Tonneau Covers

[acsimon]

I have a 2001 2500HD I am think about getting a tonneau cover for. I am looking for any comments, suggestions or recommendations on the following:

*Soft covers as opposed to hard covers-any preference?

*In regards to hard covers-rollups as opposed to tilts-any preference?

*Experiences with a particular brand (i.e. Access, Pace Edwards, etc)?

*Weathertightness-good or bad recommendations?

*Good place to purchase-online, local?

(Note: I don't require the cover to be in place all the time. How hard are the tilt covers to remove? What do you do with the hard cover when you take it off-storage wise?)

 

I would probably prefer a soft cover if it wouldn't leak and I don't have to listen to it flapping when I'm doing 75mph on the interstate. If you have a soft cover, what is your experience on the above two item? Thanks for all you input.

[Roofer]

Welcome!

I have an Access cover on my truck and had it on the truck before this one. I've had it for 4-5 years now and it is starting to show wear on the velcro, but it still holds. I never really had a problem with it. I like it because it covers everything good from rain and snow, and I can haul my atv when I want. It only takes 30 seconds to roll it up.

[Mort]

I have a TruXedo Low Profile http://www.truxedo.com/ and like it very much. It does leak just a little at the front because I have a box liner that curls up over the front of the box and it frigs the fit of the cover up there a little bit. It does not flap so that it would bother you and has adjusters that you can set to keep it snug. I have read other posts and they seem to last very well even in areas that experience heavy snows. You just roll it up to get it out of the way and it only takes a few seconds as the cross bars roll right up with it into a nice tight roll that sits on top of the front of the box and is held in place by two built in straps. This is a great Tonneau.

[Steve Cornell]

I had the Access Rollup on my 2 previous trucks and now have the Truxedo Low Profile Rollup on my current truck.

 

The Access was a great cover, never a problem

 

I think the Truxedo Lo-Pro looks a little better and seems to be a bit more watertite, however both of them were pretty good in this department.

 

I really like the "Roll-Up" soft tonneaus, I've had standard Tonneaus, and fiberglass hard covers as well but the Soft Roll ups like the Access and Truxedo get my vote, easy to roll up if you want to haul something big or hook up the gooseneck or fifth wheel and they don't take up any room in the front of the bed like the hard roll up covers.

 

Hers a pic of my Truxedo Low-Pro

 

[willscary]

Most people love whatever THEY bought. I am no exception. After looking over all of the options, I decided I liked the price and features of the Access. The Truxedo low profile interested me even more, but the cost was quite a bit higher. Then I decided on a Line-X sprayed-in bedliner. After calling pretty much all the Line-X dealers in the state, I came across one in West Bend (WI) that was $75 cheaper. I set up an appointment, and asked them what kind of tonneau covers they carried. They had them all, but the price on the Truxedo was about the same as the Access was at the other places. I had both the Line-X sprayed in and the tonneau installed in about 3 hours on a Saturday morning. About an 80 minute drive each way and 3 hours in the waiting room, but very well worth it! I highly recommend the Truxedo Lo Pro! (and the Line-X)

 

You asked about weather tightness and flapping in the wind...the wind thing concerned me before I bought, but now that I own the Truxedo, I can tell you it is a non-issue. When I close the tonneau, I pull it tightly to each side as I mate the velcro. The top then stays very tight and smooth. The only time I get water in the bed at all is when I open it to put something in. At that point, a bit of standing water on the top seal drops into the very end of the box at the tailgate. (I always open the rear of the tonneau before closing the tailgate, then reclose the tonneau on top of the closed tailgate. This ensures the weatherstripping is seated properly.

[catiaeng]

On my 2500HD I have a TonneauMasters basic snap on tonneau cover. I purchased just before last winter, for winter use, but love it so I kept it on all year. I like the looks with the classic “bows” and it snaps well hot and cold, and does not flap in the wind. The rain stays out for the most part, it may get a little moisture, and in the winter I have seen small amounts of snow in the box. I could clear up with tailgate weather shield, but it is not that much of a problem.

 

I really like my father-in-law’s Access cover. It only takes a minute to roll up and looks good. I have heard that the Velcro will show wear, but it’s sharp. I roll my snap on tonneau about 3 times a month; you have to deal with the bows and the tailgate bar, so an Access looks really nice.

 

A friend of mine has a Pace Edwards hard roll-up that is showing it’s age on his 98 Z-71, the black is starting to fade, and he takes good care of this truck. Not my recommendation for a cover.

 

Fold-a-cover is good, two co-workers of mine have them and they look good, and seal to the truck, plus you can lock the tailgate.

 

I went with the TonneauMasters because of the classic “bows” and it was cheap!

[blue2kzr2]

I have the Extang Full-tilt. This cover is nice. There are 3 options for loading the bed; with the cover on, with the cover rolled or with the cover off. The cover tilts as well, at the front bedrail for full access to the bed. To remove it, pop the struts at the lower point and lift the cover and frame off the bed. To roll it, you un-do the snaps, roll it up, take out the bows and loosen 4 allen screws to pull the tail rail. Takes MAYBE 5 mins to get to that point once you're good at it. It seals REALLY well, I rarely get water inside, and then it's usually only when I wash the truck and aim at the base of the cover.

