A tonneau cover is a very popular accessory that many truck owners like to add to their vehicle. No matter what you use your vehicle for, this type of cover can enhance the functionality and looks of your truck. In this article we will be covering all of the important aspects of tonneau bed covers to help you choose the best one for your truck.
- Determine what your main purpose is for getting a tonneau cover for your truck.
Is easy removal, versatility, appearance, security or function the most important to you?
- Decide between a soft or hard cover.
Usually a hard tonneau cover will offer more security but will cost more. A soft tonneau will be more versatile but less expensive.
- Consider how frequently you will need to access the bed of your truck and to what extent.
How often will you need to have quick access to your whole truck bed? Both soft and hard tonneaus are available in hinging, retracting and folding designs. Most of them provide easy tailgate access and some hard tonneau covers lock the tailgate as well whenever the cover is locked. Some tonneau covers, such as hard retracting tonneau covers as well as soft roll-up ones, are easy to open and offer complete access to the truck bed without having to take them off. On the other hand, hinging covers and folding hard tonneau covers are difficult to take off, which makes full access to the truck bed less convenient.
- Determine your bduget
Usually a hard tonneau cover will cost from $500 up to $2,000 or even more. A soft tonneau cover will usually cost from $150 to $550.
- Determine who will install your tonneau cover.
Soft tonneau covers take less time to install and offer more flexibility when it comes to the installation as compared to a hard tonneau cover.
- Check what type of bed liner is on your truck.
Bed liners on a truck can go either over or under the rails of the truck. If the bed liner is under the rail, then installing a tonneau cover shouldn’t have any problems associated with. However, if the bed liner goes over the rails (where the bed liner wraps over the bed rails of the truck on both sides) then this can make it hard to get a tonneau cover properly installed over the bed of the truck.
