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Tonneau cover help - so many options.


spankis

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With all the time I spend during the warm months camping, fishin, etc. etc., I decided I want a decent tonneau cover for my truck. I have a new Ranger, which I had an over the rail Line-x liner sprayed in.

 

I have no experience with these, but I've been doing some research online and spoke to Justin at Pickups Plus about them a couple weeks ago. I'm still not sure what I want. I care about things staying dry mostly, but additionally, it would be nice to keep stuff secure with the tailgate and tonneau locked. As far as security, obviously you can take a knife to any of the soft/vinyl/canvas covers, but I feel like nobody would really go to the trouble without knowing whats underneath anyway. I'm also really trying to avoid the solid one piece covers, because although they can be removed they are gigantic and can't be just thrown in the truck when you want to haul something large.

 

I initially liked the BakFlip solid folding covers, but have since decided against them. Right now I'm considering the Extang Trifecta Signature series, a folding canvas/vinyl tonneau ($450 - Lifetime warranty on frame, 10 yr on fabric). I'm also somewhat looking at the Extang Solid fold, a solid folding tonneau ($775 - 3 or 5 yr warranty I think). Anybody have any input or experience with one they know to be nice?

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Having had painted to match solid covers before, I really liked them but it really converts the truck into a car with a big trunk. This doesn't sound like your cup of tea, so I would suggest any of the ones that mount on top of the rails and roll up. Having used a few of these they are great, you just roll them up in a couple minutes and they are out of the way, and even if you're going to haul something that fits underneath it rolling it up to load stuff makes it easier so you can stand in the bed.
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I have a lite-rider roll-up on my truck and like it. Some water does get in the bed when it rains, but not a lot. IIRC, the material it's made of is pretty strong; ie., a knife can puncture it, but you can't drag the knife to slice it open. A person would have to keep stabbing it in order to get a big enough hole to get something out of the bed. You can't open the cover unless the tailgate is down.

Keep this in mind, covers will only keep honest people honest. If someone wants to get in, they will, no matter what kind of cover you have.

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I have this one and I love it. Its a lund roll up cover. No worries about using it in the cold since the latch has a tensioner so you just buckle it down and go. It takes me 30 seconds to have my bed covered. Also this one has a lifetime warranty. One of my buddies has this too and the velcro on the rails basically dissolved from years in the sun and they sent him a brand new replacement.

 

 

http://www.truckaddons.com/Catalog/subpages/Lund_genesis_rollup_cover.htm

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Thanks for all the input, I actually really do like the undercover aj, but I haul firewood and furniture often enough that taking it off would get annoying I feel like. As far as the rollup ones with super strength velcro, I actually read that a lot of those are pretty decent and will actually hold tight enough to keep your bed dry in an automated car wash. That's kind of amazing, but I still can't bring myself to buy something that uses velcro.

 

I actually spent a few minutes on the phone with an extang rep yesterday talking about the trifecta, since I read that it doesn't fully cover the stake pocket holes on rangers. He offered to send me a set of flush mount covers for the ranger stake pockets free lol, can't beat that customer service. Between that and their solid warranty that's what I decided on. Autoanything had a 10 percent off sale yesterday too, so I ordered it there and saved 50 bucks. Ill probably spend that money on a tailgate lock, just to make it slightly more annoying for somebody interested in stealing my goodies.

Edited by spankis
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You have to remember too, any soft bed cover is a pain to deal with in winter. I have had the undercover brand and love it. 2 locks and it goes up and comes off in 5 min.

 

Never had any issues with my undercover.

 

I have one of the roll up covers on my beater truck. It sucks. Least bit of snow or ice and it won't roll up.

 

The flip covers, with any snow or ice on them, won't fold for the life of them.

 

Fiberglass covers are way too heavy. And you won't want to take it off by yourself.

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You have to remember too, any soft bed cover is a pain to deal with in winter. I have had the undercover brand and love it. 2 locks and it goes up and comes off in 5 min.

 

Never had any issues with my undercover.

 

I have one of the roll up covers on my beater truck. It sucks. Least bit of snow or ice and it won't roll up.

 

The flip covers, with any snow or ice on them, won't fold for the life of them.

 

Fiberglass covers are way too heavy. And you won't want to take it off by yourself.

 

Totally agree on the fiberglas covers. I have an ARE on my superduty. It is really, really nice for secure storage of anything that fits. But, since I often haul firewood, mulch, furniture, etc. I am constantly removing it. That will be less of a problem on a ranger since it is so much smaller. But on my truck it is a major operation. If you go with a hard cover...think about putting a lifting mechanism in your garage like Wrangler owners do for their hard tops. That may make it better.

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I have a basic Truxedo soft tonneau cover on my 09 Ram. I only had to add a little extra foam pading to the end by the cab and the bed has stayed perfectly dry since I put it on almost 2 years ago. As long as you keep the cover on right, you can barely fit a hand between the top and rails when you pull up the velcro. You can't unlock the cover without putting down the tailgate, and my locking tailgate works to prevent that.

 

Again of course if someone really wants to get into my bed, it would just take a knife to cut the top, but I love the fact that when I do need to use the bed of the truck, it just rolls up quickly and I can see out my rear window and have a full bed.

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FWIW a Friend of my family has a stainless roll up tonneau, It looks good, it's lockable, easily retractable and it can support over 500lbs on top of it when its out. I can try to find out where he got it from, IIRC he paid around 700 for it.

 

EDIT: It was something like this one. http://www.pace-edwards.com/Full-Metal-JackRabbit

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FWIW a Friend of my family has a stainless roll up tonneau, It looks good, it's lockable, easily retractable and it can support over 500lbs on top of it when its out. I can try to find out where he got it from, IIRC he paid around 700 for it.

 

EDIT: It was something like this one. http://www.pace-edwards.com/Full-Metal-JackRabbit

 

 

I really really wanted one of these until I found out that you lose almost 10" of bed depth.

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I really really wanted one of these until I found out that you lose almost 10" of bed depth.

 

Very true. The "barrel" thing is gigantic, and on a ranger I don't need to make the bed any smaller. I also understand that those take a whole bunch of adjustment to get them to operate smoothly and not jam. Not to mention lubrication, leaves getting stuck in it, water being pulled into the barrel as it retracts, etc. etc.

 

Also, here is what I ordered, Extang Trifecta:

 

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forums/attachments/truck-bed-tonneau-covers/15543d1164745461-extang-trifecta-signature-series-trifecta.jpg

 

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn160/Wilks132/DSCN0932.jpg

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