I decided to get a soft tonneau for my truck. I have had several in the past, from the snap on, to the trifold. What I haven't had is the roll up style with the cross bows bit into the cover. Since the price of these roll ups is comparable to the trifold, I'm looking for some feedback from folks on their experience with each, pros and cons to each, and which one provides the best bang for the buck as far as quality, durability and overall value. I'm considering American, Access, Gator and Tonno Pro, which are all about the same price, and probably all made by the same manufacturer. Any comments on one brand over the other would be appreciated as well. Thanks...
Trying to decide on a Tonneau
Red Rock
21 - 40 of 43 Posts
My previous two trucks had soft tri-fold covers and I liked them a lot. This time around I wanted a hard tri-fold (added security when not in the garage). I really love the look of the BAK products, but not the cost and I also wanted to be able to easily remove it if needed. I got the Hard Fold from TonnoPro (had their soft one on my last truck), https://www.tonnopro.com/cms/hardfold. Just waiting on delivery, but it appears to be just like their soft fold, but with a hard cover. Installs in minutes and would uninstall in the same amount of time if needed.
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53 Posts
Extang Trifecta Signature Tonneau
So, I installed an Extang Trifecta Signature two months ago and loved it. Here is what it looks like now. Maybe I was niave in thinking that a soft tri-fold cover wouldn't look like garbage after two months. I contacted Extang this morning about it and they basically told me to go suck buttermilk. $500 lost and lesson learned. If I wanted it to lay flat, I should've gone with a hard cover or old school roll up.
So, I installed an Extang Trifecta Signature two months ago and loved it. Here is what it looks like now. Maybe I was niave in thinking that a soft tri-fold cover wouldn't look like garbage after two months. I contacted Extang this morning about it and they basically told me to go suck buttermilk. $500 lost and lesson learned. If I wanted it to lay flat, I should've gone with a hard cover or old school roll up.
Attachments
Planning to order a roll up by weekend. Looking for following:
1. Leaves stake pockets open.
2. Only have to unlatch from one side. Real pain to have to walk to other side to unlatch if trailer attached.
3. Decent warranty.
4. Good seal and some security.
5. Small roll that allows full open bed with good view out back window.
6. Cheap - less than $300 unless for a little more I get some great feature.
So many choices .
1. Leaves stake pockets open.
2. Only have to unlatch from one side. Real pain to have to walk to other side to unlatch if trailer attached.
3. Decent warranty.
4. Good seal and some security.
5. Small roll that allows full open bed with good view out back window.
6. Cheap - less than $300 unless for a little more I get some great feature.
So many choices .
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573 Posts
I got the Gator SR1, it seals really good, is holding up well, has a good warranty, but it has two releases. It sits on top of the bed rails, but does not completely cover the stake pocket openings, however, I added the stake pocket covers sold by a member here, and the tonneau hold them secure in place and looks very finished. Price was $265.00 delivered, so the only thing that doesn't meat your criteria is the dual releases, but the dual release hasn't really bothered me much since this truck is a lot narrower than a full sized truck.
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82 Posts
I got the peragon Cover. I like it because it's all aluminum, it comes powder coated not painted, it's removable so I can use the whole bed, doesn't have a canister that it rolls into which takes up bed space when closed its lockable and costs less than $800 shipped. You can even order it color matched to your vehicle.
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Let me know how you like it. I've gone back and forth a dozen times on which one I'm getting.
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I went back and forth myself on several covers but this one seemed to hit my critical requirements and happened to be inexpensive.
I got a Back Flip G2.
Here is the link with pics too, http://coloradofans.com/forums/169-2nd-gen-appearance-body/305258-backflip-g2-tonneau-cover.html
Here is the link with pics too, http://coloradofans.com/forums/169-2nd-gen-appearance-body/305258-backflip-g2-tonneau-cover.html
I really wanted something that would block view minimally when opened. I have never had a bed cover on a truck I owned or drove, unless you consider the S10 Blazer or Tahoe nothing more than a truck with a really high bed cover. I envision myself opening the cover often to load tall objects and haul them around. I probably am going to find I rarely open the top, but for now, it seems like a worthwhile requirement.
I also looked at the Revolver.
My goal was under $400 when I started, but with my one sided opening requirement and the access to the stake bed pockets at rear for use as hand grips to climb in truck, it narrowed it down a bit.
As a Jeep owner, I looked real close at the Bestop options. Their rollup required release from both sides, and since I will use this a lot when I am hauling the camper, I did not want to have to walk all around the vehicle or trailer, or crawl over the tongue to open. Their version of a flip cover looked pretty nice as well, but I wouldn't have the flexibility the rollup gives and I hate having to find a place to store spare parts. Right now, rear seat of Wrangler has been sitting on garage floor for a month, had to move my ladders, which meant I moved my roll around toolbox, etc.
