More fifth wheel questions.

Hubby replaced our regular tailgate with a Louvered on last year, and says he gets about 3-5 more miles per gallon, as far as the mud flap brushes, we don't know, never installed any on our pickup. Good Luck and Happy Camping !!

md_procouple wrote:
Hubby replaced our regular tailgate with a Louvered on last year, and says he gets about 3-5 more miles per gallon, as far as the mud flap brushes, we don't know, never installed any on our pickup. Good Luck and Happy Camping !!

Please get back to forum and get the make and model of that tailgate.

If I foind one that gave 1/2 mpg better I would purchase it in a heartbeat:-)


Ron w.

I would rather use OEM tailgate, that is more secure when parked in CG. I don't think you would notice any mileage difference, but maybe a little less turbulence. I would just make sure to have some good flaps on the truck, to deflect rocks/mud. I would not bother with diamond plate either. If you tow off hi-way, on gravel etc, your experience may be different than mine.

Jerry

md_procouple wrote:
Hubby replaced our regular tailgate with a Louvered on last year, and says he gets about 3-5 more miles per gallon, as far as the mud flap brushes, we don't know, never installed any on our pickup. Good Luck and Happy Camping !!

Once you get the make and model of that, I WANT ONE ! ! !

3-5 MPG increase by going to a louvered tailgate? I am thinking that your hubby is either saying that to justify the purchase with you... OR he is mistaken.....

sorry, not meant to be rude, just a realist ....

1. Louvered tail gates besides being ugly have only one function. They allow hitching without dropping the tail gate. When not towing they provide zero security.
2. Brush rock flaps again are b_<< ugly IMHO. They may pososibly help prevent some rocks from hitting the trailer. But how many times are you going to be pulling down a gravel road? I have some custom molded mud flaps that do just fine and dont make my truck look like a semi wannabe.
You should instead consider buying a lockable bed cover for times your not towing, keep the stock tail gate and if your really worried add nice custom molded mud flaps. At least the truck wont look okie that way.

grizz272 wrote:
These 2 came from my DW
1. The ventilated fifth-wheel tailgates. Do they do anything besides making it easier to hitch up? My DW was wondering about fuel mileage and wind resistance.
2. The mud flap brushes that go all the way across the back of the PU. Do they protect the front of the fifth wheel? Would I be better off just putting diamond plate on the front of the fifth wheel?

I am just setting here twiddling my thumbs waiting for March. That is when the truck will be here and the fifth wheel will be ready.

I inherited a louvered gate and like it for 2 reasons. 1) easier to hitch, overall, but you do have to raise the FW higher to clear the bottom of the notch. If you =don't= get it high enough, or there's a bump you run over with your back wheels, you then hook it with the king pin. 2) Much less turbulence in the truck bed, at least with my old Komfort. I had so much turbulence that I could easily lose 12" 2x4s out of the bed and did lose a couple garbage bags that were't secured properly. Oops...

Mileage? Nothing I could measure when towing, but I never really took a long enough trip with it to really tell. My 3 longest trips all happened before I got the gate. Not towing? I never left it on long enough to tell. The =best= mileage I ever got in my truck was when I had a 14 cu ft chest freezer in the back end, tucked right up behind the cab. Got just over 23 mpg running at 75 between PHX and Cortez, CO, empty. Aerodynamics!

My old Komfort had Al diamond plate on the front end and I know it helped save me from dings and dirt stains, as we =do= boondock, and where we go can get pretty sloppy. Personally, I find that much more attractive than those big-a$$ flaps.

Lyle

MFL wrote:
I would rather use OEM tailgate, that is more secure when parked in CG. I don't think you would notice any mileage difference, but maybe a little less turbulence. I would just make sure to have some good flaps on the truck, to deflect rocks/mud. I would not bother with diamond plate either. If you tow off hi-way, on gravel etc, your experience may be different than mine.

Jerry

People worry more about mudflaps when they go up to Alaska since many of the roads up there are gravel. The only problem I've ever had with a rock is one that came flying off a rock truck going the other way. On paved roads it's not that much of an issue tho I saw some posts about CA roads being a problem.

I have the louvered tailgate and would buy another if necessary. It takes one step out of the ritual necessary to hitch and unhitch. And my tailgate would hit the trailer if I had it down when hitching at an angle. I have had to do this in the past, and the notched tailgate makes it easy peasy. You'll get no mileage improvement, at least not measurable, IMO anyway.

Don't have those brush flaps, never felt the need for them, and I think they look really really ugly. We don't venture offroad so it's a non-issue anyway.

MFL wrote:
I would rather use OEM tailgate, that is more secure when parked in CG. I don't think you would notice any mileage difference, but maybe a little less turbulence. I would just make sure to have some good flaps on the truck, to deflect rocks/mud. I would not bother with diamond plate either. If you tow off hi-way, on gravel etc, your experience may be different than mine.

Jerry

People worry more about mudflaps when they go up to Alaska since many of the roads up there are gravel. The only problem I've ever had with a rock is one that came flying off a rock truck going the other way. On paved roads it's not that much of an issue tho I saw some posts about CA roads being a problem.

The flaps I have pictured, are custom fitted to the truck, no drill, bolt right on, plate is SS. In my case, often using SPs, with gravel, or camping on the grass, in other parks, I do pick up rocks in the tires, and mud, after heavy rain, and then pull out onto hi-way. A quality flap works great for me when towing, or while using truck on back roads for hunting.

Jerry