Have you ever seen one of these?

[Rugged Brown]

Some inventive guy done it his way.

[Herk7769]

What a waste of money. Anything shifts in his bed will break those "pipes" one bump from the hitch and it will be on the ground. Add this to my "Wal-Mart People" photo collection.

[Willis]

Originally Posted by Rugged Brown

Some inventive guy done it his way.

I have to agree with Herk.

[Fire Instructor]

Nothing dumber than a plumber....

Hot on the left, cold on the right,
S**t flows down hill,
No matter what, it costs at least $150 to fix it,
Payday is Friday,
And don't chew your nails.......

[KyDan]

Originally Posted by Fire Instructor

Nothing dumber than a plumber....

That's not nice. Plumbers have saved my butt a couple times at least.
Don't pick on the trades cuz you're outnumbered!!

The "tail gate" is lame looking but maybe it was a red neck not a plumber
who built it.

[MrT]

Looks nicely made, nonetheless.

[edman87k5]

Even though this is very ghetto and I would never do it, it is not really that bad. I have had a 5th wheel air gate or whatever you call it and was very disappointed for the $300+ it cost. The latching mechanism failed within a year, the "louvers" bent rather easily and once scratched, rusted easily.
So, when you add it all up, the plastic homemeade spray painted version for under $100 doesnt look so bad.

[tentcamper1]

and it cost around 75.00....
I have a good friend who is a plumber and I like to call him a turd herder!!

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by edman87k5

Even though this is very ghetto and I would never do it, it is not really that bad. I have had a 5th wheel air gate or whatever you call it and was very disappointed for the $300+ it cost. The latching mechanism failed within a year, the "louvers" bent rather easily and once scratched, rusted easily.
So, when you add it all up, the plastic homemade spray painted version for under $100 doesn't look so bad.

This would be fine if an "air gate" actually improved gas mileage (which it does not). What it does is allow you to hook up without lowering the tailgate and that is it.

The MPG improvement claim was debunked some years ago.

[Rugged Brown]

Originally Posted by herk7769

This would be fine if an "air gate" actually improved gas mileage (which it does not). What it does is allow you to hook up without lowering the tailgate and that is it.

The MPG improvement claim was debunked some years ago.

If my memory serves me correctly Herk, from previous threads, didn't you use a fifth wheel tailgate with disastrous results. Live and learn must be your motto. That is a good thing though, because you have posted a lot of solutions from your past faux pas (blunders)

And btw, isn't Myth Busters a great show.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by Rugged Brown

If my memory serves me correctly Herk, from previous threads, didn't you use a fifth wheel tailgate with disastrous results. Live and learn must be your motto. That is a good thing though, because you have posted a lot of solutions from your past faux pas (blunders)

And btw, isn't Myth Busters a great show.

Well, yes. Most of my experience has come from my (and others) mistakes. My goal is to NOT repeat them.

As to the airgate, my experience was with a regular gate and I saw first hand that the airflow will not enter the bed with the tailgate up.

I learned that lesson with empty diesel cans tried to float out of the bed due to air OVER the bed.

[Rugged Brown]

Originally Posted by herk7769

Well, yes. Most of my experience has come from my (and others) mistakes. My goal is to NOT repeat them.

As to the airgate, my experience was with a regular gate and I saw first hand that the airflow will not enter the bed with the tailgate up.

I learned that lesson with empty diesel cans tried to float out of the bed due to air OVER the bed.

I use a tonneau cover when not towing and it is quite apparent that a wind tunnel plummets the back 1/3 of the cover. This leads me to think that an open tail gate will allow for less resistance and improved gas mileage. With a fifth wheel in tow, the aerodynamics may be completed different. I posted that pic because I saw a guy with it and thought it was rather ingenious using plumbing pipe to fabricate the tail gate. The pic was intended for humour (Canadian sp.) only.

[yvesm]

What you guys don't realize is that its actually a solar hot water collector

[The_Stuff]

Originally Posted by yvesm

What you guys don't realize is that its actually a solar hot water collector

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by Rugged Brown

I use a tonneau cover when not towing and it is quite apparent that a wind tunnel plummets the back 1/3 of the cover. This leads me to think that an open tail gate will allow for less resistance and improved gas mileage. With a fifth wheel in tow, the aerodynamics may be completed different. I posted that pic because I saw a guy with it and thought it was rather ingenious using plumbing pipe to fabricate the tail gate. The pic was intended for humour (Canadian sp.) only.

I also use a tonneau cover when not towing and from the mid rib back there is quite a bit of wind that hits there. To the point that I slide a large piece of cardboard under the tarp and over the ribs.

I seems counter intuitive for that much buffeting of the cover to not actually enter the truck bed. In fact, it would if you had an air gate and you had nothing in the bed the airflow would be smooth and exit at the truck bed level. However, nothing is so neat.

With the tail gate installed the air that would exit is trapped by the tailgate and the airflow will not actually enter the bed more than an inch or so. The reason the tarp of the cover gets beaten up is that the air inside the bed is not allowed to pressurize (like filling the bed with water) and the cover acts like "wind ripples on the surface of the water".

If you have stuff (fuel cans, hitch, and egg crates full of gear) in the bed, the airgate actually encourages aerodynamic drag by allowing that fast moving air to enter the "dirty" floor of the truck bed actually increasing drag; thereby negating any benefit gained by allowing the air entry into the bed in the first place.