbee - Phoenix - Joshua Tree - Bakersfield - Sacramento, at or slightly above posted speed limits, and got 21.84 mpg overall. Good validation of half of your data.
Two times they complained about viewer comments… first sign of creator burnout.
I know you guys mentioned the wind was the same. But if you play the beginning of video, you will notice there is almost no wind as opposed to the end where steady wind is a lot more evident. I have learned from 13 years of driving from Vegas to California and back that even a little steady wind eats a noticeable amount of mpg.
Great test, always good to circle back with this proven method. I always either used a bed cap or a bed cover with my pick ups and I tell ya, it makes them slippery as a popsicle!
Easy and fun test! I'll probably be carpenting my own to my old pickup😆 Don't think it's in the shelves anymore, at least in Norway. 20 year old low slow diesel HiLux/SR5.
If the improvement could be measured in actual mpg testing and there was a 1mpg improvement then every truck would come standard with one. Yet another flaw in the testing that allows the highway mpg test to average 48 mph...
The best thing I did for mpg was I stopped driving 10 mph over the limit everywhere I went. Those 10 mph cost almost 4 mpg.
Back in the 70's the speed limit was lowered to 55 everywhere. My uncle said he lost mileage in his '69 Malibu. Then, I bought my brother's '70 Elcamino and the tail pipe was always black but, if I took it out and did 70 mph for only two miles the tailpipes were nice and gray. I mentioned to my uncle and he had the same thing with his car. They were made to run 70 mph and 55 mph kept the carbs in the "transition" stage, between the idle circuit and the cruise circuit. I'm sure it would've been a different story with FI and O2 sensors.
You're not kidding. My car doesn't lose as much MPG but my truck with the GM 3.0 diesel, I get easily 30MPG or more going 65. It drops under 30 going 70 and I'll see around 26 going 80.
This.
I drive a truck for a living so I’m versed in get fuel mileage.
I drive my pickup the same way and get better mileage than most people do in their cars.
There’s a reason why.
I'm a car guy, but I can vouch for the MPG gain by decreasing speed. My last car did about 4-5 MPG better doing 60 in a 55 zone, to and from work opposed to 70mph. And the distance to and from work, only cost me about 2-4 mins of travel time. It made sense since I'm not in a hurry to get to work an extra 4 mins early to save what equaled about 1 gallon a week. I logged everything for a few months testing out both speeds, and feel pretty confident in the results I got. Got a new car last month, doing the same testing phase now to see where the sweet spot is with this one. Maybe there is no difference between 60 and 70mph but time will tell.
Good accurate vid. I thought their numbers would be BS, but ive had the exact same increase (1.5 to 2 mpg) in my 5.7 ram quad cab 4wd 6'4 bed. Its a slow ROI, but it legit helps and is practical regardless. With any front or side wind these really help! You could "feel" the air grabbing the truck and it dow shifting to keep speed before the cover. Its a smart buy, id do it again.
My primary purpose for purchasing my hard cover was to keep valuable items out of sight of people who don’t own them (thieves). I feel much better with the cover. I’m getting about the same mileage with or without it. Only downside is I lost a little payload.
I remember driving my 1996 GMC Sonoma from central Kansas to DIA for a flight several years ago. The kitchen floor of a house was being replaced, all of the plywood underlayment was being scrapped. I made a makeshift toneau cover using the discarded underlayment as a fuel economy experiment, since it wouldn't add any significant weight, I figured I could only gain efficiency. I don't remember if it was a significant improvement though.
Thank you so much for doing this test and validating the MPG increase one can experience when installing a tonneau on their pickup. And I bet the increase would be even more pronounced on a long bed pickup.
I had pretty much the same results with a 2008 Toyota Tundra Crewmax 4x4 (5.7 engine) I bought new and had for 12 years...and wish I never sold BTW. On stock tires I would see approximately 16 MPG combined. Not bad considering the sticker was 13 city and 17 highway. 4 years into ownership I replaced the tires with BFG All-Terrian KO's. They were the stock size but Load Range E, so about 20 lbs. per tire heavier than stock. That instantly dropped my MPG by about 2. Months later I installed a soft roll-up tonneau and gained back 1.5 MPG. When I wore out the BFG's I replaced them with stock load range rated tires (again stock size) and got back the 2 MPG I lost with those heavy E rated tires that I didn't need anyway with a 1/2 ton truck. Over the years people have been skeptical of this story, but WE all know better. You guys are the best!
