Cap or Tonneau or Neither?

It really just depends on what you have to store, how valuable it is, how quickly you want to access it and how much visibility you want/need out the back/side of your truck. They all have pros and cons.

I've had a shell and loved some things about it but didn't like the hassle to remove it for large loads. The cost was also a bit hard to swallow. My last two trucks have had roll up soft covers which are great for my usage - My standard set of work tools is probably less than the cost of the cover. If someone were to slice the cover and steal everything in my bed I'd probably be out less than $1,000 total (and the cover was $500). If I had more valuable stuff I'd likely have a locking hard cover or shell.

There's really no clear cut answer.

my 04.5 had the access roll up cover. worked great, after 10 years the vinyl was starting to look worn, but still serviceable. kept stuff dry, away from prying eyes etc. New 015 has a undercover flex cover. more secure, looks nicer, easily folds in 3 places if needed, easy to remove if needed.

For what we want, being able to store things out of site, and out of the weather when traveling, some security (tailgate locks and that locks the cover) bed protection, it works well. and is easy to remove when we get bark dust, gravel etc.

We have a cap and it's been the best thing for travelling. Suitcases, coolers, gear, golf bags, folding chairs etc. It has a hanging bar for clothes on hangers.

The only thing that goes in the back seat is small coolers with road food and water.

I still use the bed to haul bags of mulch, dirt etc., but obviously with a cap hauling bulk is now going to happen.

We have the plastic bedrails AND the installer also put in some foam type gaskets to sealout rain, dirt and dust.

It locks, but if someone wants in bad enough they can break windows. We had a tonneau on a previous truck and you could stand on that. We like it...but it had drawbacks..space being the biggest issue.

It depends on how you want to use your truck.
cts

asullivan920 wrote:

From what I know of your situation I would recommend a hard roll up or folding tonneau. Not 100% weather proof but do a good real good job. You also get the security and can add a fifth wheel hitch. They are also cheaper than caps.

I think a folding 3 piece one would be great. don't like roll up particularly, myself.
bumpy

I have used both the tonneau and Caps in different styles. I had a one piece hard plastic tonneau and will never do that set up again! It had a brackets that made it quickly removable but for those random shopping trips and buy a large item I didn't like riding around with it open. I had a few different type of vinyl ones and the ones with Velcro down the side (the rest can be a pain in cold weather).

I currently have a fiberglass cap on my truck and it is heavy. Nice part is I dont ever plan on getting a fifth wheel and have a utility trailer so I dont have to remove it. Have a thule rack system on top for bikes or kayaks/canoe. The window next to the truck cab even folds down so you can wash the glass. My dad has a aluminium one that even on an 8ft bed is not bad to remove and install with 2 people. It doesn't look as nice as the fiberglass but it was cheaper.

From what I know of your situation I would recommend a hard roll up or folding tonneau. Not 100% weather proof but do a good real good job. You also get the security and can add a fifth wheel hitch. They are also cheaper than caps.

smcrea wrote:

mkirsch wrote:
If it's anything like the canvas soft toppers I've seen in the past, it's not a quick operation to fold/unfold it.

The AC unit is just a standard RV rooftop unit. Cut a 14x14 hole in a normal bed topper, fir it out with some wood on the inside, and install the unit. It runs on 110V AC electric, normal house current, so it is useless on the road.

Even if it's a small 120v unit, it would be nice if you are eating your sandwiches in the back. If you could use a 2Kw Honda generator with it then I think this would work! I was just looking at something like this: 9200 BTU AC

I think I would just get one of those portable roll around aC units instead. the canvas would provide no security and would not be of much value to me.
bumpy

mkirsch wrote:
If it's anything like the canvas soft toppers I've seen in the past, it's not a quick operation to fold/unfold it.

The AC unit is just a standard RV rooftop unit. Cut a 14x14 hole in a normal bed topper, fir it out with some wood on the inside, and install the unit. It runs on 110V AC electric, normal house current, so it is useless on the road.

Even if it's a small 120v unit, it would be nice if you are eating your sandwiches in the back. If you could use a 2Kw Honda generator with it then I think this would work! I was just looking at something like this: 9200 BTU AC

If it's anything like the canvas soft toppers I've seen in the past, it's not a quick operation to fold/unfold it.

The AC unit is just a standard RV rooftop unit. Cut a 14x14 hole in a normal bed topper, fir it out with some wood on the inside, and install the unit. It runs on 110V AC electric, normal house current, so it is useless on the road.

Having just returned from our first trip in the truck, we had the chance to look at other bed cover solutions and talk to folks.

One solution that really appealed to us was Softopper

This seems to be very versatile. When you don't need it then you fold it away! Does anyone have any feedback on these?

Also we saw something that really attracted our interest.

It was what looked like an ordinary bed shell, but it had an AC unit on top!... this REALLY attracted our interest. Has anyone else seen anything like this?

Thanks!

RedRocket204 wrote:

Atlee wrote:
The Cap's biggest drawback is the weight. It will be very difficult for me to take it off, and it adds 200+ pounds to the truck all the time.

My same complaint as I always need to ask my neighbor to help remove and put it back on later. So, did some looking around and came upon this: youtube - How to remove a pick-up truck cap with one person and simple hardware

Looks simple enough. The only modification will be on the cross bars. Mine is fiberglass that goes over the sides but the main structure of the canopy, kind of recessed, rests on the bed rails. So, I will put risers on the cross members so the canopy recessed area rests properly on the cross members and not outside fiberglass area.

I just did something like that. Had to get under the cap and lift it slightly with my legs and back to get the cross members under it. Back was a bit sore the next day. Next cap will be Aluminium.