Mileage with Tonneau?

[Firestop]

I won't have time to let you know. It's one of the next purchases for the truck when it arrives in the next week or two (already have a box of stuff to put on her when she gets home.)

But I want a tonneau for a few different reasons, none of which involve range/economy.

1) I don't want my truck's bed to be a convenient trashcan for other people

2) I am not driving my truck around in the winter with a bed full of snow and ice that will begin flying around said bed as it thaws and melts.

3) I like the look of most of them.

I have owned 3 pickups, with the Lightning becoming my fourth soon. All have had/will have tonneau covers. I've found much utility with them, and doubt that I would have a truck without one.

Ditto….I’m going to run my own tests, just out of curiosity

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[RickLightning]

Gotta love it.

Multiple tests have been run including Myth Busters. A 3-4% variation is very small. How are you going to control for temperature, slope, wind, minor fluctuations in speed due to being human, someone making you slow down?

 

[LightningShow]

Whoa! The Mythbusters went into the future to test the range impact of a tonneau on an F-150 Lightning! I definitely missed that episode!

 

[Firestop]

Gotta love it.

Multiple tests have been run including Myth Busters. A 3-4% variation is very small. How are you going to control for temperature, slope, wind, minor fluctuations in speed due to being human, someone making you slow down?

I don’t disagree, and didn’t say I don’t believe them…I do. I’m getting my cover for other reasons, a will test the range out of curiosity. The test won’t be perfect….I’m analytical, not a***.

 

[RickLightning]

Whoa! The Mythbusters went into the future to test the range impact of a tonneau on an F-150 Lightning! I definitely missed that episode!

Yeah, you can clearly see that the F-150L has a huge aerodynamic difference vs. a regular F-150.

 

[LightningShow]

F-150 Lightning is the most aerodynamic F-150 ever, with improvements like newly shaped running boards, a sculpted hood to reduce drag, and grilles that replace air intake holes with a smoother, textured surface.

 

[petemill]

Didn't both mythbusters and Cosumer Reports' tests both decide that tonneau covers actually (but minimally) make range worse? It was due to introducing a hard surface with more wind resistance where normally there's a big bubble of air that forms in the bed.

 

[LightningShow]

Yeah, you can clearly see that the F-150L has a huge aerodynamic difference vs. a regular F-150.

You seem to be missing the point here. No one is trying to prove it's some amazing difference. Some people are just curious and like to see things for themselves. Often known as "scientists". Validation and replication are core aspects of being a scientist. Also, quite clearly, there *are* differences between an ICE F-150 and a Lightning, so to get a true assessment you need to run the tests with the actual variables in question.

 

[Kev12345]

I'd like to see the difference between a typical cap and a more aero shaped (Cybertruck like) cap.

 

[RickLightning]

Where's the quantification for that huge difference?

 

[LightningShow]

Where's the quantification for that huge difference?

Ahhh...see, you're almost there. Just take the next logical step. How do we quantify a difference? A test, perhaps?

 

[petemill]

None of the Lightning changes seem like they would affect airflow from the roof on to the bed in even a minor way. In my opinion the tests have been done often and adequately - tonneau cover affects it very little. Could be positive could be negative. Aero cover, however, probably has 10%+ effect as per

 

[LightningShow]

I wonder how long I can drive with the mirrors folded in before I get pulled over?

 

[RickLightning]

You seem to be missing the point here. No one is trying to prove it's some amazing difference. Some people are just curious and like to see things for themselves. Often known as "scientists". Validation and replication are core aspects of being a scientist. Also, quite clearly, there *are* differences between an ICE F-150 and a Lightning, so to get a true assessment you need to run the tests with the actual variables in question.

Any scientist worth their salt would clearly know that there is way too much variation in conditions for them to test anything about this. No "true assessment" is being done by an F-150L owner on the road. Unless you own a wind tunnel?

 

[LightningShow]

Oh yes, tell me more about being a scientist!

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