Tonneau covers: What type to choose?

woody2269

Thanks all!!

pk6

take a look at the Snug Lid from
www.snugtop.com

b_bazinet

Can anyone give me an idea how much they cost? I went to the Pace Edwards website and they didn't give a price??? Also, how much would it cost to have it professionally installed? Thanks.

eharri3

An extang Black Max with snaps. It's been on my ranger a little under a year with no visible signs of wear and it's survived subzero temps with the snaps fastened with no tearing. MY only reret is that I didn't get the Saber, which has a smoother snapless look and probably doesn't take as long to fasten in place. IT can take awhile to button all those snaps. If you're looking at soft covers I'd look at the snapless ones. Tekstyle also makes a good product but I don't know if they offer extang's 3 year warentee.

eharri3

They're now offering snap on soft covers on a hinged frame so you can lift up the whole frame as if it were a hard cover or just unsnap the cover part. That seems a great concept to me, so you don't have to unsnap the cover in temperatures where you might not be able to get it back on,

rshornsby

Might start at www.calconcepts.com for pricing on a lot of different covers. I can't say if the pricing is the best, I found an AeroCover for less that this site. But at least it is a starting point.

Good luck and have a nice day...:o)

Roger

henne

i have the rollnlock v series on my dodge dakota quadcab. i paid about 850.00 installed. i chose the rollnlock over the pace because it locks the tailgate also.

robert

willimjo

Did you get the manual or electric setup. The price you quoted seems high for a manual and very reasonable for electric.

henne

its for the manual setup and its was actually 130.00 less than retail not counting shipping and installation

smikes

I will be buying a 2001 Silverado (first truck) when they hit the lots. I am thinking of getting a non-fiberglass tonneau cover for reasons of (hoped for) improved gas mileage. Plan on mostly highway miles.

Feedback?

dinotwo

Has anyone tried the Fold-a-Cover brand? I think it is a very interesting concept. http://www.foldacover.com/default.htm

towcrazy2

Dino:
I installed a Fold-a-Cover unit on my Dakota Quad Cab about two weeks ago, and have been very impressed with its versatility.

The TA (Total Access) unit cost $550, and I installed myself (with occasional help from the wife). Installation went smoothly, and the cover seems offer the best traits of both a soft tonneau and the single-piece hard-shell units.

The cover consists of four foam panels with black annodized, "pebblegrain" aluminum skins, connected together via sealed piano hinges.

Interesting that in the brief two weeks I've had it on the truck, it's already drawn the interest of a couple of "soft-cover" guys... One of them decided it was time to ditch the frozen fingers unsnapping and re-snapping his cover in the wintertime... He ordered a Fold-a-Cover, and will probably install this week.

If you'd like more info or photos of the unit in various postitions, let me know... I can shoot a few digitals and e-mail them.

yamaaspen

Anyone with experience with either tonneau cover? I'm not sure which one is the better product. I have a 2000 Toyota Tacoma Prerunner extra cab.
Thanks
Steve

eharri3

It's the black max with snaps. 260 installed at Vehicle Outfitters, it's simple but effective. A padded frame with no metal touching the truck and 4 cross bows on longbeds, 3 on shortbeds. This is an important thing to compare between covers so check carefully. Too few support bows and you can expect it to sag under even slight pressure. I also liked Extang's lifetime frame warantee and 3 year cover warentee. So far I have not found a single tear or any sign of wear though it is in use most of the time and has been on about 5 months. The only thing I might like is a little wider variation in the adjustment of the snaps because they're sometimes hard to button in cold weather or when it's been off for awhile, even when I leave them in the loosest position. If I had it to do again I'd look at the Saber, which is snapless and should be easier and quicker to put down.

eharri3

i just checked the Downey site and it's looking like a better product than the exteng to me. The link is a few comments back on this thread, have a look. The site is Calconcepts

rshornsby

In reference to what cover to choose, I personally bought the AeroCover from www.truckaccessories.com. The price was below that of CalConcepts, and I was in contact with both of them. I can only say the AeroCover is one fantastic unit. Comes off in about 2 minutes, and goes on in about the same time, very easy for one person to do. And I have been through a car wash several times, and the bed has never had any water in it. Very good cover....

Have a nice day everyone,......

Roger.

rshornsby

The last entry is incorrect (#68) the address should be www.truckaccess.com.

