Truck Bed Cover -- Too Many Choices!

[John M Wilson]

I'm in the process of getting a new pickup truck (GMC Canyon) and I'd like to get a bed (Tonneau) cover.

The choices are almost overwhelming: hard vs soft, roll-up vs tri-fold, low-profile, material choice, fastening method, etc.

So, I figure I'd turn to one of the smartest groups of truck owners that I know, the Creek.

At this point, I'm leaning toward a soft roll-up type, such as the Truxedo Lo Pro Roll-Up Truck Bed Cover #549801, but that's just after a quick Amazon search.

Any first-hand knowledge or second-hand opinions are welcome!

[Joe Bradshaw]

John, I have a hard Leer cover on my Nissan. It also limits people wanting to borrow my truck to move things. I just use my smaller trailer for the stuff that will not fit under the cover. Hope this helps.
Joe

[George Bokros]

I have an Extang Revolution roll up cover. Very low profile,which I like and looks great. I would buy again if need be.

[Lee Schierer]

I used to own a pick up with a roll up bed cover. I don't currently own a pick up. The roll up cover worked well most of the time except in he winter. I could remove the cover when needed with minimal effort. The velcro used to get water soaked and freeze so that you could not get it open. Roll up covers offer no security, anybody can open them.

I have observed folks with hard covers try to bring home goods that would not allow the cover to close. They always have their hard top at an angle sticking up as they drive down the road like a giant spoiler. Hard covers and sectional covers offer some security as they can be locked.

[George Bokros]

The Extang I have does not use velcro.

https://www.extang.com/p-36827-revolution.html

[Paul F Franklin]

I'm between trucks but I had a hard lid on my last pickup. Very secure and looked nice, but it was always in the way. I have a trailer too, but hated having to fuss around with it every time I *might* buy something big or even to get a half a yard of soil. I thought the lid would be fairly easy to remove when I needed to, but that was more hassle than the trailer. So next truck will have a roll up or fold up.

[Neil Gaskin]

What do you plan to primarily haul or keep with your truck?

As an alternative I would suggest a shell. I have one on most current truck and I have not found it near as limiting of a hardcover.

[John M Wilson]

Thanks guys -- I knew you folks would know way more than I did!

So, I have ruled out a hard cover. Sounds like the next major decision is velcro / no velcro (Extang).

Since I live in Tennessee, I won't worry too much about it freezing. When we have precipitation below freezing, everyone just stays home! :cool:

[Bill Dufour]

To remove/install a hard cover, or shell, you need two or three big guys who can work as a team. I suppose you could make a dedicated hoist that live in your garage ceiling. I see shells with lift hooks bolted on the top corners. looks tacky to me. Literally tacky with sealing goop slathered on to try to stop the leaks.
I have shell on mine most of the time and I have to say without the shell I have much better rear visability
Bill D.

[John Terefenko]

Have the extang velcro rollup and love it and would get it again. I have the one that mounts on top of the rails and not between them. Low profile and as far as wanting security of a pickup bed you are dreaming. That is to keep the honest guy out. Any of those hard top covers can be popped open so easily. Roll tops are easily slit open but trying to open with the velcro not easy because they do lock at the gate end as well as cab end. i do not even lock the tailgate. Never leave anything valuable in there. But I do use it alot and have an 8 foot bed.

[Jason Roehl]

A couple months ago, I bought a new-to-me '07 F150. Shortly after, I bought and installed one of these:

https://tonneaucoversworld.com/shop-by-category/hard-folding/undercover-ultra-flex-tonneau-cover.html

I got that particular brand and style because my boss has one on his municipal vehicle, and so I have experience with it myself. I like how it looks and operates. One nice feature are the prop rods to hold the folded cover vertical near the front of the bed if you need to haul something that doesn't fit under the cover. You can get it cheaper than the link above, though--I think I spent about $100 less than that including shipping.

[Chris Damm]

I have had A Lund Tri-Fold on my last 2 pickups dating back to 2006. I will buy another one. It's easy to fold or remove for larger loads.

[William Adams]

When I inherited my father's pickup (Chevy Colorado), it had a Truxedo on it --- works fine, just one has the nuisance of adjusting the fit as the seasons/average temperatures change (do not skip this)

[Robert Engel]

Based on my experience, I would steer clear of the soft cover tonneaus.

A friend of mine had a fold up type cover the kind that came standard on the old Ford Explorer pickups. Leaked a lot.

If it were me, I'd go with the roll up type. A couple guys I know have the Roll-N-Locks and like them a lot but IIRC leaking was an issue with one of them, too.

[Mike Wilkins]

I had the Fold-A-Cover on my last truck, and it was a great addition. Folding sections to allow items taller than the bed to be moved, was water resistant for the first few years. I got a new Z71 and have yet to get a cover. There are several folding cover options on the market, which also have more security than a roll up and more convenience than the solid covers.
You can get really fancy and get one of the powered roll up covers, but that would mean digging deeper into the cookie jar.