 

My dad has a Tonneaumasters roll-up cover, I think it's the same design as the Access. It takes up 1/4"-1/2" on each side of the bed, inside the bedrail. We had to shim out his bed extender mounts so it would flip in and out correctly. The cover collects water when it rains and I seem to remember it not sealing terribly well, maybe it was just at the tailgate where the channel along each side drained.

 

Both covers are soft tonneaus. I'm almost sorry I got the snap version of mine, the snapless looks REALLY smooth, but what I got was almost more than I could afford at the time.

[JimG]

I have a Pace Edwards Jack Rabbit tonneau cover. This is my second truck with the same type of cover on it. If I had to buy one all over again, would I buy this one? Probably not.

The one I installed on my Sonoma back in 2k1 was awesome. Virtually watertight, install wasn't that hard and it worked very well.

The Jack Rabbit isn't that great - I get a lot of water in the bed which I'm very unhappy about. Installation with bed rails is a nightmare if not impossible. The quality seems to lack when compared to the old one. I can watch the end at the tailgate shake up and down as I drive which never happened before. Also the lock keeps falling apart. So one of these days I'll get around to fixing it.

 

Right now I just set up the appointment to get a Rhino Liner in my truck. I do like how easy it is to remove the entire tonneau cover system simply by removing the brackets. That's a plus compared to the old sheet metal screw-in method.

Also installing diamond plate bed rails since I hate the black plastic ones I purchased originally. Because of the tonneau cover I'm going to have to custom cut and fit these bedrails to work with it.

[SxViper]

I have a 2001 2500HD I am think about getting a tonneau cover for.  I am looking for any comments, suggestions or recommendations on the following:

  *Soft covers as opposed to hard covers-any preference?

  *In regards to hard covers-rollups as opposed to tilts-any preference?

  *Experiences with a particular brand (i.e. Access, Pace Edwards, etc)?

  *Weathertightness-good or bad recommendations?

  *Good place to purchase-online, local?

(Note: I don't require the cover to be in place all the time.  How hard are the tilt covers to remove?  What do you do with the hard cover when you take it off-storage wise?)

 

I would probably prefer a soft cover if it wouldn't leak and I don't have to listen to it flapping when I'm doing 75mph on the interstate.  If you have a soft cover, what is your experience on the above two item?  Thanks for all you input.

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

 

 

Where do you live. I never liked the soft cover I had becaue of when it droped below 20F it would become very hard put on and take off. I went with a fold-a-cover on my 2500HD and think its more than likely one of the best things I put on it. Light weight and keeps the snow/water out. You can open it easly in the winter too.

[JRHDCrew]

I have had Extang covers on all of my trucks, they have been great.

The only down side to them is they are hard to snap when its cold.

The New Extang Full tilt has eliminated this problem for me.

The whole cover tilts up and you can get acess to the entire bed without removing a single snap.

Also you can remove the whole cover in 30 seconds, again without touching the snaps.

The instructions are great and they give you all of the tools needed to install.

 

FoldaCover did not impress me, it leaked and didnt fit right.

They dont claim or sell it to be WATER Proof and YOU will not know you till you take delievery.

I dont recommend this one.

 

My Best Advice would be go to a "Local" dealer and check them out inperson and ask about what makes one cover better than the other.Everyone likes what they have as said above.

Also if you buy on-line, check out what the companys return policy is and read "ALL" of the fine print.Im speaking from personal experience.

 

Good luck

 

JR

[tmf6902]

I recommend a Can-Back. It's not really a tonneau cover, more of a shell, but I love it. And it's easy to put on and take off.

[blue2kzr2]

JRHDCrew, you decided to go with the Full-Tilt after helping your friend with his? Not gonna knock ya for making that decision, the features/removal options alone sold me on it.

[Richman]

FoldaCover did not impress me, it leaked and didnt fit right.

They dont claim or sell it to be WATER Proof and YOU will not know you till you take delievery.

 

 

I'm not exactly sure what the last sentence means, but MY fold-a-cover IS waterproof because it WAS installed correctly.

 

I love it. it is easy to use and not affected by the weather as many roll-up ones are. It does not flap in the wind like a black bed sheet. it is lockable....both front & rear. It does let in a little dust when driving fast on gravel roads, but all do. I use it folded back when pulling my 5th wheel camper. I keep a cargo carrier in front of the 5th wheel hitch and it is nice to know it's contents are safe from curious hands.

 

Basicly, for my needs it works the best, but if we all had the same needs, there would only be one choice to purchase. What a boreing life that would be.

[MS3DALE]

I love my EXTANG full-tilt,I just bought the newest one with no snaps to replace the full-tilt I had with snaps,It looks SOOOO much better and cleaner without the snaps!!!! And now I don't get the PITA to clean streaks from the snaps when I wash the truck or when it rains!!!

[drumhack]

I had the Fold-A-Cover brand on my old truck and now have the Advance Folding cover on my current truck. I concur with Richman that the folding type are ideal for 5th wheel towing and I didn't have any leaking problems.

 

No need to be able to remove these type of covers as is the case with the tilt-type hard covers, since they fold out of the way.