I’m in a 19 Tacoma and I went from 17 mpg on the way to Belgrade and after my build out I might get 13 mpg. I did upgrade from 31s to 33s and I added quite a bit of weight. A full tank will get me about 220 mi now.
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Got a 2020 Ford Ranger 4x4. Mixed driving (30-55mph) I can usually get 20-21mpg. On the highway doing 68-70mph, I get 18.5-19.5mpg’s. My truck is always near it’s max GVWR too. I’ve been happy with my solar panel & thule wind fairing setup though; it helps with wind noise and aerodynamics I think. Btw, Lightleaf is working with a custom shop on mounts, probably easier than my custom 2020 aluminum frame build. Lightleaf instagram post link.
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It only took me a few months but this fairing is finally built and installed. I’ll report back on hopefully a bump up in highway MPG’s.
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Here is a 30" Sherpa Animas rack on an access cab. New to me truck and GFC install last month so I’m afraid I don’t have any MPG data for the comparison, but I feel like it helps lift the air from getting stuck in the void between the roof and the GFC. GFC allows the Animas rack to be in place at the GFC install. Only issue with the access cab is the roof has to be drilled to accept the Animas rack and given the location of the rearmost bolt that would have to happen with the GFC removed (or in my case installed prior to the GFC install). I don’t have any objectional noise at highway speed…but totally subjective data. Personally I like the look better.
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Looks great! Well, I did not want to drill into the roof and risk puncturing the air bags. So I made a wind fairing for my access cab build.
I drove for an extended duration on interstate and measured 18 MPG at 68 MPH. The most noticeable improvement is the wind noise reduction. Tacoma has 3" front lift, 1" rake, and 31.7" diameter tires at 35 PSI inflation.
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Picked up #4701 this past Saturday. MPG from North Bend, WA to Belgrade was 10.8 with not much gear other than wife and dog. For reference when I had my ARE cap on I’d tow the airstream and get +/- 11.5 MPG.
Added GFC and ripped same speed and same route back at 12.1 MPG. Granted it’s a one time result so I’ll see without the trailer but it felt slimmer and knifed through wind better so I’m happy.
Trip post pending under the appropriate section.
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your fairing looks great! I got some of this 3m paint protection clear film to protect my paint https://a.co/d/6FlkLyY I put it under each foot of my Thule awning. I tried zooming in on your photo but couldn’t tell if you had any.
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Some layers of electrical tape (not shown in the photo) is what I put down to prevent paint rubbing off. I want to add an elastomeric layer as a vibrations damper.
Cool. I learned the hard way on my previous truck. I thought the rubber feet on awning would have been enough, but nope. Wore down to the primer before I noticed. Oops.
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Back with more information! Hopefully this helps some others out there.
I have been tracking my mileage continuously for around 10,000 miles now. Most of this with a Leer fiberglass midrise topper, and I usually made just over 20 mpg if I was light on the throttle, coasted as much as possible and avoided going over 65 on highways.
If fuel efficiency is your goal, this is as good as it gets!
I’m sure I could have achieved up to 22 mpg with this setup, with stock suspension and tires.
After some initial testing (~1k highway miles with the GFC installed), I can achieve a hair over 18 mpg with the same driving habits as described above.
I also have a Scangauge 2 OBD tool mounted in the cab, which lets me track live mpg data.
My truck is a 2007 Toyota Tacoma access cab long bed, with TRD Off-Road / 4x4 package.
Only modifications other than the GFC are Bilstein 5100’s in the front, add-a-leaf in the rear and slightly larger all-terrain tires.
Heavily considering a wind fairing in the future for the leading edge of the GFC.
I am avoiding adding more armor, gear etc. to the truck at the moment, because I am trying to keep my weight down as much as possible.
Keeping the truck light & nimble for some upcoming cross-country camping and National Park hopping.
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Adding some of my own data to this thread. This is all hand-recorded from fillups/trip odo, so not scientific but as close as I’m willing to get.
The Butte, MT fillup included a lot of city-driving. The rest were 99% highway miles. I would say my average speed was roughly 75mph, probably lower going to Montana and higher coming back.
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Do you still have the power wagon with the GFC? Are you still getting decent MPG? I have a ‘we PW and waiting for my GFC. Just curious as what to really expect for MPG.
Went from SoCal To Belgrade to install. Ran empty bed (only with Decked in there) and got around high 17s. Return trip drop down to 15s. But also because I was experiencing stronger headwind on the way home.
Realistically though, I don’t really see a drop in my commute MPG. It was ~15-ish before and now it’s still ~15-ish. For longer trips with offroading, I probably dropped 1MPG from 17 to 16.
Ram 1500 Rebel 5.7 E-torque. 35s, 2" lifted, fully loaded with camping gears all the time.
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Full size Chevy guy here, and I did GFC, level, suspension, tires and wheels all at once. Up to a 35in tire with the GFC loaded for about 2500mi, we averaged 15.6mpg out of the 6.6l gas. That was high speeds on the highway but cruising around national parks, dirt roads, etc as well. Before the mods, I was seeing between 14-17.5 depending on the heaviness on the pedal. Not much difference for me. I drive a little less spirited with the camped on.
80 series Land Cruiser on 37s and geared to the moon here…
Without the tent, I get 10-12mpg.
With the tent, I get 10-12mpg.
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I should clarify. Those figures are for petrol. Oil mpg is slightly more.
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Thanks for the useful pic man, I’m ordering the same rack and I was curious about the final result. That’s a 2nd gen Tacoma, right? Long bed?
It’s a third gen long bed. I’ve since mounted a Roam 83L case across the rack and like the storage and look (but it does take up the entire rack).
Anyone have mileage info with a Martin GFC camper rack, standard fairing? Or general comments? Thx