Nissan Titan Forum banner

Will Tonneau Cover improve Gas Mileage????

7K views 15 replies 14 participants last post by  TexasTitan05 
#1 ·
The title of this post says it all. Will the cover improve mileage?????
 
#3 ·
I would think that if you were doing mostly around town driving, it would be negligable. For highway driving, it might save some, but I really doubt some of the claims I've seen from cover manufacturers (15% +).

They may have found 1 truck under the right circumstances that gets a huge improvement, but each would have different drag/airflow characteristics & thus diff. results. Bet there is even a diff. between KC, CC & CC long bed Titans !

Then there's the math - even if you get 8%, that's about 1mpg on the Titan. Over 12,000 miles, that means you saved ~50 gals @ $3.25 = $162. At that rate it will take 2 years to payback the average cover and 5+ years for the more expensive ARE's, Backflip etc.

Of course, there are many other good reasons to have a cover.
I put on the Trifecta for a number of reasons, any extra gas mileage was just a bonus !
 
#5 ·
I got 2mpg better.
 
#6 ·
I noticed a 1 - 2 mpg difference...not the true reason I bought one though.
 
#7 ·
I'd say mine helps a little, maybe 1 mpg, but it definitely helps enough to more than offset the added weight.

I have the A.R.E. LS II, it is quite heavy.

A lighter weight top would probably provide a more pronounced improvement.

I would say the truck rides slightly better with the added weight.
 
#9 ·
Does anyone have a rollup tonneau?
 
#10 ·
Myth Busters says no it does not.
 
#11 ·
I have the TruxedoLoPro which is a soft roll up cover. It is a great cover but I haven't seen any change in MPG (been using it for 2 years). All I drive is 65 highway miles everyday @75mph. No city driving at all.
 
#12 ·
I'm with Jarhead on this one. While my topper weighs in at about 180lbs I think the aerodynamics of it outweigh the additional weight. I didn't buy it specifically to help MPG - which I think it does do - but it was on my mind. I primarily bought it so stuff in the bed doesn't get rained on, snowed on, blown out, tossed out or stolen.
 
#13 ·
I just installed a truxedo lo-pro..

i haven't tried to figure any gas mileage with or without it.....i bought it mostly to make the bed act more like a "trunk" when i'm not hauling major items in the bed.
 
#14 ·
Anybody have pics of the truxedo lo pro?
 
#16 ·
I thought the Mythbusters did something about this (not a Tonneau, but, the difference between a truck with the tailgate up vs. a truck with the tailgate down). Guess which truck won (got better gas mileage).....................they both got the same gas mileage, and the myth was busted.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top