Tailgate, to have or remove

[Silversides]

We're planning on a long trip from Vancouver B.C. to San Diego. Here's the question;to leave my
tailgate on or remove it??? Thinking about fuel economy. There will only be my geny in the box against the cab,
nothing to blow out. What's your thoughts, thanks

[shooter]

Mythbusters have tested if it makes a difference with or without tailgate - and the results were that it really doesn't.

[Admin]

I didn't think so....

But one of the 5th wheel tail gates does wonders for not having to jump out and open the gate before you back up....

[Scruffy and Tater]

We have the tailgate with the "v" in the middle. It has louvres that permit airflow. Scruffy installed it soon after we bought the 'Cat. It was easy to do. Our truck is red, the tailgate is black. They look good together.

[Maxtor]

Whether or not removing the tailgate helps with aerodynamics depends on your truck and RV configuration. One simple test for your vehicle, is to:
1. Lower your tailgate down.
2. Stretch a thin rope or string across the back of your truck.
3. Cut up some 12 inch pieces of rope
4. Attach the cut up pieces about every two feet along the stretched rope.
5. Take the truck for a drive and see at what angle the 12 inch ropes bend in the wind.

If they do not move, then the solid tailgate does not cause you a problem. If they bend at right angles, then remove the tailgate.

[moo2613]

I have found that I can't keep anything in the bed under ~ 5#'s if I have the Cat hooked up. I have lost numerous gas cans (with some gas in them) and several cooler lids. The 5ver makes for some major turbulence in the bed, If I had the option like you do, I would take it off, it won't hurt anything and I would love to hear of the outcome as far as mileage is concerned.

On a side note, I personally could not physically remove the gas cans without putting down the tailgate, so it has always been a mystery to me where they went. Does anybody know if the Cat eats plastic gas cans??

[grover]

I run both styles of tailgates depending on how long the trip wether or not I'll be hooking and unhooking alot, but I like to have a gate in case I go some were I can put stuff in the bed of the truck and other people won't be able to see it, especially when the DW goes shopping.

I have been cruising down the road with the rig hooked up and looked in my rearview mirror and had gas cans floating between the cab and the nose of the cat pretty crazy.

[MaxRock]

grover,

I've had the same thing happen, not with gas cans, but other items that were stored in the bed. On our last trip, (2) dog leads, about 20' each, go sucked out of the truck and blew down the side of the camper. The awning supports caught the end and I was dragging the remainder of the leads behind me. I was not at a place that I could stop w/o fear of getting run over, so I had to drive about 2 miles like this. I was afraid the leads would get tangled in the tires and damage the awning. Of course, as soon as I pulled over, they both turned loose. Fortunately no damage.

My personal opinion, if you are trying to conserve some cash, I don't think you will see enough improvement to offset the cost of the gate. Kind of like the air deflectors on top of the cab, from what I've read they don't pay off either.

[Maxtor]

grover,



My personal opinion, if you are trying to conserve some cash, I don't think you will see enough improvement to offset the cost of the gate. Kind of like the air deflectors on top of the cab, from what I've read they don't pay off either.

I agree with MaxRock. I do have the V tailgate, for ease of connecting the 5th wheel while keeping other things secure in the bed of the truck, not necessarily to save fuel.

[scottz]

I would be very surprised if removing the tailgate did anything for you; especially with the 5th hooked up.

Most of us run the V gate for convenience. It is well worth the price. You'll be convinced if you ever forget to lower the stock tailgate or if you jam it into the front of the cat trying to hook up on an angle. Not that I have ever done that, but I could see it coming. The V gate is worth the money to just not have to get out and lower the stock gate.

[scottz]

PS: The turbulence created in the bed of the truck while pulling the cat is impressive. I've lost some things that I thought were heavy enough. We don't even like the dog back there because it blows so hard.

[BamaWildcat]

I've also looked in the rear view mirror and seen stuff " floating" between the 'Cat nose and the back of the cab. But the one main reason I've wanted to get a V tailgate is that I have a habit of closing the tailgate when I go to get in the truck after being in the bed for any reason and you all know what that means when you are unhooking.
P.S.
Lucky for me I always pull out very slowly and notice that slight bump when the hitch hits the gate.

[mattebury]

I didn't think so....

But one of the 5th wheel tail gates does wonders for not having to jump out and open the gate before you back up....

I was reading someplace that the louvered tailgates are actually worse on drag than regular tailgates. I'll see if I can't find that article. They actually put truck in a wind tunnel.

[mattebury]

Fairly technical article, but if you go to page 8, you'll see that the coefficient of drag increases with the tailgate down. In the case of the F150 with a mesh tailgate, the CD went up higher.


http://ecow.engr.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/getbig/me/363/ghandhi1/pickup.pdf

Here's the summary article


http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/highlights/2007/0705uplands_e.html

Key finding, (IMHO)

While lowering or removing the tailgate on trucks with an eight-foot long box may decrease the drag by a small margin (less than one percent), lowering it on a six-foot cab – like those typical of crew-cab trucks – increased the drag by five percent. Using a mesh tailgate cover raised it another five percent or more.

[Silversides]

Thanks guys for all your thoughts. I guess it is settled now,leave the gate on. Like the idea that after unhooked and driving around, people can't see inside the box, say after shopping. A "v"gate sounds good,maybe soon.

[Silversides]

Hey Mark, that was very interesting. Who would of thought.A question for you. We be down in San Diego for spring break,the kids are lined up with the zoo,Legoland,Seaworld,etc. What's to see/do for us big kids? Last time we visited was 1992. Not really sure what to see. Any suggestions would be great.