Choosing The Right Tonneau Cover
It's inevitable. It's gonna happen. You buy a tonneau cover, install it, and start to enjoy it. Shortly thereafter, your buddy down the street buys a new truck, installs a different tonneau cover, and starts telling you how his is the best cover in the world. Now, you're starting to doubt your choice.
How do you know when you've decided on the right tonneau cover among all the tonneau covers in the world? When you're happy with it. That's how. Nobody can tell you what's best for you, but you.
Here at AnythingTruck.com, we help you choose a tonneau cover by informing you of the different types of covers available and asking pointed questions. Questions that will help you decide for yourself which cover you want. We won't give you our opinion on which cover you need until we know why you're buying a tonneau cover and how you plan to use it. This is important because it all boils down to your personal taste and expectations of what the cover is going to do for you.
The basic tonneau cover types are described below:
- Classic
- We call it the classic style because it's really the first type of cover that was available. These tonneau covers have arched bows that support the vinyl tarp. Most use snaps to attach the tarp to an aluminum frame that clamps to the truck bed. When rolled up, you will need to store the bows and rear rail in the truck bed or some other place.
- Lifting
- Lifting tonneau covers are available in soft vinyl or hard fiberglass. At this time, we only offer the soft vinyl lifting covers. These covers attach to the truck bed at a hinge point behind the cab and include lift struts like you would find on a fiberglass lid. The tarp attaches to an aluminum frame with snaps or an optional snapless J-strip.
- Folding
- A folding tonneau cover has hinges at two points along the length of the frame, so the cover can be folded into thirds. There is usually no assembly required, and you can simply set the cover on the truck bed and tighten the pre-installed clamps.
- Roll-Up
- The roll-up covers are the most popular style available today, and there are more brands available in this category than any other. These tonneau covers have aluminum frame rails that clamp to the truck bed, and Velcro that attaches the vinyl tarp to the side rails. Tensioning of the tarp is achieved front to back, so there is no Velcro at the front or rear. One of the key benefits of this style of cover is that the support bows and rear rail roll up with the tarp, so everything is stored in one nice neat package at the back of the truck cab.
- Retractable
- A retractable tonneau cover has a canister that mounts at the front of the truck bed. Inside the canister is a cover typically made of aluminum slats with a vinyl cover laminated on top. Think of it like a garage door for you truck bed. These covers have multiple latching points along the side rails, so the cover can be left partially open if you desire. A key lock is also included, so your truck bed can be completely secured if you have a locking tailgate handle. We don't advertise these covers on our site at this time, but we are a distributor of Pace Edwards retractable tonneau covers.
Here are some questions to get you thinking about what you really want from your cover:
- Do you frequently haul large items with your truck?
- Do you need access to the full length or width of the truck bed?
- Do you want the cover to attach to the tonneau frame with snaps or Velcro?
- Do you want a colored tarp?
Now for some reasons for the questions we ask.
If you haul large loads, it can be a pain in the rear to roll up certain tonneau covers over and over. Take for example, a snap cover with support bows that must be removed and set aside after the cover is rolled to the back of the cab. You generally have to remove the rear rail with this type of cover too, so when you're finished rolling up the cover, you have three or four extra pieces that you need to store somewhere.
Some covers take up more surface area of the truck bed than others do. For example, folding covers will extend over two feet from the back of the cab when folded. This is just the way they work. Fortunately, these covers feature quick installation and removal, but you're still going to have to figure out where to store the cover while it is removed. Roll-up style covers are nice because they are stored in a nice compact roll behind the cab, but many have side rails that extend a few inches inside the truck bed reducing the usable width.
Asking if you want snaps or Velcro is something of a trick question. We will always recommend Velcro. Snaps are great if you just want to cover the truck bed, but you really need to go with Velcro if you want an easy to use tonneau cover. Cold weather shrinks tonneau covers. Velcro will allow you to easily seal the cover no matter what the weather is doing, but you're going to be fighting to get a snap cover sealed during the winter. As a matter of fact, many people just figure that they won't be opening their snap cover during the winter, or they'll put the truck in the garage under a heater for a few hours.
Some people want their tonneau cover to match the paint on their truck. This generally isn't a problem, but it does limit your choices. You also need to be aware that colored tonneau covers are always custom-made, special orders that cannot be returned. You need to be sure that the color is going to look good on your truck before you place the order. This is why we will always tell you to contact the manufacturer for a color swatch before you make your decision.
As you can see, there are many things to consider when choosing a tonneau cover. Don't let it get to you. Consider how you plan to use your truck bed and compare tonneau cover features. If you still have questions, please read our tonneau cover FAQ or contact us. We're always happy to help.