Tonneau Cover
Report

     Ken Bishop

     For those of you who don’t know what that cover on the back of those pickup trucks are called, it is a Tonneau. Tonneau comes from the French meaning Cover. Other names people are using to locate this cover is, truck bed cover, pickup truck cover, tonno and sometimes truck lid.

   There are a few different styles of the Tonneau, such as the soft tonneau, the hinged tonneau and the Retractable truck bed cover. The soft cover is usually made of a material that looks like leather but stands up to the weather and the sun better than leather would. Most soft truck bed covers have metal bows under them to give the top strength, to keep them from sagging and to allow rain to run off. Some have snaps to keep them closed to the truck bed such as Extang’s Black Max and Classic Platinum. Lund Genesis also has a snap cover called the snap soft. Tonneau Masters make the Mile Maker and Slant Side and Cover Craft has the Snap low-profile.

   Other soft tonneau covers have velcro holding it down such as the Extang Express and the RT. The Truxedo Truxport and Soft Roll-up and their Low Profile Soft Roll-up all have the Velcro closure. Lund Genesis Roll up cover uses Velcro. Access Literider Roll up, Access Roll up and Limited Edition all use the Velcro system. Tonneau Masters Roll up cover also uses a Velcro system as well as Trac Rac’s Trac Tonneau.

   Another system used to keep these soft tonneau covers sealed up is a type of groove and tongue or seal and peel if you will. Covercraft has their Zip & Go and Extang Saber and Tuff Tonneau III both use their J45 groove and tongue.

   Now let’s move along to another type of truck bed cover available known as the hinged tonneau. Extang makes a soft hinged tonneau cover called Full Tilt which is supported by two gas shocks. You can lift it on it’s hinges, you can remove it entirely or you can roll it up. It also comes in a tool box friendly model. Lund Genesis has a soft Hinged Tonneau called just that. It too has the hinges and two gas shocks. Another soft hinged cover is Tonneau Masters Hinged Slant-Side which has quick release pins to remove completely, it also has the gas shocks. There are also some hard hinged tonneau covers such as one made by Undercover which is made of strong polymer and can be removed easily and comes with hardware that you can hang it on in your garage or elsewhere. Gaylords make fiberglass hinged tonneau covers called the Traditional and the X2000 Platinum series and both these covers are available with the speedstur wing on the back of them. The speedstur wing is a raised lip across the back of the tonneau for a sporty look.

   Now we are into another kind of hinged tonneau but it is a folding cover. These covers fold up in sections allowing you access to your truck bed. Bak makes the Bakflip cover which folds up in multiple sections and also protects your rear window from your cargo. Reds Beds make a Diamond Aluminum Plate folding cover which comes in shiny or powder coated painted surface. They also make a camouflage model with different camouflage prints available. Extang makes a soft folding cover called the Trifecta and Lund Genesis makes a soft folding cover called the Tri-fold.

   Another type of tonneau cover that adds a great convenience to your truck bed is the tool box cover. Extang offers the Tool Box Tonneau, the RT Tool Box tonneau and the Full Tilt Toolbox tonneau. Access also makes a Tool Box edition and Truxedo makes a Truxedo Plus Tool Box cover. Reds Beds make a tool box friendly addition as well as a cover with a tool box included.

   Lastly but sure not least come the retractable tonneau cover. These covers retract all the way to the front of your box into a canister giving you full access to your truck bed. These covers come a little more expensive but well worth their money. Pace Edwards have a few models such as the Roll Top which has been around a while. They also put out the Jack Rabbit, The Full Metal JackRabbit and one that you can even open and close with a remote control called the Bedlocker. Another quality name in retractable tonneau covers is the RollBak by Bak Industries. The American Roll by Truck Covers USA is a highly sought after retractable tonneau cover which looks great and adds a lot of security for your cargo.

   To sum things up, for an inexpensive tonneau cover go with the soft roll up covers. They give your truck an added look plus save you gas and protect your cargo from the weather and keeps your cargo out of sight of thieves. Some you have to remove the bows and some the bows will roll up with the cover. For easy access to your truck bed you might want a hinged tonneau. It will also save you gas and protect your cargo. The only thing you must remove these covers to gain complete access to your truck bed. For easy and complete access to your truck bed you can always get yourself a folding tonneau cover. You will get good looks and they are less money than a retractable. For the ultimate in easy access, security and great looks if you don’t mind the price tag there is the retractable tonneau cover.

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   You can find out more about each individual tonneau cover by visiting the link below.

Visit AutoAnything's Tonneau Cover Research Guide to find out which tonneau fits your specific needs.