2.3 Owners with tonneau cover - any mileage increase?

[JHTS]

Looking for feedback from 2.3 owners with a tonneau cover. Did your milage increase and if so how much and what kind of driving do you do? I drive 21 miles one way to work half is limited access highway and half is 45 mph city driving, I normally catch green on half of the traffic lights.

Sponsored

 

[Johnnypedals]

My mileage went down. But putting the cover on also coincided with winter.

 

[superj]

i didn't notice an increase but i also didn't notice a drop.

tonneau covers don't actually help though. the bed and cab design really moves air over the bed more then they used to. the little bit of air entering the bed creates a little pressure which also keeps the air flowing over the bed. there is some turbulence but not like the old days where it was better to take the tailgate off or run a tonneau.

on my old truck, a 2017 nissan titan, i got better gas mileage running the factory sport bar because it pushed the airflow down the bed even more and made the flow like a car. thats why i wish i could find a similarly designed sports bar for the ranger but no-go

.

see how the rear legs are farther back and the sides are filled in with that plate? that helped a lot

 

[purdyd]

i didn't notice an increase but i also didn't notice a drop.

tonneau covers don't actually help though. the bed and cab design really moves air over the bed more then they used to. the little bit of air entering the bed creates a little pressure which also keeps the air flowing over the bed. there is some turbulence but not like the old days where it was better to take the tailgate off or run a tonneau.

on my old truck, a 2017 nissan titan, i got better gas mileage running the factory sport bar because it pushed the airflow down the bed even more and made the flow like a car. thats why i wish i could find a similarly designed sports bar for the ranger but no-go

.

see how the rear legs are farther back and the sides are filled in with that plate? that helped a lot

I might buy into that theory.

i had a small amount of sand on the bed rail and drove it around and it was still there. That is with a tonneau cover.

I put my cover on so soon after I bought it I didn’t have a chance to notice any gas mileage difference.

 

[superj]

i noticed the air flow also because in high school, we always threw our soda bottles in the bed when surfing and they would blow out while driving home. now, they stay in the bed and sometimes will just swirl around a little bit instead of blowing out

 

[Ron Quixote]

No change since installing mine.

 

[BC_Blue]

Slightly worse mileage (rated 11-->12 L/100) in city average, but combination of new tires (8 lbs/corner), retractable with crossbars, winter fuel.

Geez.. the Mythbusters revisit episode was 2006! Definitely some improved aerodynamics since then.

 

[SLJ]

Had one on my Maverick for a year. No change. Just ordered one for the Ranger. Not expecting any change either.

 

[JHTS]

Thanks all

 

[Watchdog62]

On my 2019 CC fx4 I added a tonneau cover when it was still stock otherwise and saw 0 improvement in gas milage. I just added one to my 2025 RR and expect the same.

 

[kjsmith97]

Had a tonneau on my 25 for a few weeks now. I have noticed no change to maybe even a little worse mileage with the tonneau, but it has been warming up here in central Louisiana, so running the A/C more could account for decreased mileage. I think the short bed combined with the large cab results in little aerodynamic change, so no real difference. I did notice about .5 mpg increase with a tonneau on 2013 Tundra with a 6.5 foot bed. No big deal for me that the mpg had little to no change, I mainly wanted the tonneau to keep things in the bed drier and keep prying eyes away.

 

[purdyd]

Had a tonneau on my 25 for a few weeks now. I have noticed no change to maybe even a little worse mileage with the tonneau, but it has been warming up here in central Louisiana, so running the A/C more could account for decreased mileage. I think the short bed combined with the large cab results in little aerodynamic change, so no real difference. I did notice about .5 mpg increase with a tonneau on 2013 Tundra with a 6.5 foot bed. No big deal for me that the mpg had little to no change, I mainly wanted the tonneau to keep things in the bed drier and keep prying eyes away.

I think that is a good point about cab and bed size

I know on my Toyota short cab 7’ long bed I noticed better mileage with a topper.

 

[CACTUSGREYFX4]

I haven't noticed a change. With the wind coming over the cab in winter pretty well clears all the snow off tonneau cover other than a bit piles up right behind the cab from back window about a foot back.

 

[Watchdog62]

Nope. 0 improvement with my 2019 2.3 or new 3.0 with full tonneau vs open bed. Sorry they are great but not for milage.

 

[VehicleNanny]

i noticed the air flow also because in high school, we always threw our soda bottles in the bed when surfing and they would blow out while driving home. now, they stay in the bed and sometimes will just swirl around a little bit instead of blowing out

"Soda" bottles. Right!

Sponsored