Sorry 'bout that

Roger.

dlucier

and I bought the Covercraft rail tonneau for that truck. It costs $239 and after 3 years it still looked good and allowed the tailgate to open without disturbing the cover. The plastic rail snaps worked pretty well, but drove people nuts if they had never seen this cover, since the snaps are hidden under the edge. The material was good and heavy and kept the bed dry. Debating about what to put on my 2k Sierra 4dr. If I don't fall for anything else it will be a Covercraft.
Just my .02c

arkie6

I just recently installed a Pace-Edwards Roll-Top-Cover on my truck. Installation was simple and straightforward. It did require drilling into the lip of the bed rails, but I intend for this to be a permanent installation, so I wasn't concerned. I applied black RTV to all screw holes and various other nooks and crannies to make it more weatherproof and preclude any rust. Everything seems to work just fine and it looks good in my opinion. The top locks in the full closed position and at the 3/4 closed position. My tailgate already has a lock, so this was not an issue for me. It doesn't appear to be as heavy duty as a friends older version Roll-n-Lock all aluminum cover, but it was considerably less expensive. Also, I think the canister box, at 9" on the P-E, is smaller than the RnL.

Cost for the P-E unit was $499 + $40 S&H for a short bed full size truck from truckaddons.com I think they also have a clamp on version that costs a little more.

obyone

If you want to add more positions to lock the cover, just use a dremel or in my case, I use a Rotozip to create additional stop positions. My $.02

Dean

arkie6

Yeah, I noticed that also. Don't have a need for more lock positions at this time, but I'll keep that in mind.

bubbay

I have a 97 Ram SS/T. I bought a GT Classic cover painted to match my truck color which is black. It was great. I installed it myself and It was a low profile which is what I wanted. It does not make the bed look taller. I can highly suggest the GT Classic which I bought from California Concepts.

careyace

I too put a Pace Edwards cover on my truck and I love it and I bought a tail gate latch lock so it is pretty secure.I wish I would have gone with the electric tail gate lock that P/E sells.
On my last truck I had a Tekstyle soft cover and that was a nice low cost cover too.
Just my thoughts.

Andrew

k0hb

I have "Access" brand covers on three trucks. A couple of them are 5 years old and still in great shape. These are "roll up" heavy canvas with a strong "Velcro" seal so you don't have snaps to tear our (or freeze in our Minnesota weather).

Unlike rigid fiberglass covers, they don't get in the way if you need to haul something taller than the box of your truck.

The design sheds water/snow so you don't need to worry about wet cargo.

hulagirl

I've ordered a locking fiberglass tonneau (color-matched) to be installed on my S-Crew in Washington before shipping to Hawaii. They're quoting me $1,000 - do you think I can do as well here??? Aloha

obyone

I think the way you have it set up now is best. For one thing, I don't see many fiberglass tonneaus in Hawaii meaning selection would be limited if you are looking at aftermarket. Since the dealer is doing yours, the color match should be good. Pricing is probably better than what you could get here because of the fact that you won't be paying air freight which is what you would probably pay in Hawaii. Even if it was in stock locally, they would mark up the price using freight as the reason. At $1000, painting and installation included, I believe is a good deal.

I have done a lot of mods to my truck. From my experience, I would order an item through an aftermarket parts house located in Louisiana, pay the UPS and still save over buying in Hawaii. An example. I ordered 4- edlebrock shocks from Shocks Warehouse. Paid $69.00 each + $10.00 each UPS. Ron's Performance Center in Mapunapuna wanted $99.00 each for the shocks and they had only one out of the four I needed.

I read your post in the Ford topic. Has your truck reached Chicago and started to make its way back to the west coast?

hulagirl

Thanks for the info - I guess I keep getting cold feet - buyer's remorse - whatever you want to call it! Truck is still in Chicago or Naperville, IL. I can't really tell which. The dealer has no idea why it went there, but I think it probably has to do with filling the train up and then sending it on it's merry way. Truck was shipped on 9/7 and due to arrive in Washington 9/25 - now I understand why the long delay - it's probably going to tour the 13 colonies next!!! :-) I've enjoyed reading your posts in other areas - esp. your back & forth with not to be named Tundra owners!!! (or is that Tindra?) Thanks again for the help - it is much appreciated!

hulagirl

I wanted to install a wood dash and thought about having the dealer do that, too. But then I read posts here and found it's not that difficult to do on your own and I can purchase on-line. I'm just afraid to mess it up. Have you done any interior customizing???

obyone

I had bought a wood trim dash set for about $100 on ebay. Installation took about 1/2 hour which included prepping of the surface which entailed wiping with alcohol and brushing on the glue. I must say, the smaller pieces went on fine. The larger ones, I should have taken a little more time on as it came out a little crooked. The passenger wouldn't notice but it still bugs me. Anyone with patience would be able to do it. Just take your time and make sure that you prep (clean with alcohol) thoroughly and follow directions.

