I'm in a campground this week and the guy next to me declares he gets 2 more mpg when pulling his 38' fiver. He says it does not help any unless the camper is behind him.He is convinced that taking the TG off when hauling works for him. I have searched the forum and found alot, but nothing about when pulling a fifth wheeler camper.

Thanks
Johnny

 

Two things. First, I have no doubt that either putting the tailgate down, or removing it, helps some. I can have bags of trash in the back of my truck, and the air that is captured by the tailgate will push the bags to the head of the bed, every time. So, the tailgate does create wind resistance. 2 mpg's worth? I don't know about that. And number two, people blow a lot of smoke, especially when it comes to fuel mileage. I wouldn't believe it until seeing it.

 

Mythbusters did this on TV they found there was no differance at all, they tried every way up down, not there, and no differance. I think they said with it up they gained .5 mpg as the air pushed on the back of the cab, but it was negligible.

 

Actually Ford did some tests a few years back and found that keeping the tailgate up got better mpg than with it down. They attributed it to the fact that the tailgate holds an air bubble in the bed that lowers the wind restistance of the air coming over the cab.

 

That may not hold true for other models, though. The aerodynamics of the truck play a big part in that. And, I don't have an air bubble in the bed of mine- I have an air ram. It will push heavy objects forward.

 

That is the air bubble. It's a circulation of air that allows the flow over the truck to ride over it.

The circulation goes down the tailgate, towards the cab, up the rear window, and back to the tailgate.

 

Ford nor (The Mythical) Myth Busters were pulling a 5vr in the tests.. Tie some flagging materials inside of your bed, give it a try and tell us what you find..

 

OK I ran tests with my DODGE. No gain with tailgate down......

 

I have a 3 fold tono cover and the front of my 36 ft 5th wheel has tappered corners, I average just over 12 mpg and have gotten just over 15 on a windless day, Im happier than a pig in *****, parden the expression, I only travel at 65 to 68 mph, seems to be the sweet spot.
Oh ya tailgate up,

 

Mythbusters also said it's impossible to shoot a rifle bullet through the scope of another shooter's rifle because they couldn't duplicate Carlos Hathcock's feat...I haven't watched since......Ben

 

The point the guy next to my site was making,was it only works when he is pulling his camper. He stated that he has checked both ways on seperate trips and got the increase of 2 mpg. I do not think he would go to the trouble of taking it off each time he travels unless he thinks it's better. Also, I can change my MPG's when filling up by when I stop the pump. Filling it to the top of neck by bumping the handle or just stopping when the handle first cuts off. Sometimes I think that is what is happning when people see a sudden increase or decrease.

BTW..I dont remember the kind of camper he had. Mine is a 38' Montanna and his looked the same style as mine, just a different brand name.

Thanks
Johnny

 

The overhead gauge is pretty famous for being inaccurate. But, it's pretty consistant (mine is, anyway).

The next time you travel, experiment and find out. Drive 40-50 miles with the tail gate up, and see what the overhead says. Then drive 40-50 miles over similar terrain with the tail gate down and see what you get. Then you'll know for sure.

 

I would try it, but what good is better mpg if my beer cooler falls out?

 

All things being equal (and they ARE NOT)..

I have a headache rack behind my cab. It has downward slanted slats. I usually run my liftgate open with the extension folded up.

I can get as high as 26 mpg if I do my part.

When a large crate is put in my bed, when I get up to 50 mph or so all the leaves and crap that get under my toolbox get blown out upwards between the toolbox and cab.

What REALLY gigs me is if I drive the exact same as I get 25+ mpg when the gooseneck is hooked the best I can hope for is 16 mpg.

When I used to tug a 26' foot travel trailer with a LOT more frontal area I was able to get 15...