Truck bed covers?

[curtis rosche]

I know there's a huge market for truck bed covers and a lot of different options, my mother just bought a new truck and I'm trying to help her find a cover for the bed.
Cloth covers are out.
I'm trying to find a hard cover, either one peice or sectional. But one that can be easily taken off. I don't mind the initial installation, but it needs to be easy to take the cover off for her to go get a load of mulch and whatnot, and easy to put back on for goin camping.

Any suggestions where to look or products anyone has tried and liked?

[Michael Mahan]

are you looking for a shell type or a trunk deck lid type ?
I had the deck type many years ago that open the full bed like a car trunk & it was spring balanced Very easy to open by anyone had a key lock as well
it was gel coated like a boat was/is
all it took to remove was remove two pins & 2 men
had rubber seals so it was water tight
it was nice !
I even slept back there a few times when others were camping in tents & I was WAY more comfortable & sequire than they were :)
it rained they were soggy & I was high & dry

[Jerome Stanek]

we had a folding hard cover on one of our work trucks that you could take off in sections.

[Craig Coney]

Check out the ReTrax covers, I had one on my truck for 5 years before I changed to a topper. The cover rolls up into a canister at the front of the bed. I never had to take it off for mulch, or rock.

[James Conrad]

I have a Jackrabbit by Pace on my Tundra, about 5 years now. Hard cover, locks, spring loaded roll up and still works like new. My father-in-law has had one on his truck for over 12 years, still works great as well. Recommend it highly.

[George Bokros]

Extang Revolution. I have one. It is a soft cover that rolls up and has straps to secure it in the rolled up position. Rolls and unrolls easily.

The metal roll up ones like Jack Rabbit take up ~ 1 foot of bed space and are very pricey. I would love one but loosing 1 ft of bed space on my Ranger with a 6 ft bed is loosing too much for me. I have had my Extang Revoluton will be six years this summer and still looks great.

George

[Mark P. Miller]

Is there a specific reason why a soft tonneau cover is out? I prefer them over most options, especially with being able to just roll them up out of the way when there's a taller/bigger load to deal with.

I don't know of any hard covers that will be really that easy to get on and off conveniently on a regular basis. Most of them just clamp on, but even the hard covers can get heavy.

[curtis rosche]

Is there a specific reason why a soft tonneau cover is out? I prefer them over most options, especially with being able to just roll them up out of the way when there's a taller/bigger load to deal with.

I don't know of any hard covers that will be really that easy to get on and off conveniently on a regular basis. Most of them just clamp on, but even the hard covers can get heavy.


The soft covers are out cause we've always seen them ripped or leaking, or heard they are hard to stretch to clip on.

We were also thinking the hard tops would look better on a platinum white 2013 f150 4door lariat. The solid cover is an option, But the Jack Rabbit or a sectional hard top would be easy for a 50+ yr old woman to take off and put on by herself

[Rich Riddle]

I have had several covers for trucks. My F150 has Bak Flip on it and it's by far the best cover. You don't have to remove it, just flip it back and lock it in place if you want it there. They are phenomenal covers. You can lock your gate and thereby lock your items inside. Every one who sees it loves it.

http://www.bakfliptonneaucover.com

[Matt Meiser]

Another Bak Flip vote here but be careful what you buy. Mine is closing in on 5 years old and has the metal skins. There's a few scraches and dents inside and a couple hail dings on the outside but overall still looks great. I've read complaints about the composite skinned ones. My 11yo daughter has been able to operate my Bakflip for a few years now if she climbs in the bed. I can do it outside.

THI (Extang) just announced (JUST as in it was published online in the Ann Arbor news today) they are acquiring Bak Industries. Extang also makes great products so I see this as a good thing. Their support has been great as well. Someone stole a bow off an Extang soft cover I previously had and the replacement was very reasonable and they were fine with me picking it up instead of shipping since they are local.

[curtis rosche]

Matt, how hard is it to take out if you wanted to remove the "roll" of the cover?

