My Jaw Dropped When I Saw How Much My Truck’s MPG Improved WITH a Bed Tonneau Cover vs WITHOUT!

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[garyscott]

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.

[escapenguin]

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.

[davidr]

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.

[jessewalter]

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.

[wes]

I like my hard shell cover because it is lockable and you can carry things on top. Thanks for sharing.

[MrFordguy]

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.

[MrSweetHart]

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.

[philliproscher]

My tonneau made my truck much more usable for my family. Not sure about the MPG gain, but worth the investment for sure.

[spcneary]

1.6mpg is significant, but you could gain 3-5mpg minimum on pretty much any vehicle just by slow starting and driving 5mph slower.

[haroldbeauchamp]

So happy to see Nathan back in these videos. So much talent in that Stubby truck…

[jonathanhealey]

I applaud Nathan for holding back after Andre mentioned stiff and soft covers lol

[bigdan_]

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.

[herbwheeler]

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.

[micahv]

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.

[BadmunkyWRX]

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!

[jaredglass]

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.

[Rob-lvwo]

I bought my cover to keep the weather out than better MPG.

[machfive]

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.

[slmjake]

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!

[IamGroot]

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...