Better MPG: tailgate vs no tailgate?

[Enzo_Guy]

I've got a 4.0 SOHC 4x4 with 4.10 gears so my fuel economy is already bad enough. I've read the physics behind both arguments and from what I've seen it tends to be on a case-by-case basis. So for an '04 extended cab stepside would I even see any difference with or without a tailgate?

I know the 4.10 gears are my killer, I'm not desperately searching for better mileage and this is just a passive curiosity. Why? Because I got off work last night and found my tailgate had been stolen! Very busy shopping center (strip mall so everyone is on sidewalks), there is a city police officer (not private security) permanently assigned to patrol only this parking lot, I was in the 3rd space from the front of the place I work, and it was in broad daylight! It was so ridiculous that I literally started laughing when I saw it missing, I mean how on earth did some guy pull that one off?!

As for the replacement, the Ford dealer said it was discontinued and none of the local junkyards have one. I have a feeling this is going to be a royal pain to find an '04 stepside tailgate. Consolation prize is my comprehensive deductible is only $100!

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The shorter the bed and the longer the cab the more having a tailgate in place improves the aerodynamics of the truck.

 

[4x4junkie]

^^
That's been my experience also.

I saw some benefit with the gate down on my '94 longbed Reg Cab, but failed to see the same on a '98 Supercab I had borrowed.

 

[shane96ranger]

Does anyone know where I can get a tailgate net?

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I didn't realize cab and bed lengths would make a diff but that does make some sense. Mythbusters did a bit on this, look it up.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I didn't realize cab and bed lengths would make a diff but that does make some sense. Mythbusters did a bit on this, look it up.

IIRC they used Supercrew F-150's on their test with 5.5' beds. They showed they got better milage with the tailgate closed than open.

Leaves swirl in the bed of my '02 scab F-150 with the 6.5 box for miles, I have had pop bottles blown out of my std cab longbox Ranger.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Car and Driver did a test on it years ago and it showed that the tailgate up was slightly better than with it down.

My Ranger got slightly better with the tailgate up, but I saw the most improvement when I went to a soft bedcover. Back before they started dumping all the ethanol in the gas, with a soft bed cover and around 100 lbs in the bed, I made a 200 mile highway trip at 31 mpg. Not bad for a 6-cyl ranger...

 

[David88]

I don't know if it helps or not, but the dimensions of the bed on an 88 xcab is the same as an 03 xcab. So it should be the same on all the step bed models. So if you just want a tailgate, you can probably substitute a 90s model stepside gate.

 

[adsm08]

Yeah, you can use just about any Ranger step-side gate if you want one. It might not look right, but it will be there.

 

[Boiler]

2/3 bed cover

as a side note, when GM did their land speed record with their Cyclone pickup their tests proved that having the back 2/3 of the bed covered with the front 1/3 open provided the best aerodymanics. Obviously this wouldn't work for normal use but it is interesting knowledge.

 

[Mark_88]

Just leave it off...put a mesh net on there and you're already down by X number of #s...lighter is better...and toss those jump seats for an added weight loss...they must weigh 50lbs each...and if I follow this to the advice I gave someone recently, tell the girlfriend to meet you somewhere instead of hauling her a55 around town in your truck...

I get about 10 liters per 100 kilometers...or roughly 50,000 miles per gallon from just doing the above...and that is about the same as my Zuki was getting with FI and about half the versatility of the Ranger...

But, then again, the Zuki was a 4x4 with a big forehead...

 

[Charles (in GA)]

This has been hashed for years. A couple of Lockheed Aircraft engineers got into this argument a number of years ago, and to settle it, pulled one of their pickups into the large wind tunnel and tufted it and measured drag with the tailgate up and down. After discovering that THAT particular truck was quite a bit more efficient with the TG up, the argument continued and a different brand and bed length truck was put in the wind tunnel with the same basic results. This ended up in the local newspaper even.

I could see as much as a 2 mpg improvement with a Jeep Comanche short bed I had, when the TG was up.

All of that being said, there are still quite a few people who run around with their TG down, either thinking it improves the mileage or they are just too lazy to shut it.

Where I work, the parking lot is owned by my employer and one of the rules is that Tail Gates must be up when the truck is parked. If not and security notices it, your manager gets notified and you can get called in on the carpet.

Charles

 

[Mac]

Yep, long debated. Frist saw it in Trucking about 30 years ago - TG up. Couple of years ago, someone was able to get use of a wind tunnel thru his dad for his thesis on dynamics, same thing, TG up. Also showed what some one else said that running a 2/3'd from the rear cover was the best. Think frontal area has the most effect on any mileage.
Dave

 

[snoranger]

Does anyone know where I can get a tailgate net?

My '90 supercab got better mileage with the tailgate removed then it did with it up or down.

 

[doorgunner]

Mine does 2 mpg better tailgate down........but...............could be the body style....

ooooooooooooooooooooooops.....wrong picture.....


here it is......