Do "vented" tailgates help on 5th wheels?
Friend of mine says he gets better mileage with a vented/louvered tailgate. Do they really make a difference or is it just another novelty item that's nice to have but not needed.
Forum Discussion
Our Place wrote:
He might as all rigs aren't the same.
Friend of mine says he gets better mileage with a vented/louvered tailgate. Do they really make a difference or is it just another novelty item that's nice to have but not needed.
I've used them on four different trucks pulling my GN trailers and 5th wheel RVs.
I towed the first 5th wheel RV with out a tail gate as it cut turbulence in my trucks bed. Bought a Custom Flow steel gate. Now I still had a gate with louvers to let wind turbulence out and a V notch to help hook hitch and un hitch easier.
Never considered them as a fuel saver simply because it wasn't advertised as doing so.- I had our 5th wheel tailgate powdercoated to match the truck and it looks gooood. :)
- Don't be distracted by MPG.
It makes hooking up MUCH easier.
I poked a hole in the fiberglass of my 5er (tailgate down) by only being off by a "few" degrees. :( N-Trouble wrote:
Ever see the Mythbusters episode where they tested mileage on a truck with both tailgate on and off? The truck with the tailgate on got better mileage. MYTH BUSTED...
Not to mention those damn vented tailgates are hideously ugly...
+1 I was going to mention that Myth Busters episode! That said, I do have one of these tailgates but only because of the ease of hitching. And I agree the stock tailgate looked much better.- Well I can get around 19.5-20 MPG at 60-65 MPH bobtail on the highway with 4:10 gears as pictured above, so I do not think that air flow effects much on big heavy diesel pickups. With golf clubs in the V-box, tools and eu-1000i in the big box, hitch and two of us, we are around 7200 pounds. Chris
- I wonder how the air flow works when you have a 5th wheel hitch in the bed breaking up the flow? I doubt it makes any difference at all with the 5'er hooked up. Without the 5'er I would think that the 5th hitch would disrupt the air flow enough to not really matter whether you have a V type or reg tailgate.
- Nothing flies out of my V-Box!
Chris - Nice to know ol Bombero-JC.
Our Place wrote:
Friend of mine says he gets better mileage with a vented/louvered tailgate. Do they really make a difference or is it just another novelty item that's nice to have but not needed.
*Maybe* an incredibly slight improvement - only noticeable in his mind..:W
The *major* advantage/s of a "V" gate are:
1. Leave TG up when hitching or unhitching.
2. Generally speaking - nobody wants to steal "V" TG.
Exactly the opposite for factory TG. Easy pickins', easily sold.
Viscous circle of supply and demand due to -
Theft, and dented (for lots of reasons - not just trlrs).
3. Generally, "V" gates are lighter than factory TG, easier on-and-off.....PLUS - no big deal if you drop a corner when taking it off.
~
BTW - "DRM" - I do all the same things I did with the factory TG
with my $150. Northern Tool (Steel) "V"-gate.
Stand on it, sit on it, rest heavy "stuff" on it, use the "V" to center long lumber, etc.
~- We opted not to get one because of loading and unloading. When I load the generator I sit it on the tailgate then climb up and move it to right behind the cab , do the same with the bikes. Just don't seem like the louvered tailgates would stand up to that, but I do like the idea of not having to open and close the tailgate for hitching. Other than driving gently not sure how much you can truly improve gas mileage when pulling 10,000 lbs.