Good day Huntmachine I am from Ont. R u saying that LT tires even thought u can put more psi in gave u poor gas milage than regular tires. Interesting. Thanks
Buddy people much more official than these guys have tested tonneau covers including the very manufacturer of these vehicles. Tonneau covers do not increase your mile per gallon what they do is make you drive more carefully and slightly slower because you consciously put a device on your truck to try and save gas, it's literally the fact that you are now purposely trying to save gas that saves you the gas. Lighter tires did the most to save your MPG. Putting the tonneau cover on actually interrupts the air flow when moving down the highway or the road in general. When you have an open bed in a truck it creates a swirling vortex effect in the bed that actually moves the air over the back of the truck faster than if there is a cover there, so no it has been thoroughly proven that tonneau covers themselves only damage your MPG. But they may trick u into driving more carefully, thus making your mpg go up slightly. A great reference to look at this would be going to RUclips mythbusters tonneau cover.
So glad you guys did this test - thank you so much!
Can't tell you how many people I've run into over the years that think that a Tonneau cover for a P/U bed
doesn't actually do anything. The same simple aerodynamic forces that work against aircraft, also work against vehicles.
Chief among which: Drag. I think some of the same people who still don't believe this are the same ones who think Super Unleaded
is a waste of money. I've had about 9 cars in the last 36 years of driving. Used Super Unleaded in all of them. Fuel Injectors
I've needed to replace: Zero.
Removing the tailgate killed the mpg on Mythbusters. I remember that too
I like the way you are being methodical with your testing. well thought out. I do have a real pet peeve, with anyone, that does not tie down the load in the back of their trucks. I have seen fatal accidents caused by things coming out of the beds that were not properly secured! Please think of others and TIE DOWN ALL OF YOUR LOADS!!!! The few minutes it takes to tie down, will save someone's life. Thank you!
Great video! Market it to be used by tonneau cover manufacturers for royalties. I think they work best on beds over 6' but are less impactful on beds shorter then 6'.
Unfortently the manufacturers already done the test. Real truck (owns extang, undercover, are, bak, and a ton more) has done the test quite a bit. That's why extang trifectas claim to save gas right in the box. I use to work for the company and seen the test and had done them before to get a free cover for my bed when I use to work for it.
I agree, but they did get a positive result with a shorter bed! Proof, that covering a truck bed helps. The problem with an un-covered bed, is that it offers another surface with pressure on the forward side, and vacuum on the back side. (The tail gate) In a regular car, you only have the front of the car and the back of the car. Putting a cover over the bed makes the truck more like a car, by denying airflow to the inside of the tailgate.
Mythbusters did this some time back. The open bed, gate closed, creates a vacuum bubble that pulls air over the cab and is more aero efficient.
In 88 when GM came out with new aero pickups, showed data that a short bed cover filling in just the forward 1/3 of the cabin broke up the air resistance and improved gas mileage the most followed by a full cover. Then next on the line was taking off the tailgate and lastly doing nothing.
When GMC took their then new Syclone pickup to Salt Lake for speed records they put the intercooler where the tailgate was and put a bed cover on the rear 2/3 of the bed leaving the front 1/3 of the bed open for cooling air to enter the box under the rear cover and out the coolers at the back of the box. This helps fill in the low pressure area directly behind the box, reducing the suction acting on the truck that increases drag.
I always wondered I this would work in real life truck.
It's probably the same reason as when the tailgate is down it's slightly worse. When the gate is up or the tonneau cover is off there's a vortex of air horizontally circulating in the box keeping the air flow moving over it making the truck more aerodynamic. Theres a video somewhere else explaining it in full.
i wonder if the bed length (short) makes a distinct difference. that said, some aerodynamic studies have shown that the bed doesnt make a significant impact as these things are bricks on the road in front and that's the main aerodynamic issue. that said, I have had fabric and wood covers on my truck bed and I can see wind pushing down on them at highway speeds, so there must be some benefit to having them. at least i want the think so, like Nathan and Andre do. MORE NATHAN!
Most are supercrew with 5.5ft beds. That’s gonna be the one most people care abt
Myth Busters tried this several years ago. cover on and off, gate up, gate down. No cover with only the gator net. I believe the best mileage was recorded with the gator net.