BTW, these wood grain sets could run upwards of $700 depending on how many pieces are included. After awhile though too many pieces can be excessive. My set included 13 pieces which included the dash, a/c vents, and door area where the window controls are. I thought it was maybe a little sparse but for $100 couldn't complain. Must have been decent cause the Shop Foreman at my dealership was impressed on the quality of the product and the price when he test drove with me.

Sorry for the long post....

jcmdie

Try exotic wood dash. They are on the internet and are reputable.

deuce56

I am trying to decide between a Berlin soft tonneau and an Extang Sabre snapless. Any recommendations or suggestions. Thanx

z71bill

When I bought about 1 year ago the Berlin only had 2 cross rails on the short bed and 3 on long bed VS Extang 3 on short and 4 on long. (Cross rails or whatever you call the things that go across the bed to hold the cover up) That is the main reason I went with Extang. If I had it to do over again I would get the soft cover that is hinged so that you can open it without taking cover off.

eharri3

But I also agree I'd go with the hinged soft cover if I had the cash, as I think it's the best compromise between cargo carrying flexibility, ease of use, and protection of cargo. It's nice to be able to open it like a hard cover without fiddling without snaps. Also, if you go with the extang realize it's a good idea to remove the tailgate bar when opening and closing the tailgate. They say you're supposed to be able to use the tailgate with the bar in place. But everytime you do the top of the tailgate rubs against the foam weather stripping. The foam strip on my bar is beginning to wear down.

dlucier

a Sportmaster hinged tonneau and so far, so good. It has 3 ribs,and you have a couple ways you pull it off if you want to haul a tall load. You can pull the front hinge pins, pop the gas shocks loose, and unsnap the front snaps only to open the bed (just lay the whole back of the tonneau in the garage), or pop the gas shocks loose,unsnap the cover, take out 4 screws (to remove the rear crossbar), slide the ribs out, pull the hinge pins and it will all store in the bed. I know this sounds complicated but it is pretty simple and takes 5 minutes to do. The top is also warranted for 5 years. Fit and finish on all components is excellent, most likely as good as Extang or Berlin. And it cost $329 at my local 4wd shop. The only problem I have is that the gasket on the hinged part of the top tends to stick to the bed rail. I guess a little silicon spray will take care of it.
just my .02
Hope this helps.

deuce56

I ended up buying the Extang Black Max. Maybe I was looking at $$$ too much, but I ordered from autoaccessory.com because they were offering free shipping till Oct. 1 and without having to pay tax, my total bill was $209.95. This seemed like a pretty fair price from everything I've been reading.
Putting the tonneau on was FAIRLY easy with two problem areas. 1.) The cross bows seemed to be too long, so I had to shave the ends down slightly. And 2.) what really concerns me is that the cover was very difficult to snap. The cover was straight out of the box and at first I had the snaps on one side on the top while the other side was on the bottom - no way! So I put both sides on the top (loosest setting), but the front and back were still on the tighter setting - no way! So I put the back on the looser setting - still no go. I then put all snapps on the loosest setting but still couldn't get the tarp snapped. I set an electric heater in the semi-enclosed bed and FINALLY got all the snaps fastened. Now if Extang claims to be the only tonneau that can be adjusted between summer and winter and we're not even to winter yet, I hate to think of having to unsnap/resnap my cover this winter. Sorry for the long post but if anyone can offer a suggestion as to what I may have been doing wrong I would appreciate it.

eharri3

I found it hard to snap too after I first had it installed, I think the fabrci had to loosen up a bit. Since then it's become easier, but still fairly difficult in cold weather. Around winter time I just try to leave it on unless I must take it off and just slide stuff in through the tailgate. If you have to take it off in winter though it's gonna be hard to snap, even at the looses setting. That's just one of the draw backs of a snap on cover. If it seems almost impossible, take a pair of plyers and use those to pull it down, but make sure you put clooth between the plyers and cover so as not to tear it. What I would also do at night time in the winter was take the cover inside and put it next to the furnace overnight.

rm13

Anybody with a Roll-n-Lock or Pace Edwards that can comment on either. I'm especially interested in any problems with water and rattling. Also interested in the snapless Extang cover. Thanks.

obyone

Had it for a year. Still looks like new. No rattles and no leaks. Only wished that I picked up the electric model

sparkplug1

I am considering purchasing a 2001 Ranger and Ford offers a Back Pack option which is a two piece hard plastic tonneau hinged in the middle (at 90 degrees to the bed) coupled with a bed liner. It was first offered on the Explorer Sport Trac (or whatever it's called) and now modified and offered on the Ranger. It can be had for about $750 or so. Has anyone seen one and if so what is your opinion?

speedybird

I put the ARE fiberglass lid on my '00 Silverado LT and really like it. So far I haven't had to remove it for hauling anything although removal looks very easy. Undo 4 clamps and that's it.

