Roof Rack Vs Hitch Rack Fuel Economy

In fact it significantly cuts your highway mileage all the time it s installed whether there s weight up there or not.

Roof rack vs hitch rack fuel economy.

But that s where you ve found a dilemma. As we found when we tested roof and hitch mounted bike racks the suv s mileage on the other hand showed less of a drop. He compared the gas mileage of his car at 54 7 mph 88 kph with 1 no roof racks 2 an empty roof rack and 3 a mountain bike on the roof rack. With a hitch rack carrying the same two bikes the suv had a 12.

That s why you ve decided to invest in a cargo carrier. Hitch racks or roof racks which one should you choose. For some people the. Beyond that the two items tested with the least impact on gas mileage were the paddle board and thule luggage carrier both of which caused about a 19 percent decrease in fuel economy or 5 5.

Adding any rooftop carrier cargo box or ski rack doesn t come free. With a roof rack and carrying two mountain bikes there was a 19 percent reduction in fuel mileage and 5 percent less when empty. To find out how bike racks affect a car s fuel economy consumer reports tested a roof rack and a trailer hitch rack loaded with two adult sized bicycles on a 2019 nissan altima and a 2019 toyota. For comparison the additional fuel consumption caused by roof racks is about six times larger than anticipated fuel savings from fuel cell vehicles and 40 percent of anticipated fuel savings.