I wonder if the result would be the same while towing a bumper pull trailer (flat deck, camper, enclosed, etc)
I towed a couple of different trailers with my cover both open and closed. The fuel economy was noticeable for sure but the turbalance even more so when towing and open. With a flat faced U-Haul trailer, that much more turnalance as one would expect from a flat faced trailer.
I've not owned a pickup without a tonneau cover since my '89 S10. Well worth the investment- well, except the Peragon cover I had on a '08 Dodge Ram- the design negated use of the front 1/3 of the bed, unless you crawled under the cover to reach cargo stored there.
Watching these videos really makes me miss my '15 Ram Black Express single cab. What a great truck that was.
i can see a slight difference in my 17 with the cover on. i just bought it for storage though. i can lock the truck and my stuff is dry and secure. mine is a trifold hard cover weight about 60 lbs. i have had trucks it didnt affect at all. the two long beds i saw no change. so it just depends on the truck. my dads short bed 01 chevy drives like a different truck when you close his. like you took weight out of it. i guess its how the air beats down on it.
Good job! I was happy to see that you ran your test at real highway speeds.
Many years ago, when Mythbusters was a big thing on TV, they ran pretty much the same test. But, and this is a big difference, they held the truck speed to something like 40 mph. They saw no difference in mpg. However, what they didn't account for, was that aerodynamics doesn't begin to really produce significant aerodynamic drag until vehicle speed exceeds 45 mph. So Mythbusters' test was totally invalid.
I recall that Mythbusters also ran a similar test to determine if it was more economical to run the air conditioner vs. just rolling the windows down. Of course at 40 mph it was more economical to roll the windows down, as the engine no longer had to put out extra power to run the air conditioner compressor. But at 50 mph or so, and higher, the air conditional saved you money - all you have to do is run at high speeds with the windows down and you can feel the wind buffeting slow the vehicle down.
Mythbusters was usually pretty lame. The only thing that made that show worth watching was Kari Byron.
Good video. Would also be useful to see more of this kind of thing on the EV channel how to make EV trucks more efficient. For example, what about tonneau versus bed cap, with and w/out towing? Also I think a bed cap the height of the trailer improves efficiency, would be interesting to see this tested.
With my current gas truck, the cap is worse economy than the open bed. Weight is bad, plus the big square back is a problem (why you see 18 wheelers with a cone on the back doors).
I've had tonneau covers and/and or canopies on every truck I've had since the mid 80's. I've never noticed much (if any) mileage difference on any of them, and I keep detailed records of fuel fill-ups and mileage.
I would like to see a longer term test with both for better results, as even just one full tank of gas isn't much of a test to me.
Very interesting. Over time it would probably pay to get a cheap tonneau cover. Especially if you drive on the highway a lot. Great video guys.
No definitely get a good tonneau cover cheap tonneau covers don't last ☹️
@@tomstarcevich1147 good advice. I've never had one, so thanks
People can just cut open a cheap cover and steal your stuff.
@@jimbeam2705 yeah I didn't think about that. I was thinking strictly for the mpg increase but probably would be worth buying a good one.
Mythbusters did this test with and without a tonneau cover and with just the tailgate down. They concluded tailgate up and no cover was the best. The high pressure air flowed over the low pressure air 'in the bed' more efficiently.
Added a RETRAX bed cover to my RAM Limited. Didn't notice a significant difference either way. I suppose I may have gotten the same results as them were I actually measuring before and after.
Well, the thing is if you're spending $2,000 on a tonneau cover to save 28 cents a gallon, it's not worth it. Of course the tonneau cover has extra features like securing your items in the bed, which allows you to keep more stuff in the bed, which decreases your miles per gallon anyway. It's a vicious cycle.
@@randobot6814 yep I didn't spend the money to save on fuel. The best thing you can do to save fuel is to change your driving habits. That will have the biggest impact. I spent the $2K because it's the bed cover I wanted and I could afford it. The covers like they used are just fine and I have had them as well. Point is that under most circumstances a bed cover will have little impact on performance.
@@JHuffPhoto yeah I'm shopping for them also. They're great for keeping things dry and secure. This video would like people to believe they're gonna save a lot of money though. Have a Merry Christmas!
*Great test. i guess the cover does help. i might need to get one for my old 1987 f150* Dexterous X
The only reason i got a tonneau cover for my TrailBoss is because when i open my back slide window, all the dirt and stuff fly inside. if the truck bed is open
Mythbusters did a similar test, but used an open tailgate versus a closed tailgate. Surprisingly, a closed tailgate is more efficient; it creates a swirling high speed , low pressure vortex that acts similarly to a solid barrier against the passing air. It was similar to them having a camper shell on the back kinda, but it only worked with the tailgate up, and at highway speeds.
