many studies have been done, both by manufacturers and independent testers, there is nothing that makes any difference as far as tailgates or bed covers, the pick up design has been wind tunnel tested, there is a natural low pressure zone the air flows over the cab, a low pressure vortices's builds up and the air flows over the tailgate, all that tailgate down tailgate up, no tailgate, backwards hinges, air gate none of it is worth bulldookey. best you can do is as you crest a hill lift your foot slightly and let momentum carry you down, this can actually work pretty good a good tune up clean air oil and pcv filters and clean fuel filter and a good brand of gas, with a light foot is about the best it ever gets.
i have a 2000 Chevy version i get about 14.5 mpg (not to bad, considering i travel up the supposed steepest grade in wa. state every day)
something i have been thinking about is a bed cover, like the flat vinyl ones. the would help if you do alot of highway driving, a quicker fix could be taking off the tail gate.(very easy)
Teh things you can do that do not alter the way you drive are adding and air intake and exhaust (making it easier for air to get in and exhaust to get out) will add some mileage. When you get the stock intake out you will see how restrictive it is for the sake of being quite. Next run synthetic fluids, there is some argument as to how much increase it actually affords, but the added life to the components is well worth the slight cost increase.
Always keep your tire pressure int he right range, low tires can suck mileage. Keep useless weight out, it take more gas to accelerate any extra weight. Are you a person that has that lawn chair in your truck just in case?
Alter your driving, Do you romp on it when ever the moment strikes you? Do you forgo the use of cruise control? Using the cruise control can help out a fair bit on the highway and even higher speed industrial sections (35+). It's also been proven that going over 65 the shorter time it takes to get where you are going is not saving you gas, it's using more. There is a sweet spot for just about every car, my buddy had an Excursion and he could get a whopping 17.5 mpg in that thing on the highway.
Limited the amounts of time you start the car, so plan so you can kill 2 birds with one stone I could go on an don, but I think that will do for now.
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