Does a mesh tailgate improve gas mileage on a truck?

Question

Or are they mainly used to look cool? Who makes a good one? Is there any other way to improve gas mileage on a truck?

Answer 1

use the mesh money for gas and drive slower

Answer 2

Mythbusters, on the Discovery Channel, did part of an episode concerning this.  They did test with tailgate up, tailgate down, no tailgate, and an airgate.  The test with the airgate showed the best mileage.  There is a manufacturer called Airgate that makes these.  They work good.

Answer 3

When I had a truck, I got better mileage when the tailgate was removed.  I never tried an airgate because around here, they're not really considered cool...fads may be different in different places...

Answer 4

no they don't,,,, i watched it on mythbusters, the tailgate being shut does not hinder the vehicles gas mileage one bit, the air actually circulates and remains aero dynamic,,, the physicist that are hired by manufacturers did some math and made it that way,,, go figure,,, they did not use a mesh tailgate on the show, but i would assume that mesh tailgates may in fact hurt the gas mileage from the evidence that they provided, , viva la mythbusters viva hyneman

Answer 5

Air resistance goes up eponentially with speed, so driving slower helps.

More efficient acceleration and deceleration also helps (go lighter on the gas pedal).

Remove weight.  You pay to accelerate it every time you hit the gas.

Go light on the A/C.  You pay to run the compressor and fan (you can notice the clear drain on your power if you shut off the A/C while accelerating).

The best way to improve gas mileage is to have a beater compact sedan to drive when you don't need to haul bales of hay around.  That used to be expensive, but now that a tank of gas can be $50-100, the extra insurance cost is payed for in gas savings.  Your truck will last a lot longer too and have higher resale value as you put less miles on it.