[William Barton]

Hello,

I'm getting ready to take over a lease on a 2017 Colorado Z71 crew cab long bed and I'm looking for help selecting the appropriate tonneau cover. It's got a rolling soft cover on it currently, but I'm looking to add something more secure for when I throw skis in it and take it up to Vermont. I don't really care if it's folding or rolling, just want something that is going to keep the bed relatively dry and the skis secure for when I'm done for the day. Thanks for the help!

 

[CaryBosse]

Hello,

I'm getting ready to take over a lease on a 2017 Colorado Z71 crew cab long bed and I'm looking for help selecting the appropriate tonneau cover. It's got a rolling soft cover on it currently, but I'm looking to add something more secure for when I throw skis in it and take it up to Vermont. I don't really care if it's folding or rolling, just want something that is going to keep the bed relatively dry and the skis secure for when I'm done for the day. Thanks for the help!

Had me wondering why you needed "a secure tonneau cover for snow?"

All I could think was those silly Yankees are stealing snow? I thought most winters you couldn't give it away. (Please don't send any down South this winter.)

 

[cesharp3]

Hello,



I'm getting ready to take over a lease on a 2017 Colorado Z71 crew cab long bed and I'm looking for help selecting the appropriate tonneau cover. It's got a rolling soft cover on it currently, but I'm looking to add something more secure for when I throw skis in it and take it up to Vermont. I don't really care if it's folding or rolling, just want something that is going to keep the bed relatively dry and the skis secure for when I'm done for the day. Thanks for the help!

I went with a Diamondback 270 cover and it is awesome. Water tight, able to put stuff on top of you want, lockable, easy, etc.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Hunter62]

I have the Truxedo Titanium and really like it. It is a roll up but has aluminum slates covered with vinyl. Pretty darn water tight and secure.

It retails for $849 but got it off of Hebron Auto Parts web site for $679 and free shipping.

there web site shows regular price now, I would call them and see if you can get it for the sale price, make up an excuse why you did could not order it when it was on sale. I did, cause I was still deciding which one to get.

https://hebronautoparts.com/series-...2017||brand=Truxedo||style=Roll-Up Hard Cover

 

[Krumble]

I got the Truck Gear by Line X retractable cover. I love it and it supports 500lbs on top of it. The cover is a rebranded Retrax Pro MX and it comes with a lifetime warranty. Expensive but well worth it IMO

 

[Waynester]

I've got an Extang Solid Fold 2.0.
I use my truck for skiing and don't hesitate to leave the skis in the back.
I did run into one issue last winter. I parked my truck in such a way that melting snow was dripping and landing on my tonneau cover who ere it sits on top of my tail gate. Of course over night the dripping water froze and initially prevented me from accessing my skis in the morning. Some hot water quickly remedied that situation.

My advice on choosing a tonneau cover is always the same, think about all the ways you plan on using your truck and let that dictate what kind of cover your going to get.

This is my 2nd truck with a Tonneau, the first truck had a hard fiberglass tonneau which looked really great, but was a pain in the ass to remove. On the new truck, I knew I wanted something easy to remove and didn't require any extra hardware installation if I could avoid it, which is why I ended up with the cover that I have.

If your are really only going to be using the truck for skiing, then as long as the cover locks securely, it should suffice, but if you plan on using it to pick stuff up from Lowes or Home Depot, or plan on helping friends move, you might want to spend more time thinking about the type of top you plan on getting

 

[[email protected]]

What else do you typically put in the bed? Do you like that you have nearly full bed access when the roll up is open? What's your budget?

Hard folding covers tend to have the best balance of cost, security, and functionality. There are a lot of really good options from Bak, Gator, Extang, Undercover, etc.

With a little more info I can help narrow down some options for you.

 

[Janster]

Just search for ‘hard’ tonneau covers on google. There’s so many out there.
You can hit ‘images’ and see what you like best.

I have a Bakflip G2 - its’ a hard folding cover. I love it.... and, I can remove the whole thing pretty easily if I need access to the entire bed.

 

[William Barton]

What else do you typically put in the bed? Do you like that you have nearly full bed access when the roll up is open? What's your budget?

Hard folding covers tend to have the best balance of cost, security, and functionality. There are a lot of really good options from Bak, Gator, Extang, Undercover, etc.

With a little more info I can help narrow down some options for you.

This will be my first truck but I like the option of having full bed access with the roll up open. I don't foresee myself stacking items heavy or light on top of the cover so I'm not sure I need something super heavy duty like the Diamondback cover posted.


When the truck won't be holding skis, I'll be carrying luggage/our folded dog crate for weekend adventures. I think something that locks and is folding or rolling would be great. I'd like to keep it around $1,000 but could bump it to $1,500 if I REALLY needed to.

 

[[email protected]]

This will be my first truck but I like the option of having full bed access with the roll up open. I don't foresee myself stacking items heavy or light on top of the cover so I'm not sure I need something super heavy duty like the Diamondback cover posted.


When the truck won't be holding skis, I'll be carrying luggage/our folded dog crate for weekend adventures. I think something that locks and is folding or rolling would be great. I'd like to keep it around $1,000 but could bump it to $1,500 if I REALLY needed to.

Gotcha. Have a few options to throw at you:

Bak Revolver
A little pricey, but functions like a roll up and quite secure with the tailgate locked. The engineering in the rails on this cover is awesome and keeps the entire thing locked down while closed. Rolls up like a soft cover (though a little bigger), but is far more secure. The only downside is that there's no in-between, it's either open or closed.

Gator FX3
A little cheaper than the Revolver, just as secure. The difference is that you can open and drive with it partially open. You also have full bed access and can drive with it stowed against the cab. Downside - some people hate driving with it open. Never bothered me when I had to do this but it is a potential downside depending on your outlook.

