December 1st, 2010
Advantages To Installing An Air Gate Or Rail Gate On Your Pickup Truck — Air Flow Tailgates
Installing an air flow tailgate on your pickup truck not only looks great but there are certain advantages to their use. These can some in a standard form or custom made. They’re also fairly easy to install and doesn’t require any special tools. With gas prices continually rising, investing in a tailgate may not be such a bad idea.
A tailgate’s primary purpose is to enclose the contents in a truck bed but after the issue arose concerning wind resistance, drivers demanded a better solution. Then the air flow tailgates and louvered tailgates were invented to give the drivers the answers that they had been seeking out for so long. They come ready to fit your truck’s make and model, they are tough and most of them come with some sort of warranty. The most popular types of air flow tailgates are the v-gate and the straight gate. There are also chrome air flow gates, which are very durable and they cater to a more custom look but those will run you about a hundred dollars more than the average air flow gate which is about three hundred bucks. Another tailgate you can purchase is the stainless steel air flow tailgate. These are extremely durable and will run you about six hundred dollars.
Here is the story behind the tailgate, fuel mileage situation. When driving down the freeway the high velocity wind hits the top of the truck then smashes against the inside of the tailgate creating extra pressure in that area which in turn slows the vehicle down. So what ends up happening is the truck feels extra heavy. To compensate, the next logical step would be to accelerating the truck speed. Unfortunately, this just causes the truck to use more energy which equals more fuel, more time at the pump, more money – you get my drift.
There are several advantages that are able to be experienced when it comes to the many wonderful benefits of these gates on a truck. While many people will look at the obvious reasons why these make for such an excellent choice for a driver to use on their vehicle, there is also the fact that these are able to add a unique style to a truck that will make it stand out from the rest of the trucks on the road.
But then again, there’s a flip side to this theory. According to a number of tests done by PicknBuy24.com that have been performed on this topic having the tailgate in the up position actually creates an air cushion similar to an air bubble or cushion which in turn helps to make the truck more aerodynamic. It’s like having a tonneau cover or truck bed cover on the back of the truck. If you drive with the tailgate down or with an air flow tailgate on your truck it actually amplifies the drag and turbulence according to some aero systems engineers. There have been reported drag increases of around point five to one percent when the truck tailgate was left down while driving on highway. With the flow fabric tailgate, the increase in the drag was a bit higher – four to five percent. The shape of a used pickup alone causes resistance so four to five percent is a lot. The type of velocity that happens to a truck while on the freeway can create a pulling effect on a tailgate that is in the down position which equals increased turbulence. If you are looking for a true solution to your airflow issues, then the use of an Air Gate is a wise choice that will allow a person to have an increase in their gas mileage.