General QuestionsGeneral questions related to 1999-2007 Super Duty trucks. If it doesn't fit the other categories, post it here. Gas engine discussion that pertains to all models is allowed. Specific gas engine questions should use the Gas Engines forum.
I was thinking of getting a bed cover like the extang model, does it help in fuel mileage? and who sells them here on the site?
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01 ford dually, crewcab, long bed, powerstroke, 4x4, billet grill, 83,000 miles,Edge juice with a f..ing attitude, towing a 24' classic dominator xt..with (3) hayabusa's.. 1 goes over 260mph and and 1 goes 230+ on motor and a 7.30 at 200mph no bar bike. Replaced trans with factory upgraded and replaced crank sensor, and rear clutch pack. Also added K/N filter, and MBRP exhaust 4" also bully dog trans guage
260 you might want to do some looking around on the internet. I just watched a show recently hosted by John Stossel ("Gimme a Break") who did some studies about getting better gas milage. They used several after market products to see if they made a difference, none of which did. They also did windows up or windows down, a/c on or off and a few other combinations.
They also tested trucks. Tailgate up, tailgate down, and one with a bed cover. Unfourtunately I can't remember much about the show but found it pretty interesting. It may be on the net somewhere.
Anybody else see the show?
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F550, 4x4, Diesel, 165"wb, Diamond Plate I-pack tool box, 10' Scott dump body
Yes it does give you slightly better mileage but don't look for any huge gains. My friend was telling me about the report w/ John Stossel and he said that tonneau covers give you a little better mileage, tailgates down gave you the worst mileage.
Search for the post of the current PSD mileage record holder, Dave Whitmer. He has gone to extremes in search of better mileage and I believe he is now up to about 26 mpg averaged over many tanks. His latest project is a cover that is sloped from the top of the cab down to the tailgate. You may not need that design but a good tonneau will gain nearly 1 mpg at freeway speeds.
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I was thinking of getting a bed cover like the extang model, does it help in fuel mileage? and who sells them here on the site?
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I saw this on MythBusters:
Tailgate: Up or down?
Myth: Driving your pickup with the tailgate down gives you better fuel efficiency than with the tailgate up.
Test Setup
Adam and Jamie were each given identical, new model pickup trucks. They both had equal mileage, same tire pressure, and 30 gallons of gas. Jamie drove with the tailgate up and Adam the tailgate down.
The rules:
1. They have to maintain the speed limit
2. All acceleration must be done by cruise control
3. No drafting
4. Windows up, A/C must be exactly the same in both cars
The Test
After 300 miles there didn't appear to be much difference in the gas consumed, but after 500 miles Adam (tailgate down) ran out of gas. Jamie made it another 30 miles before he ran out of gas. This result was the exact opposite of the myth.
Water tunnel visualization
According to the experts, a circular pillow of air forms behidn the cab of the truck when the tailgate is up. This "separated bubble"/"locked vortex flow" keep the faster moving air from contacting the truck, and thus reduces drag. With the tailgate down, the bubble breaks down and is no longer able to keep the fast moving air out, increasing drag.
In their scale model with the water tunnel, they were able to see that the increased drag. With the tailgate down, the particles in the water were dropping down and hitting the tailgate.
mythbusted
Also, here is a guy that did some testing himself:
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Search for the post of the current PSD mileage record holder, Dave Whitmer. He has gone to extremes in search of better mileage and I believe he is now up to about 26 mpg averaged over many tanks.
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I think about Dave everytime I pull up to the pump to fill up after another whopping run of 14-15 MPG [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] . I'm sure it's nothing nothing that a few thousand dollars of mods couldn't fix...
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2001 F-250 XLT extended cab, Toreador red, 7.3L PSD, 4x4 off road, 3.73 LS, Ford AIS Severe Duty Filter Kit with fender mod, CD-6 with PIE adapter/RCA, JL Audio TR570-CXi 5x7's in front and rear door
Just be careful driving around with your tailgate down. A buddy of mine was bragging about the great milage he got driving up to my cabin with his tailgate down...that was until he back into a tree! That $2.00 savings ended up costing about $1900!!!
