Truck Tonneau Covers - Do They Really Save On Gas?

With the gas prices seemingly out-of-control, many manufacturers and retailers are claiming that fitting a tonneau cover to your truck can save you money and that the cover can pay for itself in next to no time. But are such claims true? Does one type of cover increase MPG more than others?

The answer to the first question is yes. The bed of a pickup is nothing but a very big bucket. When driving, air is swept over the hood and cab and flows down into the bed where it gets trapped by the tailgate. This creates drag, which means more fuel is needed to maintain the vehicle at any given speed. By fitting a truck tonneau cover you save on gas as the vehicle is made more streamline. In fact, you'd be surprised just how much gas you do save.

But don't take my word for it. The Ford Motor Company recently commissioned a study into the effects on wind drag on pickups and how much gas mileage is improved by fitting a tonno cover. The finding found that MPG could be increased by as much as 10% when a truck was fitted with a cover.

Another study by the Specialty Equipment Market Association that tested 13 different tonneau covers on four different trucks found that MPG was increased by nearly 8%.

Of course one should never quite trust a manufacturer's claims or those of a vehicle association alone, but an independent body, the Western New England College's Department of Mechanical Engineers, also carried out independent studies and found that MPG was increased by 8%.

So, the evidence is clear: by fitting a cover you can save between 8 and 10 percent on your gas bill. Never before has fitting a tonno been as advantageous in terms of pay back on your investment; the price of truck tonneau covers has remained pretty much the same whereas the price of gas continues to rise.

Is one type of cover better than another in terms of increasing MPG. No; as long as the cover is fitted correctly it doesn't matter if it's a soft vinyl or a hard fiberglass tonneau cover, the savings on gas are the same.

With these questions out of the way your only worry now will be deciding on type, material and cost of the truck tonneau cover. You should take you time here. Think long and hard about whether you should buy a soft folding version like the Extang Trifecta tonneau cover or a soft rollup version like the Access Roll-up or whether you spend a lot more on lustrous, paint-matched fiberglass tonneau cover like the Gaylord TL-Series.

Whichever you decide to buy you can rest assured that they will all save you money on gas.

For truck tonneau covers like the Extang Trifecta tonneau cover or fiberglass tonneau covers from Gaylord just follow these links.