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shappi
Dodge Dakota
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5/21/2004
10:34:46
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 Subject: putting down talegate
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i have a 94 long bed and i want to add to the rumor that putting your tailgate down will help gas mileage? also will it help if you remove the spare tire? thanks shappi
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conig
Dodge Dakota
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5/21/2004
11:40:28
|  RE: putting down talegate
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spare tire= weight so possibly, but I doubt enough to really care about.
I was listening to Car Talk on NPR one sunday and someone called in and asked this question. They said it made no difference what so over. So I tested it two tanks in the 4 following setups.
2000 gen 111 cc 4.7l auto
tonnue cover= 11.8 11.6 MPG
tail gate down 11.5 11.6
tail gate at 45degree angle 11.7 11.6
tail gate closed 11.8 11.65
So atleast on a gen III its not really any difference worth caring about. I now run tail gate up with a toolbox and my tonnue is in the shed.
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?
Dodge Dakota
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5/21/2004
13:46:15
| RE: putting down talegate
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Only on highway , long trip!!
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Kurt in SJ
Dodge Dakota
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5/21/2004
16:43:27
|  RE: putting down talegate
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I tried this just last weekend on a 400mi run from San Jose CA to Medford OR.
SJ to Medford gate up - 18.5 MPG
Medford to SJ gate down - 20 MPG
one other possible difference:
Medford 1300 ft elevation
San Jose 50 ft elevation
My truck always seems to get 18 MPG, uphill, downhill, with the wind, against the wind, fast, slow, whatever. I'm not sure what to think about my little test
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well
Dodge Dakota
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5/21/2004
19:28:04
| RE: putting down talegate
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with that 1250 foot elevation change i think it negates the results
there was some aeronautical engineer that posted detailed results on the tailgate thing, he came to the conclusion it makes no difference
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99 cc dak
Dodge Dakota
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5/21/2004
19:33:53
| RE: putting down talegate
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Putting the tailgate down does not improve gas milage on newer trucks. I don't know what year they start, but trucks are designed now to create an air bubble in the bed of the truck for the air to flow over. If you put your tailgate down in a newer truck it will actually hurt your gas milage.
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Canuck
Dodge Dakota
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5/21/2004
19:58:42
|  RE: putting down talegate
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Hey Kurt!!!! How about those Calgary Flames????
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Kurt in SJ
Dodge Dakota
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5/21/2004
20:10:10
| RE: putting down talegate
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Whatever......Chris Simon likes little boys
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Canuck
Dodge Dakota
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5/21/2004
20:30:53
| RE: putting down talegate
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Yup!! He`ll like them even more when he wins the cup!!
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Kurt in SJ
Dodge Dakota
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5/24/2004
10:23:14
| RE: putting down talegate
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Glad you have a sense of humor!
Beauty Ehh!
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Calgary
Dodge Dakota
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5/24/2004
17:44:59
| RE: putting down talegate
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The Calgary Flames to take the CUP!!!!!!
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93dakman
Dodge Dakota
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5/24/2004
22:46:48
| RE: putting down talegate
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I did notice with my bed cover on, the very back of the vinyl sucks dwn really hard and the front of the cover is bubbled up really bad. I dont know what these low and high pressure zones mean, but i get 13 MPG no matter how I drive, when I drive or where I drive
'93 v6
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racerX
Dodge Dakota
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5/25/2004
00:32:02
| RE: putting down talegate
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that vertical wall at the end of the bed is for sure going to cause drag when youre moving at a pretty good amount of speed. this was tested once, found it on the internet somewhere, wish i still had the link. they had the percentages of wind resistance with the gate up, down, using a tailgate net (actually caused more drag, because it caused turbulance in the air passing by and through) using a bed cover and a bed shell. there's a reason that nascar craftsman trucks don't have open beds with tailgates...
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Mark
Forum Moderator
5/25/2004
11:00:56
| RE: putting down talegate
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Gen 3 were designed in a wind tunnel therefor no difference with it up or down. In my Gen 2 I experienced an 8-10% increase in MPG with the tailgate down over a 900 mile trip. It also drives smoother at high speeds
-Mark Hryckiewicz
1993 Sport RC SB 5.2L Auto
Mark.DodgeDakotas.com
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calgarydakota
Dodge Dakota
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5/27/2004
17:18:34
| RE: putting down talegate
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GO FLAMES
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slopehead
Dodge Dakota
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5/31/2004
14:10:40
| RE: putting down talegate
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97 cc shortbed automatic tonno cover 22.8 mpg, no tonno same trip, 19.9 mpg. trip length 487 miles.
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alashaman
Dodge Dakota
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6/01/2004
01:12:25
| RE: putting down talegate
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Some group did a study about this, i wil try to locate the article. Basically what they found what that most trucks are designed to develope a amount of turbulance inside the bed. once this turbulance is circulating all other air moves over this area and outside the truck. By putting the tailgate down you prevent this turbulance from occuring and actually decrease your gas mileage is most cases. The netting produced even worse mileage over all then having a droped tailgate / no tailgate. The Tonneau covers increased gas mileage but only by about 6 percent on adverage. Over all the variation from the worst situation to the best situation was about 1 mile per gallon. (if your getting 15mgp and you add a tonneau.. gain 6 percent its about .9mpg)
Only in rare cases did the Tonneau covers help with an increase of 24 percent, your not going to get this on a Dak, especially not a gen3. most people that run with the tailgate down only end up with a broken tailgate
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alashaman
Dodge Dakota
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6/01/2004
01:15:01
| RE: putting down talegate
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Found the article i refrences
http://truck-bed-covers.com/Tonneau_covers_save_fuel.htm
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