If the tri-fold design is of interest there are options from several companies that offer slightly different features. The FX3 is the nicest tri-fold from Gator and is on par with the best from the other brands.

Let me know what you think. I can save you a few $ on whatever you choose so let me know when you're ready!

 

[William Barton]

What are you the pros and cons of secure folding vs rolling covers? The BAKFlip MX4 looks nice but it's also hard to distinguish it from a lot of the other covers out there. Preventing water/snow leaking is going to be super important, especially if I'm going to be throwing luggage in the bed of the truck with skis.

 

[[email protected]]

The level of security and weather resistance is similar between the two. With regards to the former, if someone wants something bad enough they'll get it, but hard folding covers and the Revolver are secured along the bed-sides and the latch release is inside. That means if the tailgate is locked they can't be opened. With regards to the latter, no cover is completely waterproof. Most are very very close, and assuming you take your time during the install yours will be too (we find that improper installation is the #1 cause of significant water intrusion). I would also suggest a tailgate seal to help keep mist/splashing water from coming in through the gaps in the tailgate.

Pros and cons boil down to design attributes IMO. I touched on that earlier. With the Revolver it's either open or closed (nothing in between), and when open the "roll" is a bit large.... though I don't think it's any taller than the headrests. Hard folding covers can usually be locked down "partially open" which is nice, and when completely open they offer perhaps slightly more bed access than the Revolver (though it's probably negligible). The downside is that when used fully open you're back window is completely blocked. That didn't bother me but it bothers some. Usually if I had my cover in this position it was to haul something that would block my rear view anyway.

I'll note that the "hard rolling" category doesn't contain many options but there are others. I've excluded the Titanium hard rolling cover from this discussion. Our customers seem to really like it, but it isn't as secure. The side rails do not lock along the length of the cover so you can just open the velcro and reach in. Out-of-sight, out-of-mind probably prevents most thefts but that design issue is too big for me to ignore.

Sounds like you may also appreciate a BedRug. They're plenty tough and will make the back a nicer space for luggage and skis. I was a skeptic but after having one I can tell you they're super nice. I would guess and say that 99% of the trucks in our parking lot with tonneaus have them. We're big fans.

 

[Airmousam]

What are you the pros and cons of secure folding vs rolling covers? The BAKFlip MX4 looks nice but it's also hard to distinguish it from a lot of the other covers out there. Preventing water/snow leaking is going to be super important, especially if I'm going to be throwing luggage in the bed of the truck with skis.

Love my MX4, get it! Install was a breeze too.

See post 7287 for pic of mine

http://coloradofans.com/forums/114-...ur-colorado-canyon-today-365.html#post4520793

 

[William Barton]

Love my MX4, get it! Install was a breeze too.

See post 7287 for pic of mine

http://coloradofans.com/forums/114-...ur-colorado-canyon-today-365.html#post4520793

How long did it take for you to install? Where about in Southern NH/ME are you?

 

[Airmousam]

How long did it take for you to install? Where about in Southern NH/ME are you?

About 90mins...mx4 pic was at our lake house in Acton, ME...live in Pelham, NH...my son lived in Somerville for a year...nice area

 

[RayS]

In the near future I will be adding the Truxedo Titanium along with a full BedRug and LED lights. I couldn't find a picture of them both on a Colorado or Canyon, the picture of the Silverado should give you an idea of how it would look. I have been able to see and put my hands on the Truxedo Titanium and was impressed with how solid it felt when closed, how it fit and the ease of rolling it up. As for the Bedrug, they are fantastic when you need to crawl into the box and clean very easily. When you put them together, you get a large trunk that is soft are generally keeps things from sliding around and when the cover is rolled up you get the box space needed for larger items.

Of course, with any almost any cover, you are going to want to add lights so you can actually see what is in there. For the lights there is a connection under the truck that ties into the cargo light or if you want a local switch, you can put in a manual or magnetic that will come one with the tailgate is opened. Installation does not appear to be difficult at all based on the people I've talked to to and the How To posts on this site.

 

[William Barton]

Is the bedrug really that necessary? The truck I'm looking at has a spray in bed liner. For the people that have them, how often do they get cleaned?

 

[RatRacer]

Is the bedrug really that necessary? The truck I'm looking at has a spray in bed liner. For the people that have them, how often do they get cleaned?

Depends on use.
I put a bed mat on my spray in liner to stop stuff from sliding around, and saving my knees. But I also put palletized stuff in the back, so it's easy to roll up and pull out, to slide a pallet in with a forklift.

 

[cesharp3]

Is the bedrug really that necessary? The truck I'm looking at has a spray in bed liner. For the people that have them, how often do they get cleaned?

I love my bedrug. You can vacuum it with a normal vacuum or a shop vac. You can also powerwash it or just hose it out and it'll dry quickly. Before I put my cover on the bed, I would vacuum it about once a month.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[[email protected]]

Is the bedrug really that necessary? The truck I'm looking at has a spray in bed liner. For the people that have them, how often do they get cleaned?

With a tonneau installed almost never. I vacuumed mine when I got leaves or dirt in it from having the tonneau open or when I hauled some yard stuff home from Lowes/HD. Otherwise I didn't touch it.

It's not necessary at all, but as you can see from the feedback here they are loved by their owners. Non-sales pitch: I truly love the product. While I removed mine to install my bed rack and Decked system, I did install their Jeep kit in our '05 LJ because I liked the product so much (it's a full carpet replacement). Not to mention I was somewhat sad to not have a BedRug in my truck anymore. It makes it a lot nicer.

If you're on the fence they do have a 30 day money back guarantee. If you aren't in love, send it back.

Oh, and they can be installed over a spray-in but do need an adhesion promoter.