MPG Improvement with Tonneau?

[Tommy R]

Hey folks,

Has anyone installed a tonneau cover and noticed any change (or not) in their fuel economy? I've been considering a cover for quite some time to secure gear in the bed, but I may be inclined to pull the trigger sooner if I felt it would improve the horrific mileage my Rebel gets.

Thanks!
Tommy

 

[Ellisstrong]

I didn’t really notice any

 

[Billy James]

Nothing worth mentioning. At first I thought maybe...but I think that was just coincidence. My MPG is the same whether the tonneau cover is on or off.

 

[habu987]

I've got a Retrax on mine, no noticeable change in MPG.

 

[V8Spock]

For what it worth... I put 1000 highway miles on my Laramie this week with a RetraxONE MX and got 20.2 mpg. Used 89 octane.

 

[Kxlexus]

I put mine on to soon to get a baseline MPG without the cover. I wouldn’t expect much if any improvement in gas mileage

 

[ForTehNguyen]

if this improved mpg they wouldve included it from the factory to juice their fleet MPG average

 

[Biga]

if this improved mpg they wouldve included it from the factory to juice their fleet MPG average

When Ram had the SFE (Super Fuel Efficiant) model, it came with a bed cover. That said it is probably a very negligible amount like less then a 1/2 MPG improvement and not enough to cover the cost of the cover if that were the only reason you bought one.

 

[Cueva del Osos]

I installed the BakFlip F1 on my Ltd (love it!) and really didn't notice any mileage increase (but that wasn't my reason for installing). Interestingly, pre-tonneau, I drove to our travel trailer storage yard (about 34 miles - 30 highway, 4 city) with a boxed new toilet in the bed (close to the tailgate). I'd opened the box to inspect the toilet when it was delivered and spaced tucking or taping the box flaps down prior to hitting the road. I realized my mistake as I was speeding down the on-ramp of the interstate, but kept going at 75mph with a third eye glued to that box to make sure I didn't send a piece of cardboard flying. The only time that box twitched was when we caught a 25-30mph crosswind in one of the canyons. To me, that confirmed that the airflow on the Ltd is really well-tuned to go from roof to tailgate - so I wasn't expecting the tonneau to do much in the MPG quest (and I wasn't disappointed! lol). I could never deal with the aggravation of a one-piece hard tonneau (try hauling 5-gal buckets of paint when you can't close the cover) - but the folding cover is the perfect mix of protection/security/flexibility for me personally. I did originally worry about the impact to MPG should I drive distance with the tonneau folded open one or two panels - but that toilet box demonstrated to me that I'm good to go in any configuration short of full open (flipped up against the back window...which leaves the top corners of the cover sticking out 1-2" past the sides of the cab). FYI, I'm another fan of Lucas Kyle @ Truck Alterations...great price, quick service and undamaged shipping (my fed-ex guys, on the other hand, wasn't so impressed with the size/weight of that box! lol)

 

[2019REBEL]

Watch a old Mythbuster thread, adding a tonneau cover doesn't improve mileage. Myth busted