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
I have the Martin rack on my '13 DCSB Tacoma with a shovel in front of 2 Maxx Trax boards.
#1 The Martin rack eliminated the wind noise when driving which was very annoying.
#2 I currently get 13-15 around town and 16-18 avg on highway. This is according to Scangauge II unit. Note I do drive slow (63-68 mph) to maximize my MPG.
It has 32" tires, stock gearing and truck would be considered heavy. I do not know what my milage was before the Scangauge as I don’t have that built in.
Overall I am very happy with the Martin Rack and would absolutely recommend it.
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