A.R.E. OWNERS: ARE has come out with an automatic lock for the tailgate/cover. Some modification to the handle assembly and run wires to the front kickpanel. WORKS GREAT WITH THE FACTORY REMOTE.

The kit works with both the lid and cap.

Randy

ckulus

Hello,
I am thinking of getting a Sierra or a Silverado and one option is the soft black tonneau cover. Have any of you had any experience with it? Would I be better off getting a cover from some where else?

Thanks,

Chet

duckpoop

Hi there,
I was just wondering if anyone would have an idea on how much mpg can improve with a cover on? I'm just looking for any guesses here. Also do the bug/wind deflectors help any with mpg?

Thanks,
Rick

jcmdie

Bug/winddeflectors -no. A toneau will help about 1 mpg.

vahend

I just installed a ARE Fiberglass lid on my new 01 GMC Sierra and I love it. It prevents the tailgate from opening, allmost goes up by it-self after the latch is turned. It's design matches the hood of the truck, and it can be taken off very easy with only 4 brackets to remove. I had an Extang Sabre Snapless on my old truck. It was OK in Summer, but in cold or rain, forget it, you could not fully snap it down on the back corner's of the truck bed. It also did not lock the tailgate like the ARE does. I also put in the Bedrug liner. Both are great products.

breezin

breezin

I got a 2001 Ranger Edge and i'm looking for a tonneau cvr. I like the security of the Roll-n-lock but Ford has one that hinges in the middle so that the front or rear half can be opened. It's also got a removeable wall piece that separates the two compartments. I havent decided yet.

GC

gulfguy

I don't remember which is which but one uses heavier duty aluminum, has three different open positions and locks to the tailgate without having to buy an accessory gate lock. In addition, it comes with a strap to pull it back so you don't have to climb in the bed to reach it. A freind with the cheaper version indicated his gate lock cost the difference between them. After a year of use he says the system is not water tight but close enough that they have no concerns using the PU bed as a trunk for luggage on trips.

hciaffa

How do you like it. Soes the spring loaded rear bar make it easier to attach the cover. What color is the frame and where did you purchase it? On-line or at a distributor. Is the cover made with good or cheap material. Thanks for any info

shawkwav

Does the Mopar Gull Wing tonneau cover or any other hard top tonneau cover for that matter fit over bedrail and tailgate caps/protectors? Are there any good ones out there that do a great job of keeping water out as well? Any input and feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Dakota's Rock,
shawkwav

tucsonjwt

on my 2000 Silverado long bed.
Spring bar is really just two long springs stuffed into the side channels - you put the tangs on the rear bar into the slots in the side channels and there is some resistance from the springs - it's actually a very tight fit, and it takes some rapping with the palm of your hand to get the bar in and out - but the springs do have the effect of adding tension to the rear bar and make the snaps easier to fasten.
Frame is black anodized aluminum - will show scratches where it has been nicked in transport or where you attach clamps/move clamps.
Purchased from netruckcap.com on line - $259. Took a full 10 days to get to me UPS.
Vinyl appears to be good quality with good liner inside.
I should have installed bed rail caps before installing the cover - I'll probably take it off and install them soon - probably ProCaps.
Likes: seems to be quite weather tight (except by tailgate as advertised - holes along sides of tailgate - not a tonneau issue), doesn't move around when driving. Opens/closes easily.
Dislikes: tonneau only opens about 30 degrees, so you have to unsnap front to get to items in front, black color shows dust and water spots very easily - used 303 protectant and cleaned up nicely, have not yet mastered the art of rolling up the bows and end rail in the vinyl cover and fastening at the bulkhead yet - takes a few times to get the hang of doing it quickly, I guess, but it does work and you lose about 6" of space at the front of the bed.
Torquing down clamps deforms thin sheet metal on Silverado rail - problem with all trucks nowadays, not tonneau problem - so use a bed rail cap to hide the deformation.
Overall assessment: worth the $259, I never haul anything with the truck, just a commuter vehicle, just wanted something to keep the bird droppings out of the bed - tired of cleaning/waxing the bed.
I will probably get a BegRug bedliner and a load bar of some sort to install at the rear of the box, since I use the bed like a trunk - actually seldom use it - bought the truck for comfort a big cab space, better ride quality, fuel economy, etc.
Good luck.