I think it only somewhat works if you have a light weight already somewhat fuel efficient truck that has a certain power to weight ratio already. So if you remove a little bit of drag at a certain rpm depending on your gearing and transmission size it could squeeze by a couple more mpgs. I personally have a 2018 GMC Sierra 3500 crew cab long bed sle 4x4 6.0l gasser, 4.10 rear end 6 speed transmission truck is pushing 7k pounds and basically is a brick of a truck. When I put my tonneau cover on I really didn't notice any difference. But with a gas guzzling 6 litre v8 that weights 7k pounds I don't think saving a small coefficient in wind drag really matters. At highway speeds it's going to stay in 6th gear at whatever rpm anyway because it needs to. In a lightweight single cab truck like this ram with 8 speed transmission (I think) and a small v6 motor I could understand that making it a little slipperier could improve fuel economy. My truck would need a very large diet to make a difference in the power to weight ratio. A lot of the comments I see here are half tons and 1/4 ton trucks saying they noticed a difference which makes sense. HD trucks don't have enough play in their numbers to matter.
Pretty much everything that you just wrote there is nonsense you're not taking away drag with a tonneau cover, you're increasing drag. The bed creates a vortex effect with the air when moving, it actually moves the air over the bed quicker without a tonneau cover. The people that put a tonneau cover on their truck specifically to get better gas mileage are only receiving better gas mileage cuz they are now consciously driving better safer slower which does in fact net them better MPG no matter the size of truck. And if you have your HD truck lowered and a skirt put on the front you will notice an increase in mile per gallon I don't care if it's an HD or super duty.
@seanbutler2291 I mean that's probably true about the tonneau cover not actually helping I think that's what Mythbusters already proved. But I still stand by my idea that a little bit of drag isn't really going to do much on a heavy v8 truck. I've had my truck a 2018 GMC Sierra 3500 crew cab long bed sle 4x4 with the 6.0l gasser and the fuel economy is basically the same as my other 2018 2500 crew cab long bed 4x4 work truck and I've driven a 6.0l work van chevy 2004 granted with 300k miles on it back when I was a kid we had a 2001 Yukon XL 2500 6.0l 4x4 they all get basically the same fuel economy about 12 to 16 mpg highway with all different body styles of truck or suv or van. Even the camaros with the 6.0l I don't think got much over 20 on the highway. Unfortunately when you start talking about my truck basically 7k pounds biggest gas truck you can basically buy I don't think there's much that could help the fuel economy, maybe lower it like you said but I've never tried that. There's only so much that physics can allow with a larger v8. I've gotten as low as like 3.8 mpg pulling my 36' 14k pound fifth wheel but that was doing 80 to 90 mph down the highway lol
@@seanbutler2291The creation and maintenance of that vortex requires energy so if adding a cover creates a similar effect (smoothes the airflow) then it could be a win. I think the OP's point that a small improvement can turn into a big one if it happens to allow you to run in a taller gear is valid.
E-470 Express toll thanks you for your patronage
I wanna see stock tires vs oversize tires mpg test
Requires GPS speed
I have a 5.7 Hemi in a Ram 1500. Drove 1000 miles to Florida from New Jersey with the Mopar tonneau cover on my truck. On the way back, I drove without the tonneau cover. Nothing in the bed either trip. The gas mileage was the same.
I’ve got a 2022 Ram 1500 quad cab HEMI with 3.21 gears and have been averaging right at 20 mpg on the highway while doing the speed limit. If I just slow down and don’t use cruise control then 23 mpg is not hard to get.
Btw, this is with a bed cover in place.
Cruise improves my MPG in my grand Caravan
@@rowerwet it all depends on your driving style. I’ve been hypermiling cars for many many years so I’ve learned how to strategically vary my speed to maximize fuel economy.
Since you're testing aerodynamics, windy conditions are actually desirable, as long as the wind is consistent. It would be interesting, to try a truck bed topper, where the top of the shell is level with the roof of the cab, rather than just covering the bed. (If you've tried this in another video, I haven't seen it)
Normally, you'll only see a 2% to 3% difference with with a Tonneau Cover. I wonder whether the direction of the wind could also have had an impact (i.e., a Tonneau Cover might help more during crosswinds).