[lowell holmes]

I have this cover on my F-150

https://www.carid.com/roll-n-lock/a-series-retractable-tonneau-cover.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwyMfZBRAXEiwA-R3gMz9-8DQA8viFrGzdHbEiZ1NyVPNDFcRzZluNEkBDzCl-t_ea0JwfGBoCYOgQAvD_BwE

I am very happy with it.

[Carlos Alvarez]

I've tried a few different covers. For a variety of reasons, for my uses, I like the four-panel fold-up hard covers the best. In my last truck I had that with a rubber bed mat, and loved that combo. I don't like liners, and the spray-in stuff is ok but not great. The rubber mat prevented dents and noise from things in there, as well as keeping things from sliding. The hard cover was theft and weather protection. The folding style let me use the front to drop in small things, and I put a net in the bed to keep them in place. While I could still use the back for larger stuff. Or quickly remove it all for maximum space.

[Charlie Hinton]

I had a tonneau cover on my old truck, it was great for keeping RC model airplanes from flying out the bed.
Other than that it was mostly in the way.
Off and on I have thought about getting a cab high topper for the truck I have now, but the visibility would suffer so much I haven't done it.
Over the past few months having a secure mostly weather tight cover has once again bubbled to being desirable.
Those fold up bed covers look pretty appealing to me.
Thanks for posting that link.

[Curt Harms]

I've had a 4 panel fold up on a Ranger since probably 2003. The only problem I've had with it is that the rubber covers over the hinges deteriorated after a some years and the manufacturer does not sell replacements. The locks could be easily defeated but I seldom have anything of value to a thief in there. The cover I have folds 3 panels so one is always in place limiting bed accessibility. One manufacturer - don't recall which one - makes a 4 panel cover where all 4 panels fold vertical if you needed the full bed. I had caps previously and prefer the bed cover even though my cover is advertised as water resistant, not water tight. It was pretty good 'til the rubber covers deteriorated and still is way better than nothing.

[Jerome Stanek]

I have a fiber glass top on my F250 and I had a tonneau cover that had a frame that was hinged in the front or you could unsnap it and roll it up. I liked the feature where you could get in it without unsnapping it.

[Carlos Alvarez]

I've had a 4 panel fold up on a Ranger since probably 2003. The only problem I've had with it is that the rubber covers over the hinges deteriorated after a some years and the manufacturer does not sell replacements. The locks could be easily defeated but I seldom have anything of value to a thief in there. The cover I have folds 3 panels so one is always in place limiting bed accessibility. One manufacturer - don't recall which one - makes a 4 panel cover where all 4 panels fold vertical if you needed the full bed. I had caps previously and prefer the bed cover even though my cover is advertised as water resistant, not water tight. It was pretty good 'til the rubber covers deteriorated and still is way better than nothing.

That's interesting that they don't support the product. I wish I knew who made mine (no longer have the truck), because when they failed the manufacturer sent me new ones and said they are "lifetime" warrantied.

[Carlos Alvarez]

This is from my friend who uses his truck for field service and is in and out of the bed all day, as well as carrying valuable supplies and tools:

Rugged cover. I recommend it fully. Customer service is great. Walk on top of. If my truck were taller it might be tough to use.

[Mike Ontko]

John, thanks for posting this question. I'm interested in the feedback as well. I recently bought a 2014 F-150 SuperCrew and just had the bed sprayed with Line-X. My last vehicle was a Ford Expedition, which was like having an F-150 with a built in canopy. A canopy might make the most sense for me though, living in the Pacific Northwest. But it's not something I'd need...or want to have on all the time.

[John M Wilson]

Thanks everyone for the recommendations -- you're helping me hone in on what I want & what isn't necessarily important (to me).

I know that any $5 box knife defeats any cloth/vinyl top for a motivated thief, but I'm not worried about locking valuables in my bed. With that, most of the advantages of the hard, lockable top are lost on me, and the disadvantages of them take the day. I'm more concerned about keeping the elements off my occasional cargo than I am about keeping a load of valuable tools safe at a job site.

Given that I want a soft, foldable cover, now I've got to decide between the 3 or 4 panel units and the roll-up type. It seems that the roll-up type are more convenient, but not as sturdy. I don't anticipate using the top of the cover as a load-bearing surface, although my neighbor, who is a plumber, uses his that way all the time. It seems that these "structural" roll up tops are quite a bit more expensive (although very, very, nice) but I don't know that I will see enough of an advantage to ever get a pay back.

Any brand names I should look for or avoid? I'm figuring to buy it on-line and install it myself, as I sort of enjoy that process.

Thanks again for all the help!