Truck Tonneau Cover Question

[onewhippedpuppy]

Now that I've gotten my wife a truck, the next step is to customize it to our needs. Fundamentally it's going to be the family truckster, so I'm going with a bedrug and some sort of tonneau cover. I've never bought one for a truck before, hence the question. We need a hard cover, easy to use, and lockable. Top choices right now are a retractable hard cover or a fiberglass front hinged color-matched cover.

Any major comments or complaints about either style? I'm leaning towards the color matched fiberglass cover because it looks the best, is the most water tight, and probably the simplest to use. My only potential complaint is the potential height constraint associated with the cover, even when open it only goes so high. My two favorites:

Ranch Sportwrap


BAK Rollbak

[gshase]

With the Ranch you can't carry anything big like a lawn tractor or motor cycle, the main reason I have a truck.

[Zeke]

The unhook petty easy. I have one. Takes two to do it and you have to plan ahead as you need to leave it at home.

I think there are some articulated hard covers.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by gshase

With the Ranch you can't carry anything big like a lawn tractor or motor cycle, the main reason I have a truck.

I'm much more likely to be carrying lumber or landscaping stuff. I can't come up with a recent instance where the height would have been a problem, but I'm still concerned about it.

Originally Posted by Zeke

The unhook petty easy. I have one. Takes two to do it and you have to plan ahead as you need to leave it at home.

I think there are some articulated hard covers.

Thanks Milt, that's what I was wondering. I likely won't be picking up anything really big on the spur of the moment. My in-laws have an articulated hard cover (BAKflip), it's a little clunky to use on a regular basis.

[javadog]

I have a soft cover which rolls up. If I had a hard cover, it would have interfered with so many things I've carried that it would have been pointless to own it.

JR

[skunked]

as mentioned, the removal and installation of the hardcover required two people because of the weight and awkwardness. I always wanted to fabricate some sort of four point pulley system on the garage ceiling so I could lift it off by myself, never got around to that. Besides this inconvenience it was water tight, looked good and kept the snow out of the bed when I was up in the mountains.

[tabs]

I have the Hard Cover by Snug Top and they are GREAT...makes the bed of your truck into a trunk. Go shopping, shooting or traveling....just trow everything in the locked trunk...

Exactly how often are you going to be carrying something so big that height will be a concern? On the off occasion I have carried something big it worked out with a bit of care.

[Zeke]

I ran a soft top over stiffeners with a thin plywood skin over those for many years. I could roll it up, put away the stiffeners and put the ply on the bottom of the bed. This was the best of the best, but I don't think it would carry a snow load.

One day after visiting Willow Springs and getting a ride with Jack Olsen, I left and took a side road. I ran the truck up past a 100 and the top stayed. Snug tops (Long Beach) like tabs has are very secure. High winds won't bother it, it is weather tight and secure.

I have a Gaylord brand now. I'm not sure they are in business.

[fuelie600]

Congrats on the truck. Mine is almost 1 yr old and I still love it. I towed a 3000LB load in a cargo trailer this past weekend in the hills of Kentucky. At 70-75 MPH I got 12.5 MPG with the ecoboost. Better than I expected. My old Suburban would have got about 8-9 MPG. The integrated brake controller is fantastic. If you use yours for towing, you will love it.

For my tonneau I went with a BAK-flip F1. Good cover and secure. Check the f150forum for more tonneau info than you will ever want to read.

[porsche4life]

Matt, why not a full on camper shell? We had one on the Tacoma and the Megacab, super useful.

[vash]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

Matt, why not a full on camper shell? We had one on the Tacoma and the Megacab, super useful.

This. I hate the flat lids. They ate hard to load, even groceries. They limit a truck from being a truck. I went fishing with my buddy. Our fishing tackle was all over the place and difficult to reach with the bed lid. I do love my shell tho.

[J P Stein]

Yeah, my shell WAS nice.
I'll get another.

[URY914]

I had a full size topper on my first p/u. Nothing on my last two, just open bed. I think the covers are WAY over priced and take away too much from the truck.

[legion]

Originally Posted by javadog

I have a soft cover which rolls up. If I had a hard cover, it would have interfered with so many things I've carried that it would have been pointless to own it.

JR

Same here. Actually I had no cover until my son came along and we could no longer use the back seat for luggage.

Just some advice, but a hard plastic bedliner + toolbox + bed rail covers + a tonneau cover = a nightmare to seal. I have gotten very acquainted with black silicon caulk.

I had the hard plastic bedliner, toolbox, and bed rail covers first and got the tonneau cover last. If I had to do it again, I'd just buy a toolbox with a built-in tonneau cover and fit the rail covers last after everything else was sealed.

[andyt11]

Best thing I ever bought was a roll up toneau cover. The rigid types would have been so restrictive over the years.

I bought the "access literider" and it's been on the truck for about 6 or 7 years now. Made in North Dakota, the quality is top notch and absolutely no signs of wear after a ton of use and extreme hot / cold temps. Cannot recommend enough.

just my opinion, but my father in law has the Truxedo cover and whilst it's perfectly functional I don't think the quality is as high as the Access.

[regency]

I have a Roll-N-Lock on my 2011 Tacoma Pre-Runner, the best thing I ever bought for the truck.
I can lock up tools, it's water tight, cool looking, leave open if i need too AND adds about 40 more MPG...kidding, averaging about 21.3 MPG, good for a 4.0 V6

Steve

73 911 T MFI Coupe, Aubergine

[aigel]

Why do you want to put something on there? It defeats the purpose of the truck. A camper shell? Should have bought an SUV. My camper shell sucked - literally. I have never seen one that doesn't suck in dust when you drive down a gravel road. My roll up bed sucked too, it had cross bars for stability that were a PITA to take out.

I know it looks all clean, but why not put a spray in bedliner and be done with it? Any valuables, put them in the cab.

G

[porsche4life]

Originally Posted by vash

This. I hate the flat lids. They ate hard to load, even groceries. They limit a truck from being a truck. I went fishing with my buddy. Our fishing tackle was all over the place and difficult to reach with the bed lid. I do love my shell tho.

Originally Posted by J P Stein

Yeah, my shell WAS nice.
I'll get another.

For my Tacoma owning friends.... I miss this truck....

Seriously though Matt, I've used trucks with the tonneau cover, and I didn't like it as well as this. We packed the one on the megacab totally full of gear when I went to AR for a climbing trip with a bunch of friends. It was great to have twice the bed height, totally dry, and not worrying about tying stuff down. Plus I like the looks....

[porsche4life]

Originally Posted by aigel

? Any valuables, put them in the cab.

G

Umm.... putting stuff in the cab works, until you have the cab full of people.... Since he has 3 kiddos, he will have the cab full of people most of the time.

[kach22i]

You could go a little crazy and build your own (gas saving form).

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