Our friends at CM Truck Beds were kind enough to set us up with a brand new aluminum flatbed, so Andre and Mr Truck drove down to Oklahoma in order to install the new bed on a 2012 Ford F250. On the way, they decided to do a before and after MPG review to see what kind of difference the new bed would make, if any.
The 2012 Super Duty in question is a bone-stock truck with just over 38,000 miles on it. Powering the truck is a 6.2L naturally aspirated gasoline V8 that is rated at 385 horsepower and 405 lb-ft of torque. Power is sent to the rear wheels (or all four wheels) through a heavy duty 6-speed transmission, similar to the one in the diesel Super Duty.
In order to do a before and after MPG review, the guys needed to get a measurement with a stock bed. On their way to Oklahoma, they managed 13.6 MPG after driving nearly 400 miles with the cruise control set to 75 MPH.
What sort of difference does the new flat/utility bed make? Well the weight difference may give you a good idea. Before the flatbed, the truck weighed 7,520 lbs. After, it weighed 7,600 lbs which is a relatively small difference, especially on a truck this size. Any difference in fuel economy would come from differences in the air flow.
Apparently, there was enough of an aerodynamic difference to actually see a one MPG improvement over a stock bed. The guys measured a total of 14.6 MPG on TFL’s standard highway MPG loop. Very surprising!
To hear more about the flatbed from CM Truck Beds, and to watch Mr Truck’s and Andre’s shenanigans on their road trip, be sure to watch the whole video!
