Fordification Members Needed

[68 Ford Stepside]

Fordification members needed to make or break a myth. Fill your truck up with gas. Drive for a week with your tail gate up. Check your mileage. Fill your truck up again & drive for a week with your tail gate down. Check your mileage.The old myth says you get better gas mileage with the tail gate down.If at least a few members do this,it will make or break the myth.

[1972hiboy]

Myth busters did this one. they found the the net tailgate fetched the best results. Next is tailgate up. the worst mileage came from tailgate down.

[68 Ford Stepside]

Myth busters did this one. they found the the net tailgate fetched the best results. Next is tailgate up. the worst mileage came from tailgate down.

LOL! I'd still like to see what our members come up with.

[1972hiboy]

I dunno know about your 300 but my 390 typically gets the same mileage uphill down hill loaded unloaded. I think the last time I clocked the mileage I drove up to sacramento ca unloaded and got 10mpg picked up a 2500 lb lance camper and got 7mpg on the way back. I think thats been the most difference in mileage i have ever gotten in that truck. typically in between 1 or 2 mpg.

[68 Ford Stepside]

Well Hi Boy, No one here has to do what I posted. I thought it would be neat to see the results of such a test just for kicks.If I have ruffled your feathers, please forgive me. Have A Great Ford Day!

[Mancar1]

I have tried the tailgate down up and off on different Ford trucks I have owned over the years. I never really noticed enough diff to note. Sounds good to me Stepside so I will give er another try and post what I come up with. I always say, "Have a great day, and if U don't it is your own darn fault."

[Whateverman]

back when the ol' pig was my daily driver i did that experiment, it made a slight difference in fuel economy - nothing huge,around 1 -2 mpg on the hwy,zero difference around town.. PLUS it noticeably made it harder to slow the truck down from highway speed

[jzjames]

Wish I had the money to fill up my tank. Here in WA it would cost me $80.
And our legislators want to raise the gas tax.

[1972hiboy]

Well Hi Boy, No one here has to do what I posted. I thought it would be neat to see the results of such a test just for kicks.If I have ruffled your feathers, please forgive me. Have A Great Ford Day!

stepside, my intention wasnt to discourage you. I apologize, sometimes with text you cant tell what tone the poster is using. My post was meant to be more jokenly in tone then I think you may have interpreted. I was mearly poking fun at the fact that alot of guys gripe about how their trucks seem to get the same mileage no matter what they do. This has been conversational filler for a long time. No hard feelings man, I didnt mean to rub you against the grain.

[Calfdemon]

I would LOVE to help out... But unfortunately, my truck is STILL in pieces and getting bodywork done to it in preperation for paint. I doubt I will be putting this truck back together until the fall.

[Kurt Combs]

Okay, this requires firing up my memory banks, and they don't work as well as they used to. Seems to me someone did a wind tunnel test on a 32 Ford sedan and discovered it was more aerodynamic if it was tested backwards. Yep, it would get better mileage in reverse if you could drive it that way. My guess on this topic is that it makes more difference on a long bed verses a short bed, or the other way around.

[guhfluh]

Long bed vs short bed, crew vs regular cab does make a difference, as does the year, make and model. Old trucks were not built with aerodynamic fuel mileage in mind and tested to the Nth degree in a wind tunnel. New trucks are. Mythbusters did a test on a new, shortbed, crew cab truck. I have proven that my Club Cab, long bed, '96 Dodge Ram will get ~1-1.5mpg(2 at most) better with the gate down, on the highway at 65mph. At 75mph, the gain is too little to accurately measure. At 55mph there isn't much difference seen either.

[71fordkid]

does taking the trunk lid off my Bimmer count? .