Actually it's been determined through many rigorous testing far more complex and better suited than this. That the only benefit in mile per gallon from a tonneau cover is the fact that you are now consciously driving slightly better to try to save gas it's literally the fact that you are consciously trying to save gas.
@@seanbutler2291 Not according to the studies I've seen. The bigger issue is that the gains are typically small enough that they are barely perceptible for less efficient gas trucks. Ford included the Tonneau cover on their Ranger Electric for a reason. Gaining a couple of miles of range when you start with less than 100 miles of range is a big deal.
I remember Mythbusters did a episode about this, tonneau cover on tonneau cover off tailgate up tailgate down and one of those mesh net tailgates and they explained a scale wind tunnel why they got some of the results they did were
I installed a tonneau cover on my EV Lightning. I thought it would help. Still traded for a half ton Duramax. Fuel sipper. Thanks for the scientific reviews. You guys are good!
Also recently got a 1/2 ton duramax. The fuel economy for a full size 4x4 truck is great.
lol what
@Lower Michigan yeah! I had a 2021 gmc slt 1500 duramax. 23k trouble free miles. Towed every weekend almost. Watched too much youtube and bought a Lightning....oops. Luckily, found a beautiful blue Trail Boss Lt Duramax. 💙 Back to towing!
@@montanamountainutv that's cool but bragging about 23k trouble free miles is almost the same as saying there were no issues driving it home from the dealership. If that's worthy of praise then our standards are absurdly skewed.
@Diesel Mountain hahaha I love you high mileage guys! New trucks are scary! 2022 F350 Tremor in my shop with 14k miles. Auto 4x4 not working, crazy knocking in the bed over light bumps....poor guy. I know, 500k on a Cummins is something to talk about.
I have a hard cover that I love. I rarely run without it (mostly because it weighs 3 or 4 times what the truck weighs and is a pain to remove)
I wonder how MPG would be if there was a truck cap on the bed?
It's going to depend on shape, anything taller than the cab will hurt, fiberglass with the sweeping edges will be slightly better than the hard edges of aluminum. Ladder or canoe racks will reduce more than an open bed
Vacuum drag=worse
Personal experience with a cab height fiberglass truck cap is imperceptible change - aero gains if any are offset by the added weight when driving the truck alone.
Never did any testing of towing(popup camper, or travel trailer) w/o the cap so no idea of any effect there but I doubt it helped any.
Good video ... y'all help all of us doing these types of reports.!!! Great Job.!!
Adding bed cover to my Tacoma gained me about 1 mpg driving around at city speeds. The tune and Oil filtered s&b cai gave me another 2. The 265/70s stole those 2 back, so now I'm rite about where I started, just with slighter bigger than stock Wildpeak AT's.
The dino at Sinclair always looks like it's saying "you're putting my liquified family members into your tank!"
The funny thing about TFL videos is that the editors are, well, inconsistent in their designs. Each video has its own theme, music, font, and even subject. Never saw this "let's find out" topic and I'm sure if/when we see this again, the logo and music will be totally different.
This is fun, really no complaints, just pointing it out. Also, a colab with Donut media will be great.
Donut media is aids
@@ocrapo9327 sorry i'm an old man, close to 27 yo so not hip you kids thicktok speak. what does aids mean, in this context?
watched Mythbusters and they did a series on covers and mpg. I want to say the surprise was open flow tailgat vs tailgate down came up on top. I will say I have a hard tonneau and was able to get 19-20 mpg driving from tx to CO in a 14 Ram. Never got that on hwy before in that truck
Great video, the comparing videos are the best. I think you guys do a hell of a good job. 👍🏻👍🏻
I had a Daily Driver 1998 C1500 W/T 4.3 V6 5-Speed and 3.42:1 Open Axle (Bare Bones - No A/C - RCLB)....I drove 48.0 Miles "one way" to work for 5 years, I kept very good records of fuel and had it in several configurations over the Years... Open Box end gate UP, Open Box end gate OFF (not allowed by law to leave it down past bumper), Roll Up Tonneau Cover, Aluminum Topper that was same height as cab, without ladder racks, and a Home made Aluminum Slant Back that Started at cab height and went all the way to the bed floor, (The Bed sides stuck up like 1950's Fins).... The Home-Made Slant-Back was best 23.1MPG, the Tonneau cover was 2nd place 21.6MPG, the Open Box with end gate OFF was 3rd best 20.5MPG ...The Open Box with end gate UP and Cab Height Aluminum Topper were BOTH TIED for LAST PLACE = 19.4MPG - Its amazing that the aerodynamics of a pickup BOX affect MPG by that much! - In the winter I liked the topper for storage of winter gear and in case of break-down....So the the MPG tests were done in summer over 3 month periods, over several years....
