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In 1982 a test was conducted by Popular Mechanics without any variables to test the aerodynamics of a truck and whether taking simple measures to improve the aerodynamics of a truck affected the fuel economy or not. They had put on a tonneau cover on an open bed truck and drove it for a distance. Then they drove the same truck without any tonneau cover. The mileage increased by a staggering 9% with the cover. The drag created by the open bed of the truck as the experiment showed was eliminated by the tonneau cover. Popular Mechanics further insisted on installing a camper shell. A camper shell, they said, would take care of any turbulence at the back of the vehicle created by the cover and the air caught in the gap and would eventually increase the mileage by 13%.
fordf150
Mine had a shell (not a camper) when I bought it. Color-matched, too. Wish I could've kept it, but the truck is for hauling motorcycles, so no deal. Sold it to offset the cost of new tires. Did make the truck look like an old man's truck, but that was more to do with the era of the shell, that and it's a 20 yr old truck.
I see a few, but not as many as I used to. And a lot of the ones I see look to be 20+ years old.
A lot of it probably has to do with the fact that people used them is the wanted to camp but needed to tow a trailer as well. such as if you were taking horses or motorcycles. But these days most people are using horse trailers or "toy haulers" with living quarters which allow them to leave the campsite in the truck to run errands without breaking camp.
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