I have a 2012 tacoma reg cab 4x4 that I am exploring camper options on. Question is, does anybody know if there would be a difference in mpg between having the overhang be 4' or 3'? 4' would be past the roof line a little but while experimenting with plywood I had to lean forward to see it from the drivers seat. It looks less aerodynamic but then again idk if it makes any difference weather that rectangular cab over block is back further or not. Any feed back is appreciated ( even speculation) thanks
Cab over length vs. mpg
- Thread starter burt
- Start date
lqhikers
Adventurer
Having owned several 4x4 toyota's,both 4 and v/6 both manual trans with four wheel
pop up,many different weights depending on what was being carried there is no answer
for your question.
no matter what you do it all depends on your driving habits and weight load for each trip.
the only time i noticed any mpg changes was when i would be carrying a kayak on the roof.
again the best way to increase mpg is to slow down,so easy,so hard to do!
just my thoughts yours may vary.
Les,lqhikers
pop up,many different weights depending on what was being carried there is no answer
for your question.
no matter what you do it all depends on your driving habits and weight load for each trip.
the only time i noticed any mpg changes was when i would be carrying a kayak on the roof.
again the best way to increase mpg is to slow down,so easy,so hard to do!
just my thoughts yours may vary.
Les,lqhikers
Thanks for the replies guys. The kayak on the roof hurts mpg because of aerodynamics, right? So should I take that as cab over length won't matter unless it makes more drag like a kayak? I guess I'm confused. That's what im wondering. Someone like you that has experience with multiple configs on a Toyota is what I'm hoping to get in site from thanks. With Javas set up I wonder if the cab over was back further if a similar phenomenon would be happening only in a different place. Probably tough to find the answer because there are probably few people that have run both configurations on the same body style truck. I also wonder which has more drag, the cab over or the vertical camper parts that stick out past the sides of the cab? Thanks again for participating
jimi breeze
jimi breeze
Come on, you know the answer but perhaps don't want to admit it...... as weight is added and a less aerodynamic aspect is applied the resulting form will be less efficient as a stock vehicle.
Les has it correct. Driving habits will affect anything you do. My 2010 Silverado started out with about 21 MPG when new. As I added my accessories (gear basket, camper shell, tires, bumpers and winch) I get about 16.5 MPG, not bad considering what I've got and where it can take me.
Les has it correct. Driving habits will affect anything you do. My 2010 Silverado started out with about 21 MPG when new. As I added my accessories (gear basket, camper shell, tires, bumpers and winch) I get about 16.5 MPG, not bad considering what I've got and where it can take me.
I think my question may have come across wrong. I'm wondering about all things being equal (driving habits, weight, tires, lift ect) will having the cab over further forward make a noticeable difference in aerodynamics/mpg. Javas answers seem to be to the question I am trying to ask, thank you. Otoh may be it would make a negligible difference at 60mph and a drastic difference at 70mph (again everything else the same besides cab over length). Appreciate the input none the less
brian90744
American Trekker
You don't have aerodynamics, your driving a brick. Put your hand out the window @ 60mph that wind drag.
brian
brian
pappawheely
Autonomous4X4
Regardless of how far the overhang sticks out; it is a huge air scoop that directs air to the flat front wall of the camper. Any overhang will increase drag.
<speculation> I'm betting, all else being equal, it won't make any difference.
If you happened to see the Mythbusters episode where they were investigating whether the tailgate should be up or down, they found that with the tailgate up a pillow of air formed in the bed and directed the airflow over the tailgate.
I'll bet that something like that would happen around the windshield in your scenario.
If you happened to see the Mythbusters episode where they were investigating whether the tailgate should be up or down, they found that with the tailgate up a pillow of air formed in the bed and directed the airflow over the tailgate.
I'll bet that something like that would happen around the windshield in your scenario.
takesiteasy
Adventurer
Having the cab-over back from the windshield sufficient to install some kind of wind fairing to push the air over the cab-over is important. More important than mpg is the effect of wind going under the cab-over and buffeting the camper behind the cab- very bothersome. Having no gap between the fairing and the cab-over would seem to be an advantage in this regard. That is how it is on my setup anyway. The benefit of a longer cab-over is also the size of the bed and more room in the camper.
brian90744
American Trekker
air drag
Here's part of info from Pop-up Camper Forum by "What's new at Coyote RV/Phoenix Pop up" & offroadcamperguy thread #101.
Tightness of clearance between the top of the vehicle's roof, and the bottom of the camper's cab over. No matter how LONG the cab over is or how well designed the aerodynamic shape
is on the tip, wind will sneak into the space above the cab and creat an air dam that slows the vehicle down. The bigger the gap you have here, the worse the air dam will be. The
very best thing you can do to improve the aerodynamics of any existing truck/camper combo is to add a CAB-TO-CAMPER PAD. This is an inflatable pad that fills this gap between the cab and cab over. Closing this gap make the wind divert to either sideof the camper instead of getting trapped and causing the dam. The cab to camper pad can sometimes help other things like "bed bounce." I very much recommend getting the 3M clear bra added to your vehicle's roof before adding the pad, in order to protect the paint.
this affect MPG.
Here's part of info from Pop-up Camper Forum by "What's new at Coyote RV/Phoenix Pop up" & offroadcamperguy thread #101.
Tightness of clearance between the top of the vehicle's roof, and the bottom of the camper's cab over. No matter how LONG the cab over is or how well designed the aerodynamic shape
is on the tip, wind will sneak into the space above the cab and creat an air dam that slows the vehicle down. The bigger the gap you have here, the worse the air dam will be. The
very best thing you can do to improve the aerodynamics of any existing truck/camper combo is to add a CAB-TO-CAMPER PAD. This is an inflatable pad that fills this gap between the cab and cab over. Closing this gap make the wind divert to either sideof the camper instead of getting trapped and causing the dam. The cab to camper pad can sometimes help other things like "bed bounce." I very much recommend getting the 3M clear bra added to your vehicle's roof before adding the pad, in order to protect the paint.
this affect MPG.
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Well you all have exceeded my expectations in participating in this tread. Sounds like between everyone's in site an the Phoenix post it is likely that it probably not a deal breaker having the cab over further forward if you are going to have a cab over at all and may be negligible with a air dam. After a while I get tired of putting the bed away every day just to set it back up every night so an extra foot of living space is valuable. Especially in an already small camper
