Tonneaus

[MargaretB]

Our new truck doesn't have a tonneau cover for the bed, and we're thinking that it would probably improve aerodynamic performance (and mileage) if it did. Does anyone have experience with adding one to their truck and seeing a change in mileage? Is there a difference between flat one, either flexible or hard, vs. those Leer cab things?

[Bigfoot_affair]

yellowdog00 wrote:
Question for ib516 and the use of the Undercover Flex.
I've got a truck similar to yours on order. 2015 Ram 3500 CC SRW with 6'4"bed. I will tow a fiver as well. What position is your cover in when you are towing? Is it folded up and locked down at the front of your bed in a horizontal position? Or do you have to fold it all the way up in a vertical position and use the support rods?

Thanks for your insight!
Mike

Has to leave it vertical Ib516 truck and trailer

[yellowdog00]

Question for ib516 and the use of the Undercover Flex.
I've got a truck similar to yours on order. 2015 Ram 3500 CC SRW with 6'4"bed. I will tow a fiver as well. What position is your cover in when you are towing? Is it folded up and locked down at the front of your bed in a horizontal position? Or do you have to fold it all the way up in a vertical position and use the support rods?

Thanks for your insight!
Mike

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

MargaretB wrote:
Lots of good information here. We won't be hauling much in the bed, since we have a full crew cab for travel, but I just don't want things flapping in the breeze when we do use it. I'll start researching all of this and educate myself more. Lots to learn and lots of money to spend!

One more thing: We don't have a bed-liner, and my husband has mentioned wanting one to protect the paint. Drop-in or spray-on? And do the options for these two items, bed-liner and tonneau, influence the choices?

🙂 Hi, MargaretB; I bought and installed a Retrax Pro, hard roll up bed cover. Really nice, but quite expensive. I wanted a hard roll up cover so it can be locked in several positions as I plan to have and run a generator in the bed. I had a local Line-X company install a spray on bed liner on my truck.

[MitchF150]

Margaret, the bed rug is great! 🙂 It's padded on the floor and the sides go all the way up to under the rails. I think it weighs maybe 20 lbs.



The soft tonneau is an Extang brand. Very lite as well. This is a pic of my old F150. It fit the new one, so that was cool! It comes off as a single piece too. Just unhook the arms and tilt it up towards the cab and slide it out of the track up front. Takes less than 2 minutes.



Mitch

[APT]

Loved my Access Cover Limited on my last truck. It lasted my 8.5 years before I sold the truck to my brother who still has the truck and cover. Quick and easy rolling and unrolling, generally water tight.

[JN_B]

Make sure you check if the folding tonneau won't lean against the cab when in the folded position. I know some do, and this will cause the paint to wear on your truck. I personally went with Rollx. Awesome cover.

[MargaretB]

MitchF, that sounds like a good combination. I'm reluctant to add anything that might cut into our hard-won payload!

[MitchF150]

I got a bed rug for the bed and I have a soft cover flip up cover and it works great for me. (it's the same as a hard cover flip up.. Just not as heavy, but you can cut the cover with a steak knife.. 😉 )

I don't haul dirt or gravel in the bed of my truck.. I got a 4x8 utility trailer for that..

But, for my everyday stuff and camping needs, the bed rug and flip top cover is all I need.

It's not like I'm a "contractor" or anything.. 🙂

Mitch

[coolbreeze01]

Start with a factory rubber bed mat. They are usually good quality. Save your money on spray. It can be done at anytime if you actually scratch anything, which I doubt.

[Campfire_Time]

jus2shy wrote:
Then there are the folding units that go "over" the bed rails, hence with those tonneaus you will not be able to utilize the stake pockets for strap hooks or add rails over your bed rails if you have use for that. Undercover and Bakflip both install into the bed. I believe the extang units install over the bed rails.

Yes, the Extang installs over the bed rails. No it does not impede the use of the stake pockets so long as your rail covers have the holes cut in them for stake access. You generally wouldn't need use the stake pockets unless you remove the cover anyway.

That said, in addition to the factory strap hooks in the bed, there are a variety of strap hooks that attach to the bottom of the rail and don't interfere with the cover, Extang has their own line, as well as other 3rd parties.

[mowin]

It depends on the truck. Does truck have rail protectors on it? If so get a under the rail opposed to the over the rail Drop in liner. I personally prefer spray in liners like linex. Linex will not affect your choice of tonneau covers.

Back to tonneau covers...
One of my concerns with a roll up tonneau cover was how much snow load it can handle. I'm happy to say the Access limited has handled 12+" of heavy wet snow With no issues. I'm very impressed with the cover.

[MargaretB]

Lots of good information here. We won't be hauling much in the bed, since we have a full crew cab for travel, but I just don't want things flapping in the breeze when we do use it. I'll start researching all of this and educate myself more. Lots to learn and lots of money to spend!

One more thing: We don't have a bed-liner, and my husband has mentioned wanting one to protect the paint. Drop-in or spray-on? And do the options for these two items, bed-liner and tonneau, influence the choices?

[jus2shy]

OP, one note on the folding tonneau covers. There are generally 2 approaches to installing the tonneau. There are those where you add rails to the bed (takes up about 1.5" on each side), but the cover sets "into" the bed. So you still can use your bed rails and install strap hooks or even the steel rails that go over your bed rails if you have use for that, or even a ladder frame. Then there are the folding units that go "over" the bed rails, hence with those tonneaus you will not be able to utilize the stake pockets for strap hooks or add rails over your bed rails if you have use for that. Undercover and Bakflip both install into the bed. I believe the extang units install over the bed rails. I'm not sure about the other units.

[hondapro]

Check out the diamond back covers,I am almost convinced to get one for my truck.The reviews seem good on them.They are a bit pricey though.

[Hank85713]

No hurry as I said earlier yes mine is a hard cover that I modified to fit with a cross bed toolbox. I like what I did because I did not want to have stuff all up at the front of the bed, a toolbox you can open close without problems and keep stuff handy. The cover then provides the security you would want for suitcases or groceries. I also picked up at a yard sale a bed extender, thus I can keep suitcases, ice chests, groceries at the rear and not have to crawl forward to pull them back. I still have the full bed length for lumber whatever and everything is locked when the tailgate is up and locked along with the cover.

Again the idea was to have the best of all worlds security and bed space, and access convenience.