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2007 F350 White King Ranch Crew Cab 4x4
7" EDGE 4 Link Suspension, Fox Remote Reservoir Racing Shocks all the way around with Duals up Front, and Dual Steering Stabilizer. 37" Toyo MT's on 20" wheels.
Fully polished MBRP T304 turbo back exhaust finshed off with a 6" x 18" tip from ITP Diesel...Thanks Dennis!
Future mods, DePricol White Faced Gauges and a 24 volt inverter and power supply mounted in the bed,
In my exeperience, the tailgate down does decrease mpg!!! I have tested it on some LONG road trips and I always found that up was the best option. I do think the bed cover would be good though!! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif[/img]
Did some extensive testing. Down was slightly better than up. The difference however was minor; just about 0.5 MPG. With my Snugtop Expo I gain about another 0.5.
Jim
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2005 F250 PSD 4x4 CC LB KR
fully loaded, Snugtop Expo, PIE, Van Aaken Smartbox F pictures
I had an extang cover for a couple of years, and I found a cover that is quite a bit better. The nuances of What I found with the extang cover were:
a. During the winter (even our mild winter) the snaps were extremely hard to snap or unsnap. And it was murder on cold fingers.
b. When you rolled the cover up, say to haul something, you had to worry about where to store the bows.
The best soft cover I have found is made by ACCESS Ag cover. It is actually designed for the snow loads that they have up in Minnesota and Iowa. The 2 things I really like about it are that the sides are held down by velcro, so no more fighting the snaps when you are trying to stretch it down, and the bows are integrated into the cover so that when you roll it up out of the way, the bows roll with it. I've had mine on the truck now for almost 5 years and I love it.
And to answer your mileage question, I usually see 1 to 1.5 mpg gain when I drive with the cover rolled out. Depends on the head wind.
I would say that I drive with the cover rolled completely out 95% of the time. Check them out. Access Covers
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Y2K F250 CC PSD Auto, Short-bed Lariat, Woodland Green/Gold, ordered 07/10/99, born 09/12/99, delivered 10/08/99, Access bed cover, Bed Rug, Zoodad mod, Viper Remote Start Alarm, Fumoto valve, 103K somewhat error-free miles (so far) [never back to dealer for anything]
Repairs: CPS, Water Separator Valve assembly, rear axle bearings, VSS, batteries, brakes, alternator, serpentine belt (x2), driver door pwrlock actuator, water pump
2003 VW Jetta TDI auto, 90k miles, all stock, no mods, 41 mpg most days. A rocket in disguise...
Repairs: alternator, brake switch (x2), power window wire harness, #4 glow plug, glow plug wire harness
On order - 2009 VW Tiguan (2.0 l turbo gas engine to take advantage of $1.79 fuel prices [for now])- should arrive off the boat soon.
not to mention here in so cal its illegal to drive witht the tail gate down, technically nothing can extend past the rear bumper so I have been told.
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2003 F250 Lariat sd cc 4x4 7.3 long bed,4.10 srw,Edge Juice w/Attitude,AIS Intake w/mod,Zoodad,magnefine trans filter,trumax cooler,autometer tt,4" exhaust,4" DP,airbags,coolant filter,Banks Big Head Act.,Banks Compressor Wheel,fomoto drain valve,Racor 3550 ccv,Amzoil dual bypass with pre-oiler,Amzoil fluids for all,Brakesmart,8" Fabtech lift,37x17 parneli's on helo max rims,Fabtech Full floating traction bars,Rough country dual steering stabilizer,16k 5th wheel hitch,Billet grill,Line-x,Gaylord FG bed cover, Complete alpine dvd,nav,cd pushing 1750 watts!
my truck pics http://community.webshots.com/user/trxjunkie
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