who makes the best tailgate nets? i need one that is very strong, however still budget minded..... i currently have my tailgate on, and i need to take it off, it is really killing my mileage, but i need the strength to be able to throw tires in my truck daily and not have them slide through the back, so a tailgate net that is good is of utmost importance.....

 

I rember hearing that Chevrolet used to windtunnel test thier trucks to see what affect the tailgate would have on airflow. They concluded and I have see this with my truck driving in the snow, that at speed a "bubble" is formed inside the bed that allows the faster moving air to flow over the "bubble" and off the truck, Kinda like a cover or shell.

I dont know if Toyota have the same aerodynamics going on inside the bed but look HERE before you decide. I would not use a net to retain any cargo, not worth the lawsuit.

 

i did see some while looking through 4wp website that are made of 1" poly strapping... like ratchet strap material, those would probably be good, however there were no pictures.. and they were like $80

 

I remember reading the same, or a similar article talking about mileage with tailgate, with net, and with a topper I think. Conclusion was tailgate = better mileage than net. Can't remember how the topper affected it, but i think it was worse.

here's a long discussion about it that links to a broken paper, and somehow rambles into a hydrogen powered car, Tesla and vitamin C discussion.

http://www.countrybynet.com/forums/s.../view/sb/o/all

 

C&D and R&T did some articles recently on it...keep it up was the results:

Takes a few seconds to load but here is one: http://www.roadandtrack.com/article....&page_number=1

 

I heard that same ting, but don't remember where it was, I think it was a post on here: http://www.t4x4pickup.com/dgroup/index.html

 

NOt only that (mileage is better WITH a tailgate, and NOT with the tailgate down) but high speed stability is improved. On the Craftsman sport trucks, and years earlier with SCCA sport trucks, we found that the truck performed better - handling, stability etc with the tailgate in place and closed.

By the way - another drawback of nets is that your bed sides flex and over time will crack out and rust up... We learned all that back in the 70s and 80s when tailgate nets were all the rage.

 

Ok, all the research aside.... My own experience is I get better mileage with the gate down. I have driven 2 tanks up, and 2 tanks down. My results were, I gained and extra 56 miles to the tankful with the gate down. Like I said that was my own experiment, results will vary. I'd like to get one of those roll back covers for the bed, like a toneou (sp?), I think they would do the best job for milage.

 

hmmmm... has me wondering now..... i feel as if ido get better mileage with the gate off, maybe its due to being lighter, however, i do get mroe wheelspin around turns.... as for the flexing, that is adressed as i have a cargo bar spread open right in front of the gate, it helps the bed stay more flat i guess, as i used to have a ratchet strap only with no gate back there, and it had been so tight so many times that it flexed it inwards....

 

This works better than any net.
http://www.realtruck.com/products/cargo_gate.php

 

Hey folks, I do see that the topic is old, yet I was about to grab one of those bully tailgate nets. And I was wondering what would you say about its quality? How long did it last? Didn't it crack in winter? I am sorry for rising this old topic, yet I really wanted some real feedback on those nets from someone who really used this stuff. Cheers!