Makes me feel a bit better about getting my tonneau cover.
Could you do a video about comparing the different tonneau covers?
Love your channel. Also,your stubby Ram has no tag plates
Really makes no difference wether or no you use one. 1mpg is within margin of error. Wind directions could have changed ect. Still, rather have a cover on my trucks
One test sure, but it does support the many studies done which show tonneaus can measurably increase fuel economy. " They took their experiment to the AeroDyn Wind Tunnel in Mooresville, North Carolina, which is often used by NASCAR. The tunnel let them test how the trucks performed both with and without tonneau covers.
Their goal was to measure whether the tonneau covers reduced drag.
The wind study tunnel found that each truck had less drag when using a tonneau. The results weren’t huge, but they were measurable. On average, using a tonneau cover led to a 5.7% reduction in drag. That reduced drag meant about a 1.8% increase in fuel efficiency.
Even though 1.8% better gas mileage isn’t massive, it definitely makes a difference over a year of fueling up your truck. The verdict of the Wind Tunnel Study? Using a tonneau cover could give you a modest increase in savings on gas."
I love it! Proper scientific method being used! Great video!!
I love that the remnants of Biden’s ‘I did that’ sticker on the gas pump 😂 truly a heartwarming experience that we all get to enjoy
the bed forms an air pocket and essentially creates a pressure barrier that air flows over. Thats why if you ever have leaves in your bed they will swirl around and stay in your bed.
Excellent video as always guys, your the best in the business. That is surprising that the trucks computer average was off like that, do you guys fill up at the same pump # when you do these mpg loops? I always wonder if the different pump would matter on results.
11:17 he says he uses the same pump
@@braden6402 ah must of missed when they said that, my bad thanks.😊
I discovered the same thing many years ago. You can also lower the tailgate to improve millage if the bed is empty.
I know you use the octane the manufacture recommends, but have you ever done "loop testing" comparing higher octanes and costs per mile. I know that is a lot but you guys love comparing. thanks for the video
That would only have any affect with a car that actually recommends premium. For a car that takes 87 putting 93 in it will have not significant impact on MPG since it isn't tuned to take advantage of that. In vehicles tuned for 93 but can run 87 the ECU will pull back timing but it will cost some MPG. I did this all the time in my Camaro. Never really saw a difference in MPG so if they were to do this test they should do it in something like a Corvette or Camaro where the V8s in those vehicles are 93 "recommended." Some people really are against doing that but unless the manufacturer says "required" you're fine. That said if the manufacturer does say "required" you definitely should NOT put anything other than premium in it.
@@kabloosh699 all very valid points and I do agree it should not make a difference. In mph. That being said I own a 2020 Silverado with a 5.3 and have driven Silverados since 04 all with 5.3 engines. Admittedly apples versus oranges. One thing they have had is a tonneau soft cover on every truck. I have always used 89 octane. I have also always gotten about 1.5 to 2 MPGs higher than what stated on the window sticker for highway driving. City driving has always been the same. I have nothing to compare it to because I have never used 87. Was curious if my increase in MPGs had to do to the cover or the octane. My opinion is a little bit of both but I have no testing to hold behind that. Thank you.
Well technically the mfg specifies 87 for this truck, so they’re putting in less than what is recommended.
My brother crashed his motorbike and we had to go interstate to bring him home. We towed a box trailer behind my Santa Fe. The bike was totaled so we laid it down in the trailer. We had a tail wind going and a head wind coming back. With an extra person, all his gear, a motorcycle and a head wind I still used less fuel on the trip home. I've since bought a cover for the trailer because of this trip and the mpg savings it gives me.
At $3.44 per gallon on 87 octane ~vs~ here at $2.64, I can deal without a cover...lol
How did you get 3.44/gal? He put 13.231 gallons at $41. That’s $3.09/gallon. Did I miss something?
I’d be happy with 3.44. It averaging 4.69 here.
2.33 here
It's $4.69/gal for 87 octane here in Sacramento, Calif.
@@1949johntiger 🤣