Quote:
Originally Posted by MetroMPG
Unfortunately, duct tape and cardboard (or better - score some free coroplast) is the best answer to your problems, if you're looking for "quick and cheap".
Because in an hour or so, off the top of my mind, you could easily fashion (in estimated order of impact):
- half tonneau
- partial grille block
- smooth wheel covers
- rear & partial front fender skirts
- fold back passenger mirror (if feasible)
And maybe you'll save yourself 5-10% on the cost of the trip.
If you have more than a few hours and lots of coroplast, an aeroshell style bed cap is your best bet. |
Anything I can do for free/low cost that could bump the mpg is something I'm interested in for sure. Although I'm not very handy, making the bed shell out of plastic is likely beyond my limited skills (nor do I think I could get my hands on that much plastic without digging into my wallet). Duct tape and cardboard is right in my ballpark. I'm certainly comfortable with folding my passenger side mirror in, I have plenty of visibility out the back window, but is it legal? I'm crossing through about a dozen states, should I worry that I might get stopped in some of them for doing that?
Another consideration is when I make the trip in May after the spring semester is over, and I'll have a bunch of big Tupperware bins in the back with all my stuff in them. Should I throw them in the back of the bed near the tailgate, sort of an "ersatz" partial tonneau? I also have a tarp, which given the inclination I could MacGyver into something resembling a tonneau using the bed side rails, but since it's not rigid and will start flapping about, I doubt it'd work very well.
And as far as the partial grille block, would I need to keep an eye out for the engine temperature? There's a bit in between the tow hooks that I'm sure doesn't go into the engine/radiator, and I could block that up without worrying, but I'm trying to baby my engine for as long as possible, and since most of the other mods reduce drag and therefore the load on the engine (all other things being equal), the grille block is the only one that could go either way, because if I don't stay on top of it, it could do some real damage. At least, that's the impression I get.