It is mind boggling how many different rollups are out there, then you have your flip style covers, and I guess hard top covers. I was also amazed that the price difference between old fashioned snap covers and more user friendly rollups was not that much. Goes without saying, but I guess I am saying it, I did not want separate bows that supported the cover to store.
Oh, and with where I live, snow & ice will hopefully not be a major issue.When snow is forecasted, I may make a decision to remove the cover if I don't see myself needed to protect any cargo.
I took advantage of one of the %20 off labor day sales, and ordered a Tonnopro Hard Fold for $399 delivered. Their Hard Fold seems to be in the sweet spot for me with price, security, durability/warranty, and ease of installation/removal. I'll post an update when I have it in hand and installed...
My decision was based on security; can only be open from the inside. However, the cover can be removed and as far visibility is not much of a problem. If I have to carry some taller than the bed, most likely is going to cover the rear view anyway. Also, has a 350 Lbs load bearing capacity. I can place some stuff on top if need it. Granted, pulling a trailer is a big dificult since you have to crack the tail gate to gain access to the cover lock.
Well, there is no such thing as a perfect world ;-)
Well, there is no such thing as a perfect world ;-)
Agree, no perfect world. I will have to crack my tailgate to access the release as well.
I don't see myself wanting to place a load on top of my cover, how do you secure the load if the cover is in place? Tie off to bumper, fenders?
If you are referring to the stake pocket holes, I don't think anyone has one for the rear, unusual shape pockets and somewhere I read that the front pockets were not identical to the Silverado and so the tie downs for those pockets were not appropriate on the twins. However, you can probably figure out something if you need to haul that way.
Installed my tonneau this weekend.
Ordered Friday night before Labor Day, after close of business, so it was not accepted till last Tuesday. Arrived late Friday afternoon. Box was 18" longer than bed of my truck, marked for short bed, but I was afraid they shipped the wrong cover. Opened up and there was 18" of dead space in box.
Here is the link: https://www.realtruck.com/xr-tonneau-cover/
Price $247.99, free shipping.
Install went pretty well. Written instructions were good, but the pictures were the pits. Looked like someone scanned some old Polaroids. Took me about an hour by myself, partially because I was trying to reconcile pics with the written instructions. Also, instructions were in 3 parts:
Part A: Generic instructions.
Part B: Special instructions for the bed rail clamps for the Twins
Part c: Special Instructions for the seal up at the cab area of bed.
Nothing in Part A told you when to go to Part B or C, so I read the instructions a couple of times to make sure I was doing the right sequence. The clamps, especially the one closest to the tailgate, took a bit to understand, the Polaroids were awful, but they had drawn out a schematic and once I ignored the pictures and just used the drawing it went fine. Biggest problem I had was either the truck bed rails or the covers rails are not straight. The cover rails are supposed to line up along the truck bed rails. If I lined up the front & back of the cover rail, then in the center of the length, the cover bed rail was almost an 1/8" lower than the truck bed rails. I messed with it a bit, and this morning when I was looking at it again, I decided I might make a small adjustment before we see our first rain. Note: an extra set of hands on this would work better than the spring clamps I used to support the cover rail while I was mounting the rail clamps.
The bed rail clamps at the tailgate utilize the stake pocket/hand hold. Doesn't block access to the pocket itself, but it does use up the mounting hole in those stake pockets. There is an alternate method to free up the pockets, but I was comfortable that I would not have any issues as I just want the pockets for a handhold.
The picture of how to mount the tension adjustments for the cover were difficult to understand. Once I figured it out, the mounting of the cover itself went extremely quick. Probably 5 minutes.
I haven't had a chance to check for leaks yet. Supposed to get some rain at end of week, so by end of weekend, should know. Hopefully I can make a small adjustment before then to the rails. I have some concern about the rear of the cover over the top of the tailgate - doesn't seem like that is a great seal.
There is a slight flutter. I reduced this some by increasing the tension adjustment. Finally, when I first installed the cover, I just went down each side and made sure the velcro was in contact with the cover rail. When I pulled one side back up and pulled some tension on the cover before pressing the velcro down, this seemed to help. While there is a tension adjustment front to back on the cover, nothing for side to side.
Few positives I noticed:
1. I thought the person at Realtrucks I chatted with said there was only one strap to secure the cover when it is rolled up - but there are two.
