Quote:
Originally Posted by TheTestPilot
Just had a look at the 1997 university tonneau study(post 46) it says tailgate down has a positve effect ,I thought it was the other way around?
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In Sport Truck Magazine's aero issue,at least one of the truck gurus interviewed mentioned that in one instance,a pickup might see lower drag if the tailgate were swung from the top,allowing a hole between the bed floor and the bottom of the gate.
We're talking about 1% drag and 1/2% mpg.
Every truck should be considered on a case specific basis.
The clincher for me was the lift issue.I believe that lift increased 30% when the gate was lowered.
Correction:
SAE Paper# 881874 claimed that the half-tonneau reduced rear lift by 30%.
The combination cab-wing and half-tonneau maintained the 30% rear lift reduction.
Lowering the tailgate of an open bed increased rear lift by 16%.
Sorry for the late correction.