Riding with the Tailgate Down or Off

[WildFrontier]

Do you ride with the tailgate down or off? Why? Better gas mileage?

I've heard that newer trucks should not be driven with the tailgates down or off for extended periods of time because it causes "Bed Flexing" which will weaken the cargo bed. Seems that newer trucks rely on the tailgate to be up to maintain the structural integrity of the cargo bed. Any added gas mileage with the tailgate down or removed is miniscule and the best way to improve gas mileage is to put a cover on the cargo bed.

Your thoughts.

[Inyourface1650]

I can actually see the tailgate thing, that is interesting. I suppose the tailgate would be a huuuuge reducer in bed flex. Kinda like driving with the the rear cross member in the frame removed verses on.

As for gas mileage, its better when you drive with the tailgate up. The air creates a kind of cushion in the bed, and the rest of the air just moves over it.

[Zero Six LE]

I have a cover but before that I drove with the gate up.

[BABYBUSA01]

NO! leave that baby on and up. i was traveling about 90miles to work and i left the tailgate down all of the time until a buddy of mine told me that it was absolutely unnecessary. apparantly, the show "myth busters" did a ligit test with a f150 and found out that the truck lost about 30 miles more from leaving the gate down. the spacing in between the cab and the bed itself is there to collect a downdraft that collects in the bed while driving and gives it a steady flow. in my opinion i would leave it up.

[popdaddy57]

Leave it up. That way the empty beer cans won't fall out, lol. But if you get going fast enough, they'll start floating around in the air and look all pretty.

[carphreak]

Originally Posted by BABYBUSA01

NO! leave that baby on and up. i was traveling about 90miles to work and i left the tailgate down all of the time until a buddy of mine told me that it was absolutely unnecessary. apparantly, the show "myth busters" did a ligit test with a f150 and found out that the truck lost about 30 miles more from leaving the gate down. the spacing in between the cab and the bed itself is there to collect a downdraft that collects in the bed while driving and gives it a steady flow. in my opinion i would leave it up.

i have seen said episode it was actually amazing. they had truck models in an aquarium with running water(airflow) and some particles to simulate the flow around the truck. i dunno about putting a cover though, i guess it should help more

[jstkruzn]

found that handling was better without tailgate, especially on interstate. mpg improved when almost all driving was "city." While economy was reduced with interstate driving, the frontier handled much better. Installed bed cover and combined economy has increased .7mpg; and handling is as good as without tailgate. I like the look of the truck much better with the cover, also. i think there are certainly different characteristics with different setups (cc v. kc, short bed v. long bed and ford v. nissan for instance.) so, don't take just my word for it, or even just mythbusters. be skeptical, get credible sources, then hands on experience. be cynical of information without references. the "grapevine" is not credible. would like to know where the info on bed flex came from. Someone should try the experiment that I performed (with all configurations). results should be able to be replicated. I did not record shear forces.

[WildFrontier]

I read about the bed flexing in an article concerning towing.

I checked the Discovery Website and that episode will air on Sep 20th and Oct 1st.

[igbar]

Originally Posted by jstkruzn

found that handling was better without tailgate, especially on interstate. mpg improved when almost all driving was "city." While economy was reduced with interstate driving, the frontier handled much better. Installed bed cover and combined economy has increased .7mpg; and handling is as good as without tailgate. I like the look of the truck much better with the cover, also. i think there are certainly different characteristics with different setups (cc v. kc, short bed v. long bed and ford v. nissan for instance.) so, don't take just my word for it, or even just mythbusters. be skeptical, get credible sources, then hands on experience. be cynical of information without references. the "grapevine" is not credible. would like to know where the info on bed flex came from. Someone should try the experiment that I performed (with all configurations). results should be able to be replicated. I did not record shear forces.

I watched the Episode in question. The reason you get better handling with the tailgate down is because the air moving over the cab comes directly down onto the the rear of the bed creating a downforce to the rear wheels. This is also what causes the mileage to go down.
With the tailgate up (as stated above) the aerodynamic forces create a captive vortex in the bed, essentially causing the airflow coming from the cab to transition over the bed of the truck instead of hitting the rear (tailgate area). Little to no downforce. That's why the beer cans look pretty swirling around in the bed and rarely float out the back of the truck...because of this vortex.

[SpikedLemon]

Originally Posted by jstkruzn

found that handling was better without tailgate, especially on interstate. mpg improved when almost all driving was "city." While economy was reduced with interstate driving, the frontier handled much better.

I bet you got better mileage in the city because the Frontier tailgate weighs so much.