[Matt Meiser]

2 knobs underneath. 2 brackets would be sticking into the bed off the side rails, which would remove by an additional 6 bolts on the clamps. But I only removed mine once--to transfer it from one truck to the "new" one. It will fold up against the back window allowing fully use of the bed, and actually provide some protection to the rear window if carrying a larger load. I really can't think of any reason why you'd need to remove it.

There's a couple drain tubes that they say to run into plugs that exist at the front of the bed. I found they fit through small holes on the sides near the top front corners perfectly and are much less obtrusive.

[Greg Peterson]

I have a fleet of twenty five Toyota Tacomas that I use Truxedo covers on. They are fully adjustable, get plenty tight (bounce a quarter off it) and rolls out of the way in seconds. These trucks are driven all day, five days a week, are not garaged and I've not had any problem with rips or tears.

[John Sanford]

Peragon - their bed covers are highly regarded over on F150Online

https://www.peragon.com/photos/ford-truck-bed-covers/

[George Bokros]

The Peragon cover looks amazing. Now if my Extang was failing Peragon would be my replacement.

George

[Myk Rian]

I have an ARE hard cover on my Ford Ranger. Turn the handle, and it lifts up with gas shocks.
Well made, and has a great look to it
.286215

[Bill Huber]

I have a Gaylord Butterfly cover that I really like.

Pro.
You can get to everything in the bed, from front to back.
It has gas springs on each side so it opens easy.
It has very good locks on it, they are just like a car door and very strong.
It is very strong and you can walk on.

Cons.
You can not put very tall items in the bed when it is on, there is a bar in the center.
There are only 4 bolts that hold it on but it is heavy and takes 2 people to lift it off.
To put down the tailgate you have to open both sides.

286216

[Matt Meiser]

Peragon - their bed covers are highly regarded over on F150Online

https://www.peragon.com/photos/ford-truck-bed-covers/

Two things I don't like about that cover but it depends entirely on how you use your truck. First, I don't like that it folds into the bed instead of out of the bed. That uses up bed space for one, but also from the pictures it looks like it interferes at least a little with the front tie downs and would make it more susceptible to damage (picturing carrying a load of much or the like.) And if the bed is full you'd have to move stuff to open that space for operation. Second, the side rails intrude more into the bed. Picturing the back blade I carried in mine a few weeks back and almost certainly they would have interfered. But again, depending on how you use your truck those may be non-issues.

Another one to look at is the Undercover Flex. It looks like a total knockoff of the Bakflip made by one Extang's sibling companies. I can't imaging that THI isn't going to merge those two product lines. But price and availability may be favorable in your area.

The soft ones the biggest problem I've had is getting the @#$% things back on in the cold weather. I found it necessary to put the truck in the garage, stretch it out as best I could, and heat for 30 minutes. The bows and back rail are a minor storage inconvenience if you need to remove them while out and about. They do work well though and treating regularly with a vinyl protectant they still looked good after 2-3 years. The replacement tarps are sub-$75 too. They really aren't a bad choice unless you will be installing and removing a lot.

The difficulty removing and storing a hard cover were deal breakers for me. I carry stuff taller than the bed rails enough for that to be problematic.

[George Bokros]

but also from the pictures it looks like it interferes at least a little with the front tie downs

The soft ones the biggest problem I've had is getting the @#$% things back on in the cold weather.

Matt I never thought about a problem with the front tie downs, good point.

As for the soft ones, my Ranger sits outside in all weather and I do not have trouble stretching and latching my Extang Revolution down in the winter. Just press down on the tailgate rail and it stretches and latches.

George

[Jim Rimmer]

I have an F150 and i have a retractable cover. It is a Rol-N-Lok brand (no connection). It is water tight, has aluminum under the cover (like a roll top desk), and is lockable. I love it. Dry and secure for traveling. Retracts out of the way for bigger loads. There are 3 trucks here where I work with that cover on them.

[Curt Harms]

I have an Advanced Folding Cover and would not buy another. Once the rubber on top of the hinged joints deteriorates, it leaks and Advanced offered no advice on a replacement. The rear locking mechanism it pretty flimsy. The roll-up types look great if snow and ice are not a consideration. For me, I doubt they'd be viable. The BakFlip style would likely be my choice.