These days, the perfect car is frequently one that gets high gas mileage — and almost everyone will agree on that. With gas over $4 a gallon in many areas, and steadily rising, many people are beginning to panic about what the rising gas prices mean for our way of life.
One thing is for sure — it’s caused us to value different things. High gas mileage is now one of the best features a car can offer. But what do you do if you don’t want to buy a new, more efficient car — if you need to make do with the one you have?
One of the biggest gas hogs is the pickup truck. Luckily, there are things you can do to lower your fuel costs, such as:
- Installing a tonneau cover. Tonneau covers mean better fuel economy because they reduce the amount of wind resistance (which slows you down and makes you burn more gas just to maintain the same speed). The bed of a pickup truck creates a lot of drag, so covering it and making it smooth can really help your gas mileage.
- Removing bug shields and ventshades. I know they look good, but they also create some drag. I’ve heard of people improving their mileage by about 2 percent by removing just the ventshades. Of course, this may not be enough of an improvement to make it worthwhile for you, but at least think about it!
- Taking the sandbags out of your bed. Having extra weight to haul around makes your truck heavier and makes you burn more gas to get it going. Extra weight such as what’s in your truck tool boxes may be necessary, but at least get rid of anything that isn’t!
If you can’t or don’t want to get rid of your pickup truck, there are things you can do to at least help out with the gas mileage a bit. Eventually, though, you should plan on getting a different vehicle — unless you need the truck for work, of course, in which case you might want to consider working more locally!
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