2. Opens from one side, but there is a secondary slide that can secure the passenger side for more security. Based on my drive this morning, doesn't seem necessary.
3. There is some flutter, but I am not sure a soft cover could be built to remove all of the flutter on a 4' wide x 5' long soft cover. Totally acceptable.
4. Extremely light - shipping weight was just over 26 pounds, so I would guess that installed it might have added 25 pounds to truck.
One issue I noticed that I do not think anyone has mentioned was the impact of the cover rails. The bed rails on our trucks are tall. Reaching from the side into our trucks is difficult, even for me at 6' 1". The cover bed rails extend into the truck 2" - 3" on each side. This requires you to reach that much further into the bed to get an item, it also hides the tie down hooks under the cover rail a bit, making them harder to reach. I don't think this is specific to this cover, any cover rail is going to have some impact to the "reach" into the truck bed.
I haven't added any seals to the side of the tailgate yet, want to see how it performs before I add that, but I expect I will find I need to do so.
Some pics:
Ordered Friday night before Labor Day, after close of business, so it was not accepted till last Tuesday. Arrived late Friday afternoon. Box was 18" longer than bed of my truck, marked for short bed, but I was afraid they shipped the wrong cover. Opened up and there was 18" of dead space in box.
Here is the link: https://www.realtruck.com/xr-tonneau-cover/
Price $247.99, free shipping.
Install went pretty well. Written instructions were good, but the pictures were the pits. Looked like someone scanned some old Polaroids. Took me about an hour by myself, partially because I was trying to reconcile pics with the written instructions. Also, instructions were in 3 parts:
Part A: Generic instructions.
Part B: Special instructions for the bed rail clamps for the Twins
Part c: Special Instructions for the seal up at the cab area of bed.
Nothing in Part A told you when to go to Part B or C, so I read the instructions a couple of times to make sure I was doing the right sequence. The clamps, especially the one closest to the tailgate, took a bit to understand, the Polaroids were awful, but they had drawn out a schematic and once I ignored the pictures and just used the drawing it went fine. Biggest problem I had was either the truck bed rails or the covers rails are not straight. The cover rails are supposed to line up along the truck bed rails. If I lined up the front & back of the cover rail, then in the center of the length, the cover bed rail was almost an 1/8" lower than the truck bed rails. I messed with it a bit, and this morning when I was looking at it again, I decided I might make a small adjustment before we see our first rain. Note: an extra set of hands on this would work better than the spring clamps I used to support the cover rail while I was mounting the rail clamps.
The bed rail clamps at the tailgate utilize the stake pocket/hand hold. Doesn't block access to the pocket itself, but it does use up the mounting hole in those stake pockets. There is an alternate method to free up the pockets, but I was comfortable that I would not have any issues as I just want the pockets for a handhold.
The picture of how to mount the tension adjustments for the cover were difficult to understand. Once I figured it out, the mounting of the cover itself went extremely quick. Probably 5 minutes.
I haven't had a chance to check for leaks yet. Supposed to get some rain at end of week, so by end of weekend, should know. Hopefully I can make a small adjustment before then to the rails. I have some concern about the rear of the cover over the top of the tailgate - doesn't seem like that is a great seal.
There is a slight flutter. I reduced this some by increasing the tension adjustment. Finally, when I first installed the cover, I just went down each side and made sure the velcro was in contact with the cover rail. When I pulled one side back up and pulled some tension on the cover before pressing the velcro down, this seemed to help. While there is a tension adjustment front to back on the cover, nothing for side to side.
Few positives I noticed:
1. I thought the person at Realtrucks I chatted with said there was only one strap to secure the cover when it is rolled up - but there are two.
2. Opens from one side, but there is a secondary slide that can secure the passenger side for more security. Based on my drive this morning, doesn't seem necessary.
3. There is some flutter, but I am not sure a soft cover could be built to remove all of the flutter on a 4' wide x 5' long soft cover. Totally acceptable.
4. Extremely light - shipping weight was just over 26 pounds, so I would guess that installed it might have added 25 pounds to truck.
One issue I noticed that I do not think anyone has mentioned was the impact of the cover rails. The bed rails on our trucks are tall. Reaching from the side into our trucks is difficult, even for me at 6' 1". The cover bed rails extend into the truck 2" - 3" on each side. This requires you to reach that much further into the bed to get an item, it also hides the tie down hooks under the cover rail a bit, making them harder to reach. I don't think this is specific to this cover, any cover rail is going to have some impact to the "reach" into the truck bed.
I haven't added any seals to the side of the tailgate yet, want to see how it performs before I add that, but I expect I will find I need to do so.
Some pics:
21 - 40 of 43 Posts
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